Welcome to our new Freemen!

Photograph shows from left to right seated : Junior Warden Tony Smart, the Master David Dewing, and Second Assistant Dids Macdonald; standing: Steuart Padwick, Peter Spence, Simon Moorhouse, Mark Wilkins, Jeremy Stein, Wendy Shorter, Stephen Clasper, Matthew Paré, Jane MacDonald, Katherine Elworthy, Ebrahim Patel and Samuel Chan

 

On the day we opened the newly refurbished Furniture Makers’ Hall we were very proud to admit a dozen new Freemen as members of the Company.

 

Samuel Chan

Samuel is the founder and lead designer at Channels Design and Joined & Jointed, combining this with running factories in China that help to produce his companies’ products.

He was born in Hong Kong, and is fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese. He moved to England for his education, culminating in a Masters at Buckinghamshire University.

Samuel started Channels Design in 1995 and hasn’t looked back. This year alone he has so far won two Design Guild Mark awards from The Furniture Makers’ Company and was named Furniture Designer of the Year at the Homes and Gardens Designer Awards 2015.

 

Stephen Clasper

Stephen is the Founder, creative director and principal designer at his company Stephen Clasper Interiors.

He attended the Chelsea School of Art in the 1980s, studying Graphic Design & Illustration before travelling.

In the 1990s he moved into interiors and started his own company in 1995 which specialises in the high end and bespoke interior market.

Stephen’s company won two “Best Kitchen” awards last year, as well as the “Best European Living Space” award at the International Design & Architecture Awards.

 

Katherine Elworthy

Katherine is the Executive Manager for the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID), based in their office in Shoreditch.

She attended Bristol University, studying Politics & Sociology before starting work as a picture researcher. Following on from this Katherine moved into magazine publishing, directing photo shoots.

In 2009 she moved to BIID, launching the institute’s annual conference in 2011 and the new national route to qualification, the BIID Professional Pathway, in 2013.

 

Jane MacDonald

Jane is Marketing Manager for Andrew Muirhead & Son Ltd,  originally based in Glasgow before moving to the company’s office in Scarborough.

She graduated from Strathclyde University in 1992 with a degree in management before starting work for Andrew Muirhead in 1994, taking on various sales and marketing roles over the past 21 years.

Her family has been involved in the trade since 1758, and as a result Jane has been a member Grand Antiquity Society of Glasgow since 1984.

 

Simon Moorhouse

Simon is Creative Director for Invisible City, with 15 years experience as an architect and interior designer, with time in London and New York behind him.

He studied architecture, graduating in 1995, before moving to Studio Invisible City where he has worked since 1997. Since a revamp of Invisible City in 2012 the company has seen its designs promoted as art in Paris, and has developed close ties with Richard Williams Furniture to produce the company’s designs.

 

Matthew Paré

Matthew currently runs his own company Petrel Furniture, specialising in using hand tools to create unique designs and furniture.

Matthew began work in the financial services industry, joining Fidessa in 2004 and later working for ITG until 2013.

He began training as a cabinet maker in 2013 with John Lloyd in East Sussex, before founding Petrel Furniture near Burgess Hill in Sussex.

 

Ebrahim Patel

Ebrahim is the Managing Director of Vogue Beds Ltd and became President of the National Bed Federation earlier this year.

He left college after taking a course in Building & Construction in the mid 1980s, before starting Vogue Beds with his brother in 1990.

Ebrahim has since gone on to develop both Vogue Beds and Limelight Beds, joining the NBF in 1999 and its Executive Board in 2007.

In May he took over the role of President of the NBF from Stuart Hibbert.

 

Steuart Padwick

Steuart has run his own award winning British design company since 20019, specialising in furniture, lighting and product design.

He trained at the Parnham Furniture College and the Royal College of Art, and set himself up as a furniture designer and maker in 1980.

In 1997 Steuart moved to The Conran Shop to become a buyer, before setting up to Benchmark Furniture and designbar.com in the mid 2000s.

Since 2009 Steuart has concentrated on his own designs, following a launch at 100% Design. He holds three prestigious Design Guild Marks and recently won The Furniture Makers’ Company Royal Nursery Furniture competition, creating a range of furniture for Their Royal Highnesses Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

 

Wendy Shorter

Wendy is the Founder and Director of Wendy Shorter Interiors, which opened almost a decade ago.

She studied Advanced Furniture at London Metropolitan University, returning in 2004 as a tutor to teach City & Guilds courses.

In 2006 she became Director of Training for the Association of Master Upholders and Soft Furnishers, setting up her company Wendy Shorter Interiors the same year.

She is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Upholders, has won awards for her book Professional Soft Furnishings published in 2010, and currently spends her time running courses at her company in St Albans.

 

Peter Spence

Peter retired in December 2013 from a role in local economic development in Chichester and the West Sussex region.

He joined Royal & Sun Alliance straight from school in 1959 holding a variety of roles in the company over almost 40 years with the company, finishing as a Regional Manager.

He spent time as a Development Manager at Young Enterprise, and as a Business Support Officer at Chichester Council, before becoming a Director at the South East Design Forum in 2007, a not for profit organisation aiming to support creative industries locally.

In 2012 he became a project leader for business support in Chichester, looking to improve the success rates of local businesses.

 

Jeremy Stein

Jeremy is the new Managing Director of the British Contract Furnishing Association (BCFA).

He studied Geography at the University of Kent, graduating in 1984, eventually moving into publishing as a Sales & Marketing Director.

Jeremy oversaw two top legal publishers as a Managing Director, Cavendish and Law Matters, before becoming the Director of Services at the Design & Artists Copyright Society in 2007.

In April 2014 he began work as a marketing consultant with i-Publishing before moving to the BCFA.

 

Mark Wilkins

Mark is the Sales Director for Anne & Robert Swaffer Ltd, having started in the role last year.

He began his career as a Sales Office Assistant with GP & J Baker Ltd in 1980 after leaving school, moving up to the role of Contract Representative and dealing with clients across England and Wales.

Mark took on various senior sales roles and then started his own company, working as a consultant dealing with high end companies, before taking on a permanent role with Swaffer last year.

He used to be chairman of the village football team, developing the club and its links with local businesses, for which he received an award, and he is the voluntary Marketing Director of the Berks and Bucks FA.