the London School of Furniture Making

Despite the gloomy headlines, I’m feeling somewhat upbeat about the future. Why? Well, furniture making and heritage crafts, in general, are in a great place. The wider public has a newfound love of making things, and the British furniture making industry is bursting at the seams with genuine talent and know-how.

I founded the London School of Furniture Making (LSF) in 2013. My aim is to fill the void left by dwindling local authority run courses. When I started teaching in 1994, it wasn’t hard to find an evening class where you could just turn up and make a coffee table. Provision was, dare I say it, good. The classes brimmed with enthusiasm, community and good cheer. Sadly, most of these workshops have gone and the buildings that housed them sold or given over to something less specialised.

The need for a creative outlet, and a place to do it, hasn’t gone away. During the last 18 months, our school has seen its highest level of demand in over a decade. Much of that was driven by enforced leisure time and a lack of travel opportunities, but I believe it also speaks to a desire to spend less time in front of a screen and more time engaged in making real, tangible objects.

At the LSF, we deliver short, intensive classes focussed on the core skills of handcrafted furniture. The lessons cover everything from joinery to steam bending, fitted furniture making to finishing, furniture design and timber technology. Most classes are four or five days and are designed to be bolted together to form a comprehensive study package. They aren’t meant to replace full-time instruction, but they do give an insight into how to get started.

But what about the proliferation of online craft classes which continues to grow unabated? To be honest, I’m all for the democratisation of education, which the internet provides for free or at very low cost. Instant access to information has changed the way we learn, but despite the dire warnings that it will kill off in-person classes, none of it has come to pass. It seems just the opposite has happened, and the demand for one is driving demand for the other. Win, win.

There is no doubt that furniture makers and schools are facing a series of monumental challenges. The increasing cost of heating, materials and workshop rental, combined with a lack of consumer confidence and cancelled orders, has already seen many businesses at risk of closing. The pressure on industrial estates to make way for residential development is also sounding alarm bells, and there are no easy answers.

Despite the less than sunny outlook, British furniture making continues to be a creative powerhouse, combining innovative design with traditional craft skills, smart business practices and cutting-edge technology.

This is a great industry for emerging designers and makers to join. As part of the judging panel of the Young Furniture Makers

Awards in 2022, I got to see first-hand the amazing work coming out of the country’s schools and colleges and how The Furniture Makers’ Company provides a much-needed showcase for this talent. With The Furniture Makers’ Company helping the brightest and the best into the sector, encouraging them to thrive through educational programmes and fostering lasting relationships with industry professionals, I can’t help thinking that British furniture making will eventually come out of the current crisis in decent shape. furnitureschool.co.uk