Dids Macdonald, OBE, Chief Executive – Anti Copying in Design (ACID), Vice Chair – Alliance for IP and the Immediate Past Master of The Furniture Makers Company, shares an insight into her time as Master of the industry charity.
When Inside Furniture asked me to write about my year as Master of The Furniture Makers’ Company, in reality, when I stepped down in May, I realised I would need to write a volume! Such was the wealth I experienced and learned, but, latterly, how to navigate the unpalatable road to creating a strategy and support hub for Covid 19 intel which was an unexpected, but crucial challenge.
However, with a strict word count, here goes a summary of an amazing and, yet unpredictable year.
My road to becoming Master of this outstanding sector was as diverse as it was unexpected – a life in interior design, commissioning furniture and furnishings, then another life as a product designer, consistently copied and then as co-founder and CEO of Anti Copying in Design (ACID) where stats underpin the seriousness of out and out design theft in this sector. Sadly, it is the most copied sector. With the introduction of an IP Master Class, now part of the Young Industry Professional Experience Initiative, IP is firmly and formally on the training radar for this sector.
There are 110 livery companies – all based on philanthropy and best practice, many of them as exemplars of their particular craft or industry and for those who are not aware, the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers is a City of London Livery and the Charity for the furnishings industry which focuses on education, excellence and welfare. We are relatively ‘new kids on the block’, 83rd in the pecking order but nevertheless, we have and are making our mark.
As a passionate advocate of all three objectives, I believed my credentials would equip me to deliver this challenging role. In short, being an Ambassador for industry in the City of London, influencing the influencers and at grass roots connecting on a broader level and strategically reaching out to our sector, Our charity has been established for over a hundred years and we are helping more people with Personal Support Grants than ever before, especially with the current Covid 19 challenges.
Having experienced the extraordinary generosity of other livery companies, I now know how highly our livery and, therefore, our industry are regarded by those who have many more centuries of history within the City of London. The standing we now enjoy is due to the champions of our sector who had the vision to create a livery to represent the best of the past, the promotion of the present and the aspirations for the future. Just take a look at our Austin Friar, a review of our achievements.
Our corporate member engagement embodies the very best UK furnishing brands and are a tower of strength, underpinning and supporting our ambitions in design, manufacturing and retailing excellence. The Best Practice Days we run with and for our corporate members are now gaining momentum and, through sharing insights, are reaching a broader audience. Already there has been pan-industry engagement through these initiatives sharing the wealth of specialist achievements.
Last October, over 1000 people walked through our doors at our Young Furniture Makers’ exhibition to see a myriad of emerging talent giving us a unique opportunity to offer mentorships, work placements and to nurture new designers. Encouraging the acquisition of skills is an ongoing mantra, as is our work supporting FIESTA to raise awareness of the absolute necessity of apprenticeships to ensure future careers. Our voice to government and policy makers must remain resolute; the furtherance of apprenticeships to support and sustain careers in this industry is critical.
The Young Professional Industry Experience alumni group, OurYPIE, continues to grow, ensuring that there is connection, the sharing of best practice and enjoying networking events together. Without the support of our corporate members, investment in our future through young achievers, would simply not happen
Representation and relevancy remain high on my continuing priorities as I stepped down from being Master in May. Unless we engage younger interest in our industry and the livery, encourage more women to aspire to senior roles and attract broader ethnicity, we will not look like the industry we serve.
I was proud to introduce a new Master’s Award, now named after our first Master, Stanley Wharton, a director of Maples. It gave me enormous pleasure to invite Cherrill Scheer of the famous Hille family to be the first recipient for her exceptional contribution to this industry over many decades. She has also been one of the defining champions, along with Jonathan Hindle, Rodney McMahon and others, in the development of the Design Guild Mark, now recognised as a gold standard in furniture and furnishings.
My year’s theme was occupational welfare and I have been amazed by the support of our industry. We surpassed our goal of 100 companies signed up to the One Step at a Time” campaign at the 2019 January Furniture Show. The campaign reinforced our charity’s message of support when times get tough. But this is only the beginning of the welfare journey and never in our lifetime has it been needed more.
I am more than proud to have passed the baton of Master to David Woodward, founder of Celtheath, who not only was a stalwart and supportive senior warden but who now will lead us forward with his Step2It campaign. David is a man whose actions speak louder than words, respected in this industry as a man of integrity and ingenuity, he has my total support.
The Master’s focus coming into the role when all events were cancelled, our hall in lockdown, staff working from home, started his year with a positive cry, “do I hear doom and gloom? No, I hear positivity and determination to overcome”.
We have seen a surge in Personal Support Grant applications as a result of the pandemic and expect that to increase. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges is for us to pull out the stops and fundraise like never before, but at the same time drive and revive our other two equally important pillars, education, and excellence.
David’s plans are to continue the One Step at a Time campaign and increase the numbers of One Step Champions to 350 in his first year. He will need the support of the entire membership and existing champions to introduce and recommend the scheme to at least two companies each.
He will be challenging the industry once normal life resumes to step up and walk, run, ride, row, swim a collective 100,000 miles, raising £1 per mile in sponsorship.
The idea is that the challenge will not be time restricted, it will run for the year to enable events and hikes to take place at the convenience of those organising them.
The call to action is get involved and start planning. Sector engagement will make it happen. Plans will also invigorate our Guild Marks and make them the recognised symbol of Great British products in the eyes of the public in the UK and beyond. Promotion of GB PLC is critical, and Furniture Makers can play a lead role.
Above all I share the Master, David Woodward’s mantra for our resilient sector to BE POSITIVE, MAKE THINGS HAPPEN, BE PASSIONATE.
As Immediate Past Master of the Furniture Makers, I have championed our industry with pride, and it has been an honour and privilege. The friendship, fellowship, and fun I have experienced along this incredible journey has been palpable and I implore our industry to get behind our current Master, David Woodward, and rise to our collective challenges.
There is no doubt that as we experience a post Brexit world and Covid 19 emergence, the UK’s physical, emotional, commercial, and political exhaustion will be fired into a new life by the resilience of this remarkable sector’s DNA.
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