Help Us Build Your Community!
Dear Friends of Furniture,
Furniture is an art that plays a role in our everyday lives and in our imagination. It welcomes our family and friends into our homes, telling a story about how and when we gather, the way we see the world, and our place in it…
Here at The Furniture Society (TFS), we champion the art of furniture-making by inspiring creativity, promoting excellence, and fostering an understanding of this timeless tradition. For over two decades at TFS, we have dedicated our work to breaking out of the conventional silos of furniture-making — extending what is valuable about the craft to build community. Educational programs, grants, program partnerships, publications, exhibitions, recognition of excellence in the field, and annual conferences are all a part of our work to strengthen, develop, and empower furniture designers and makers across the country.
At this time of year, when we gather with friends and family around the table, please consider joining us in our work of building this community by making a tax-deductible contribution to TFS before December 31st.
At TFS this past year, we posed the question: How can we bring the beauty and skill of furniture design into the greater community, with a focus on students and artists who might not otherwise learn these skills?
Our answer: the creation of Craft for a Greater Good (CGG). CGG takes our members out of their shops and studios so they can teach and share their skills while impacting the communities in which they live and work
The teens took pride in those design choices they made…and had ownership over this collaborative experience, working with people who were really in-the-know to help execute something that was just in their imagination before. — Shannon Moulter, Milwaukee Art Museum Teen Internship Program Director (on the impact of Craft for a Greater Good)
CGG’s inaugural program kicked off at our 2019 conference in Milwaukee. We partnered with the Milwaukee Art Museum Teen Internship Program, connecting this local group of young people with Furniture Society members. Throughout the conference, students worked collaboratively with local Furniture Society members, utilizing local resources to design, construct, and install benches in their community’s Victory Over Violence Park. Through our Craft for a Greater Good program and the connections they made with our members, these teens learned valuable life skills of communication, collaboration, problem solving and construction giving them agency to help benefit their community in a direct and meaningful way. We look forward to continuing this impactful initiative at future conferences.
Will you consider investing in TFS and programs like Craft for a Greater Good to help us share the time-honored tradition of furniture design, building community, and working toward positive change through craft? Your gift will help instill value in the everyday lives of artists and community members across generations and throughout the country.
With your help, together, we can utilize the power, skill, and imagination of craft to change our world, one community at a time. Please donate today!
Wishing you and yours a very happy holiday season!
Warmly,
Monica Hampton
Executive Director