Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
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| Location | Furniture Makers' Hall 12 Austin Friars City of London |
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| Date of formation | 1952 |
| Company association | UK Furnishing Industry |
| Order of precedence | 83rd |
| Master of company | Ben Burbidge (2016-17) |
| Motto | Straight and Strong |
| Website | The Furniture Makers Company |
The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers referred to as The Furniture Makers' Company, is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The organisation was formed in 1952, and was granted Livery status by the City in 1963 being the 83rd in order of precedence.
The Furniture Makers' Company is the British furnishing industry’s central organisation, charity and patron. It endeavors to support and nurture the UK furnishing industry through core charitable activities which focus on Excellence, Education and Welfare.
The Furniture Makers' Company was formed originally as a guild in 1952 before being established as the 83rd livery company of the City of London in 1963. Their charity however was established over 100 years ago as the Furnishing Trades Benevolent Association (FTBA), later known as the Furnishing Industry Trust (FIT), dedicated to helping people in the furnishing industry in times of hardship. The Furniture Makers’ Company merged with FIT in 2013. During the same year, the Company celebrated its 50th anniversary and was honoured with the grant of a Royal Charter, bestowing upon the Company an enviable
In 2007 the Company acquired the freehold of 12 Ausin Friars - Furniture Makers' Hall. Austin Friar has subsequently become the name of their main publication. The Furniture Makers' Hall was built in 1882 and still has many of the original Victorian features from when it was built, as well as bespoke wood furniture and fittings, including an ornate oak staircase running through the centre of the building. The Hall was purchased outright in 2007 and has been refurbished to create a welcoming, well-designed venue for membership events.
The Company is made up of its members who come from many professions and disciplines, but who all have a common link by being engaged in or with the British furnishing industry. Thus the work of the Company is driven by those who know the inner workings of the industry best. Members with wide ranging professional knowledge and skills in manufacturing, retailing, education, journalism; in fact any aspect of the industry.
Its Guild Mark scheme, a modern equivalent of the trading standards once regulated by the medieval guilds, gives accreditation to designers, craftsmen and manufacturers exhibiting the highest standards of British furniture production.
The history of the Company's affiliation with the British armed forces dates back to 1989, when Master of that year John Reid OBE proposed an association between the Company and 5th Battalion, the Royal Green Jackets. The Territorial Army unit based in Oxford and Aylesbury contained many personnel from the High Wycombe area, traditionally a furniture town. The occasion was formally marked with an exchange of gifts, a formal framed engrossment of the Bond of Association to the Company and a Bespoke Guild Mark awarded Campaign Table to the battalion.
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