Young Furniture Makers Exhibition 2022

from Austin Friar 2023

Thank you for helping us make a difference Gary Smith, fundraising chairman

Our Young Furniture Makers exhibition made a triumphant return in 2022, following a three-year hiatus, with 100 of the UK’s best emerging designers and makers exhibiting cutting-edge furniture and lighting in the City of London to packed out crowds.

We set up the exhibition over 15 years ago for school children, students and graduates to showcase their work to the design community and connect with potential employers.

The 2022 event was the first live exhibition since 2019 due to the pandemic and took place on Wednesday 12 October at Furniture Makers’ Hall and the Dutch Church in Austin Friars, London.

Students and graduates travelled from across the UK to be part of the event, with the youngest exhibitor being 12 years old, the oldest at 59 and one exhibitor returning from Switzerland to exhibit at this wonderful celebration of furniture and furnishing design.

We were thrilled to welcome special guest William Hardie, founder of Studio Hardie, who announced the winners of the 2022 Young Furniture Makers Awards during the evening ceremony.

William Hardie said: “I was astounded by the calibre of craftsmanship and quality of design shown at the Young Furniture Makers exhibition, it is so inspiring to see that children as young as 12 are designing and making beautiful and well thought out pieces. The exhibition was a brilliant chance for young makers to show and present their work to industry leaders and the public at a prestigious venue. The result was over 100 remarkable and diverse pieces of furniture, demonstrating that the future of the furniture making industry looks very bright.”