The Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishing industry’s charity, has announced that eminent British furniture designer and Company Liveryman John Makepeace OBE has been awarded the prestigious Prince Philip Designers Prize.
Nominated for the prize by The Furniture Makers’ Company, John was presented with a specially-commissioned trophy from His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh at St. James’s Palace on Wednesday 8th June 2016.
John says: “I am truly honoured to be receiving such a prestigious award as both a furniture designer and maker. I would like to thank The Furniture Makers’ Company for nominating me for this award – it’s a great privilege. I hope it will inspire others who are passionate about furniture.”
Ben Burbidge, Master of The Furniture Makers’ Company, says: “I am absolutely thrilled that John has been recognised with such an impressive prize. John is undoubtedly the foremost British bespoke furniture designer of his generation, with his long, illustrious career spanning more than 50 years. John continues to inspire the furnishing industry with his breath-taking designs and his commitment to nurturing talent through the John Makepeace Prize, awarded through The Furniture Makers’ Company.”
This year’s other nominees were: Ian Callum RDI & Gerry McGovern, Hussein Chalayan MBE, Dame Zaha Hadid DBE, Fiona Raby & Anthony Dunne, and Peter Clegg RDI.
Chairman of the prize selection committee and President of the Chartered Society of Designers, Peter Bosson, says: “Selecting any one nominee from such an impressive list of designers was never going to be an easy task but eventually the panel came to a unanimous decision recognising the enormous design achievements and contribution to design made by one of England’s finest furniture designers and makers.”
The Prince Philip Designers Prize was launched by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, patron of the Chartered Society of Designers, in 1959 and is awarded to a designer whose exemplary work has influenced the perception of design by the public and accordingly elevated the status of designers in society.
The prize was reintroduced in 2016 by the Chartered Society of Designers after a lapse of four years. The prize will welcome international nominations from 2017.
Previous recipients of the prize include industrial designer Sir Kenneth Grange, furniture and product designer Sir Terence Conran and illustrator Sir Quentin Blake.
