The Furniture Society, founded in 1996, is a membership-based, tax-exempt
501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation working to advance the art of
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
making by inspiring creativity, promoting excellence and fostering understanding of this art. The Society, based in
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
, has an international membership comprising furniture makers, designers, educators, museum and gallery professionals, scholars, journalists, collectors, students and the interested public.
Background
Built on a tradition of volunteerism, the Society provides a range of programs including annual conferences, exhibitions, publications, scholarships and awards of excellence. All programming is guided by the Society’s core values: opportunity, education, inspiration, community and contribution. Membership in the Furniture Society is open to all who have an interest in furniture.
Annual Conferences
The Society convenes an annual conference, in locations across the United States and in Canada, usually in June. Each conference offers keynotes, artists’ presentations, practical demonstrations, theoretical discussions and business improvement seminars. Past venues have included:
*Purchase, New York (1997)
*San Francisco, California (1998)
*Smithville, Tennessee (1999)
*Toronto, Ontario (2000)
*Tempe, Arizona (2001)
*Madison, Wisconsin (2002)
*Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2003)
*Savannah, Georgia (2004)
*San Diego, California (2005)
*Indianapolis, Indiana (2006)
*Victoria, British Columbia (2007)
*SUNY Purchase (2008)
*Boone, North Carolina (2009)
*Cambridge, Massachusetts (2010)
*Portland, Maine (2012)
*Los Angeles, California (2013)
*Port Townsend, Washington (2014)
*Durham, North Carolina (2015)
*Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2016)
*Kansas City, Missouri (joint conference with the
American Association of Woodturners
The American Association of Woodturners (AAW) is the principal organization in the United States supporting the art and craft of woodturning. It is sometimes stylized as American Association of Wood Turners (AAW). Established in 1986 and headquart ...
)(2017)
*San Francisco, California (2018)
*Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2019).
Exhibitions
The Furniture Society has sponsored several major exhibitions of studio furniture. These include:
*Multiplicity: The art of the Furniture Prototype (2008)
*Show Us Your Drawers (2006)
*Curv-iture (2004)
*The Maker's Hand (2004, co-sponsored with The Museum of *Fine Art, Boston)
*Cabinets of Curiosities (2003, co-sponsored with The Wood *Turning Center)
*WilsonArt Invitational (2003, co-sponsored with WilsonArt)
*The Right Stuff (2002)
*The Circle Unbroken (1999)
*Contemporary North American Furniture (1997—invitational)
The Award of Distinction
The Award of Distinction is conferred annually by The Furniture Society upon one or more living individuals who are recognized as having had a profound impact on the field of
studio furniture. The honorees exemplify lives devoted to study, work, and craft, as well as the education of others in the field.
The award is presented each year as a major event during the annual conference. Past recipients of the award include:
History
The Awards were first presented in 2001, at the annual Furniture Society conference held that year in
Tempe,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. Five craftsmen were honored simultaneously in the first presentation, in order to make up for time lost in planning and funding the awards and to insure that these five iconic figures in furniture making and education were properly recognized in their lifetimes. One of the initial honorees,
Tage Frid
Tage Frid (30 May 1915 – 4 May 2004) was a Danish-born woodworker, educator and author who influenced the development of the studio furniture movement in the United States. His design work was often in the Danish-modern style, best known for h ...
, was unable to attend the ceremony due to health issues and died several months later. Three of the other initial honorees—
Art Carpenter,
Sam Maloof
Sam Maloof (January 24, 1916 – May 21, 2009)
''Press-Enterprise'', ...
and
James Krenov
James Krenov (October 31, 1920 – September 9, 2009) was a woodworker and studio furnituremaker.
Biography
Jim Dmitri Krenov was born on October 31, 1920, in the village of Uelen
Uelen (russian: Уэлéн; Chukchi: , ''Uvèlèn''; Si ...
are now deceased.
Although the Award of Distinction has most often been presented to furniture makers and educators, anyone who has made significant contributions to the field of studio furniture can be considered. In 2003, for example, one of the honorees was furniture historian and curator
Jonathan Fairbanks
Publications
Five biennial journals on
Studio Furniture have been published by the Furniture Society: Furniture Studio: The Heart of the Functional Arts, 1999 Furniture Studio: Tradition in Contemporary Furniture, 2001 Furniture Studio: Furniture Makers Exploring Digital Technologies, 2005 Furniture Studio: Focus on Materials, 2006 and Furniture Studio: The Meaning of Craft, 2007 These volumes offer essays on design, fabrication and history as well as a pictorial gallery of the finest work made from the 1990s on. The Society also publishes catalogs to accompany the major exhibitions of furniture that it has initiated or co-sponsored with leading institutions, and a quarterly print newsletter, ''Furniture Matters''. Recent Furniture Society publications also include The Maker's Hand: American Studio Furniture, 1940-1990 (168 pages, illustrated), 2003 from the Museum of Fine Arts Publications, Mind & Hand: Contemporary Studio Furniture (160 pages, illustrated), 2012 and Rooted: Creating a Sense of Place: Contemporary Studio Furniture (160 pages, illustrated), 2015,
both from
Schiffer Publishing
Schiffer Publishing Ltd. (also known for its imprints Schiffer, Schiffer Craft, Schiffer Military History, Schiffer Kids, REDFeather MBS, Cornell Maritime Press, Tidewater Publishers, Thrums Books, Geared Up Publications ) is a family-owned publi ...
.
See also
*
Chippendale Society
The Chippendale Society is a registered charity in Britain, that works to preserve and promote the heritage of Thomas Chippendale, one of Britain's most notable furniture makers. The society was founded in 1965 in Otley in Yorkshire, England, C ...
*
Furniture History Society
The Furniture History Society (FHS), which was founded in 1964, is a registered charity in the United Kingdom
Background
The Furniture History Society is based in London, with close connections at the Victoria & Albert Museum. It was founded by ...
External links
The Furniture Society web site
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furniture Society
Furniture
Decorative arts
Charities based in North Carolina