{{short description|American non-profit arts organization}} {{Promotional|date=October 2025}} '''The Furniture Society''', founded in 1996,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Koplos, Janet.|title=Makers : a history of American studio craft|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|others=Metcalf, Bruce, 1949-, Center for Craft, Creativity & Design.|year=2010|isbn=978-0-8078-9583-2|location=Chapel Hill|pages=470|oclc=658203695}}</ref> is a membership-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation working to advance the art of furniture-making by promoting excellence in that field. The Society, based in Asheville, North Carolina, has an international membership comprising furniture makers as well as other professionals and members of the public.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Society Dedicated To Furniture|date=10 April 2006|url=http://www.finewoodworking.com/woodworking-plans/video/a-society-dedicated-to-furniture.aspx|publisher=Fine Woodworking Magazine|accessdate=10 April 2006}}</ref>
==Background== The Society provides a range of programs including annual conferences, exhibitions, publications, scholarships and awards of excellence.
== Annual Conferences == The Society convenes an annual conference, in locations across the United States and Canada, usually in June. Each conference offers keynotes, artists’ presentations, practical demonstrations, theoretical discussions, and business improvement seminars. Past venues have included:<ref>{{cite web|title=Furniture Society has best-attended conference|url=http://www.woodshopnews.com/component/content/article/63-archives/495988|publisher=Woodshop News|accessdate=26 August 2004}}</ref> {{Div col}} *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)(2017) *San Francisco, California (2018) *Milwaukee, Wisconsin (2019). {{Div col end}}
== Exhibitions == {{Unreferenced section|date=January 2026}} The Furniture Society has sponsored several major exhibitions of studio furniture. These include:
{{Div col}} *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){{Div col end}}
== 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:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://furnsoc.org/members/award-of-distinction|title=Award of Distinction|website=The Furniture Society|language=en|access-date=2019-10-15|archive-date=2019-09-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921112149/https://furnsoc.org/members/award-of-distinction|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |- ! Year !! Name !Notes !Ref. |- | 2001 || Arthur Espenet Carpenter<br />Wendell Castle<br />Tage Frid<br />James Krenov<br />Sam Maloof | | |- | 2002 || John Makepeace<br />Jere Osgood<br />Alan Peters | |<ref>{{cite web|title=Alan Peters Obituary|date=30 October 2009 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/6469338/Alan-Peters.html}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=My Secret Life, John Makepeace, 71|date=29 April 2011|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/my-secret-life-john-makepeace-furniture-designer-71-2275503.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/my-secret-life-john-makepeace-furniture-designer-71-2275503.html |archive-date=2022-06-18 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}</ref> |- | 2003 || Jonathan Leo Fairbanks<br />William Keyser | |<ref>{{cite book|author=John L. Jacobus|title=Inside the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild: Contestants Recall the Great General Motors Talent Search|date=1 December 2011|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786487950}}</ref> |- | 2004 || Garry Knox Bennett | | |- | 2005 ||Judy Kensley McKie | |<ref>{{cite web|title=Judy Kensley McKie|url=https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/judy-kensley-mckie-b-1944-a-lizard-6187038-details.aspx}}</ref> |- | 2006 || Tommy Simpson | |<ref>{{cite web|date=6 November 2006|title=Furniture Society presents Award of Distinction to Simpson|url=https://www.furnituretoday.com/business-news/furniture-society-presents-award-of-distinction-to-simpson/|accessdate=28 August 2019|website=Furnituretoday.com}}</ref> |- | 2007 || Michael Fortune | |<ref>{{cite web|author=Steve Scott|date=March 2007|title=Canadian studio furniture maker wins Award of Distinction from The Furniture Society for his body of work and contributions to the craft|url=http://www.finewoodworking.com/ProjectsAndDesign/ProjectsAndDesignArticle.aspx?id=28491|accessdate=28 August 2019|website=Finewoodworking.com}}</ref> |- | 2008 || Wendy Maruyama<br />Walker Weed | | |- | 2009 || Vladimir Kagan | | |- | 2010 || John Cederquist | | |- | 2012 || Rosanne Somerson | |<ref>{{cite web|author=The Furniture Society|date=19 April 2012|title=Somerson to Receive Furniture Society Award of Distinction|url=https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood-market-trends/woodworking-industry-trends-press-releases/Somerson-to-Receive-Furniture-Society-Award-of-Distinction-148194735.html|accessdate=28 