There’s more than meets the eye to the industry’s livery company and dedicated charity – newly-appointed master Jessica Alexander explains why The Furniture Makers’ Company is the heart and home of the UK furniture and furnishings industry …
I spend a lot of time explaining to friends what a City of London livery is. That’s OK – I live in Yorkshire, so London is a long way away (although there are linked guilds in York and Sheffield!).
Originally, the livery companies were the professional associations in the City of London that were responsible for regulating training and trade in the square mile for their respective industries. Today – across a movement of 114 companies, with new ones still coming on board – they are still membership and networking organisations, but no one description fits all.
They differ vastly in size, activity, influence. But almost all have fellowship and philanthropy as their core reason for being – supporting their linked trades and industries, schools, colleges and other educational establishments with a raft of bursaries, grants, awards, scholarships and much more.
Which brings me to how the Furniture Makers fits in with this largely invisible-to-the-wider-world movement.
We’re a modern livery company, set up in 1951 as a guild, achieving livery status in 1962 and incorporated by Royal Charter since 2013. We’re also what is called a closed livery company – which means you have to be associated with the furniture and furnishings industry in some way to join.
But why would anyone want to join this strange thing called a livery company – especially if you don’t live anywhere near London, so attending livery events is not particularly convenient?
Two reasons – because we are also the only charity solely focused on supporting our industry, and because you’ll benefit enormously from the networking and community we offer (particularly if you embrace your membership and get involved). And we need you, because as a volunteer-led organisation, we need our members to ensure we keep operating.
So don’t join us just for a few posh dinners or lunches in London, or bizarre events such as pancake racing or herding sheep over Southwark Bridge (although they are amazing – members should definitely attend some). Join us to sit on a committee and further our objectives of supporting those in need of a helping hand, promoting our industry and rewarding the highest standards of making, design and manufacturing.
The Furniture Makers’ Company holds a unique position in our industry. No other organisation brings together people from across so many different sectors and so many different roles – from bespoke furnituremakers and restorers through to the largest companies in our sector in retail, manufacturing and everything in between. From specialists in sales to marketing, design, finance, HR, technical, legal, making and manufacturing, antiques and restoration and more. Tapping into this pool of experience and knowledge is endlessly fascinating and illuminating.
If you’re younger and at the start or mid-way through your career, you can connect and learn from the best. If you’re older and near the end of it, you can enjoy the satisfaction of passing on your knowledge and helping others develop their skills.
So what are you waiting for? Don’t wait to be asked. Apply to join us now and open the door to a rewarding future full of fun and satisfaction. You won’t regret it.
