Last night, Amanda Waring was installed as the 61st master of The Furniture Makers’ Company, the City of London livery company and charity for the furnishing industry, succeeding Tony Attard OBE DL.
The annual ceremony took place in the Old Ballroom at the Mansion House, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London. Brian Ahern and Debbie Johnson were also installed as the new senior and junior warden of the company, respectively.
The ceremony was followed by dinner in the venue’s Egyptian Room. Around 180 guests were in attendance, and were joined by City dignitaries including alderman Alison Gowman, who was representing the Rt Hon The Lord Mayor Nicholas Lyons.
Amanda says: “I feel both honoured and privileged to have been installed as master of this vibrant livery company. Together, with my trusted senior and junior wardens, Brian Ahern and Debbie Johnson, I am looking forward to representing the Furniture Makers.
“History and traditions are an important part of the Furniture Makers and I am proud to be master during the year we celebrate our 60th anniversary as a livery company of the City of London. As we look forward to the future of both the livery and the furnishing industry, I will be launching our ambitious ‘60 for 60’ campaign in June.
“We will be honouring 60 young people under 35 years of age who are currently working in the industry and demonstrating exceptional commitment to their career. The ‘60 for 60’ campaign will recognise these 60 outstanding people as the ‘ones to watch’ and those who we consider to be future leaders of the industry and our livery. This is the major campaign for my year as master, and I’m very excited about it as I think it’s an excellent way of demonstrating to young people in our sector that we are an industry that cares about them and recognises the vital role they play.”
Amanda studied furniture and product design at Kingston Polytechnic and qualified in 1982. She went on to work as a furniture designer for many large and small upholstery and contract furniture companies for 30 years. She is passionate about British design and manufacturing, and is proud to have followed her family’s trade in designing and manufacturing furniture, which they have done since the early 19th century.
In 2012, Amanda requalified as a garden designer and set up her own design business. Her Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) show gardens have won a Best Show Garden award, two RHS Gold medals, two RHS Silver-gilts and most recently, in 2022, a RHS Silver medal at Chelsea for her SSAFA Garden.
Amanda became a liveryman of the Furniture Makers in 1990 when her father was installed as master. Over the years she has served the livery in various roles, on its Guild Mark committees, as custodian of Furniture Makers’ Hall in Austin Friars, and as a member of the court for 15 years.
