Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez

“He is at least a triple threat: an incred­i­ble maker; a supporter of the field through huge contri­bu­tions to orga­ni­za­tions such as the Furni­ture Society, the Amer­i­can Craft Council, and Haystack; and as the Pres­i­dent Emer­i­tus of North Bennet Street School”. ‑Tom Loeser, Artist, Educa­tor, 2022 AoD Juror

Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez is a nation­ally recog­nized designer and maker of studio furni­ture, always incor­po­rat­ing an under­stand­ing of histor­i­cal objects, yet adding a personal inter­pre­ta­tion and twist of orig­i­nal­ity that sets his work apart. He is and has been a very influ­en­tial board member of multi­ple orga­ni­za­tions includ­ing The Furni­ture Society where he served as Board Pres­i­dent, Haystack Moun­tain School of Crafts and the Amer­i­can Craft Council. Some of those on the jury have had the honor of serving on boards with Miguel and can attest directly to his effec­tive­ness and generosity.

As Pres­i­dent of North Bennet Street School, Miguel Gómez‐​Ibáñez is the only grad­u­ate of the school to have served in that posi­tion. During his tenure as Pres­i­dent, North Bennet Street School estab­lished part­ner­ships with numer­ous cultural and educa­tional insti­tu­tions in the Boston area and expanded the school’s full time and contin­u­ing educa­tion programs. In Septem­ber, 2013, NBSS completed a $28 million devel­op­ment project that moved the school from its historic home of 132 years on North Bennet Street to a new 60,000 SF facil­ity on North Street in Boston’s North End, bring­ing all eight profes­sional train­ing programs under one roof for the first time in a decade. After complet­ing the build­ing project in 2015 free of debt, in 2018 the school success­fully completed a $20 million capital campaign to estab­lish an endow­ment to support student schol­ar­ships. He currently serves as North Bennet Street School’s first President Emeritus.

Prior to attend­ing North Bennet Street School’s Cabinet and Furni­ture making program, Gómez‐​Ibáñez was the found­ing prin­ci­pal of a Boston archi­tec­tural prac­tice special­iz­ing in historic preser­va­tion and design for people with special needs. He combined the 20 years expe­ri­ence as an archi­tect with his North Bennet Street School train­ing as a cabinet maker to become a nation­ally recog­nized designer and maker of studio furni­ture. His work has been featured in numer­ous jour­nals includ­ing House and Garden, Good House­keep­ing, Amer­i­can Craft and Fine Wood­work­ing, and has been exhib­ited in galleries and museums across the country. He has contributed arti­cles and essays on furni­ture and design to a number of books and maga­zines, includ­ing Fine Wood Working, Woodworker’s Journal, Amer­i­can Furni­ture and Furni­ture Studio. He is a past pres­i­dent of The Furni­ture Society and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Society of Arts and Crafts, the Camden Inter­na­tional Film Festi­val, the Concord Museum and the Amer­i­can Craft Council.

This year’s Award of Distinc­tion Trophy was designed and created by Cali­for­nia based wood­worker, sculp­tor, and FS member Fred Rose.

Arch — Claro Walnut from Street Tree Revival
Panel — Mystery curly walnut scrap, Carolina Laurel Cherry burl from Eichler Fairhills
Track in Orange County, Olive burl/​birdseye.
Post ‑Scrap Ebony
Base ‑Acacia Redolens From 405 Freeway expan­sion near Los Alami­tos.

Inlay in panel is based on floor plan of North Bennett Street School expan­sion. A play on his design on front of the Alpha­bet Cabinet, writing desk influ­enced by William and Mary gardens plans.

Fred Rose grew up along the river in Carmel Valley, CA. He received his BFA in ceram­ics from Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, Long Beach and his MFA in sculp­ture from Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, Fuller­ton. Fred has been making wood sculp­ture for the last 30 years and taught Wood­work­ing at Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, Long Beach for 7 years. Most of the wood for his work is milled from trees that are being taken down in the urban forests of Long Beach and Costa Mesa, Cali­for­nia. He currently works as a Studio Artist at his home in Costa Mesa, CA. 

Learn More about Fred and his work here