August 2019|website=Woodworkingnetwork.com|type=press release}}</ref> |- | 2014 || Bebe Johnson<br />Warren Johnson |awarded jointly as Pritam & Eames |<ref>{{cite web|title=Furniture Society honors Pritam & Eames founders|date=September 2017 |url=https://www.woodshopnews.com/news/furniture-society-honors-pritam-eames-founders}}</ref> |- | 2015 || Thomas Hucker | | |- | 2016 || Edward S. Cooke | | |- | 2018 || Craig Nutt | |<ref>{{cite web|author=Robert O'Connell|date=21 June 2018|title=Five Highlights: 2018 Furniture Society Conference|url=https://craftcouncil.org/post/five-highlights-2018-furniture-society-conference|accessdate=28 August 2019|website=Craftcouncil.org|archive-date=28 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828203301/https://craftcouncil.org/post/five-highlights-2018-furniture-society-conference|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- | 2019 || Tom Loeser | |<ref>{{cite web|date=22 March 2019|title=UW-Madison's Loeser to receive 2019 Award of Distinction from the Furniture Society|url=http://news.education.wisc.edu/news/2019/03/22/uw-madison-s-loeser-to-receive-2019-award-of-distinction-from-the-furniture-society|accessdate=28 August 2019|website=Wisc.edu|archive-date=5 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905225207/http://news.education.wisc.edu/news/2019/03/22/uw-madison-s-loeser-to-receive-2019-award-of-distinction-from-the-furniture-society|url-status=dead}}</ref> |- | 2020 || Kristina Madsen | |<ref>{{cite web|title=Kristina Madsen to receive Furniture Society Award of Distinction|date=6 March 2020 |url=https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/kristina-madsen-receive-furniture-society-award-distinction}}</ref> |- |}
===History=== The Awards were first presented in 2001, at the annual Furniture Society conference held that year in Tempe, Arizona. 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, 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 and James Krenov 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<ref>{{Cite book|title=The heart of the functional arts|date=1999|publisher=Furniture Society|others=Kelsey, John, 1946-, Mastelli, Rick, 1949-, Furniture Society.|isbn=0967100402|location=Free Union, VA|oclc=41238526}}</ref> Furniture Studio: Tradition in Contemporary Furniture, 2001<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tradition in contemporary furniture|date=2001|publisher=Furniture Society|others=Mastelli, Rick, 1949-, Kelsey, John, 1946-, Furniture Society.|isbn=0967100410|location=Free Union, Va.|oclc=47073337}}</ref> Furniture Studio: Furniture Makers Exploring Digital Technologies, 2005<ref>{{Cite book|title=Furniture makers exploring digital technologies : annual journal of the Furniture Society|date=2005|publisher=Furniture Society|others=Kelsey, John, 1946-, Furniture Society.|isbn=0967100429|location=Asheville, NC|oclc=58843091}}</ref> Furniture Studio: Focus on Materials, 2006<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780967100432/Focus-Materials-Furniture-Studio-0967100437/plp|title=9780967100432: Focus on Materials (Furniture Studio) - AbeBooks: 0967100437|website=www.abebooks.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-10-15}}</ref> and Furniture Studio: The Meaning of Craft, 2007<ref>{{Cite book|title=The meaning of craft|others=Kelsey, John, 1946-, Furniture Society|isbn=9780967100449|location=Asheville, NC|oclc=145396633|year = 2007}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/makershandameric0000cook|title=The maker's hand : American studio furniture, 1940-1990|last=Cooke, Edward S.|date=2003|publisher=MFA Publications, a division of the Museum of Fine Arts|others=Ward, Gerald W. R., L'Ecuyer, Kelly H., Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.|isbn=0878466622|location=Boston|oclc=53883909|url-access=registration}}</ref> Mind & Hand: Contemporary Studio Furniture (160 pages, illustrated), 2012<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mind & hand : contemporary studio furniture|date=2012|publisher=Schiffer Pub|others=Aslund, Jean., Congdon-Martin, Douglas., Furniture Society., Furniture Society. Conference (2010 : Massachusetts Institute of Technology)|isbn=9780764341151|location=Atglen, Pa.|oclc=768166946}}</ref> and Rooted: Creating a Sense of Place: Contemporary Studio Furniture (160 pages, illustrated), 2015,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Rooted : creating a sense of place : contemporary studio furniture|others=Dotson, Steffanie,, Congdon-Martin, Douglas,, Furniture Society (Durham, N.C.)|isbn=9780764349485|location=Atglen, PA|oclc=898162606|year = 2015}}</ref> both from Schiffer Publishing.
== See also == * Chippendale Society * Furniture History Society
== External links == * [http://www.furnituresociety.org The Furniture Society web site]
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furniture Society}} Category:Furniture Category:Decorative arts Category:Charities based in North Carolina