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Furniture designer: Career development

Typical careers include consultant designers, in-house designers for manufacturing companies, bespoke designers within established furniture design companies, designers/makers of bespoke furniture, production facility managers/consultants, freelance designers for corporate/domestic clients, or limited/batch/mass production markets. Opportunities for progression are linked to company size, work volume, ability to diversify and level of international activity. A typical career progression may be a step up every three to four years, into the following roles:

• junior consultant designer;
• senior consultant designer;
• team or unit director;
• board director of the company.

It is possible to specialise in different areas. You might move from designing upholstered furniture to working on office chairs, or perhaps into a more retail-focused area. It may be possible to become a buyer for furniture associated with a range of stores, or responsible for selecting furniture on behalf of other client groups, such as the tourism and hospitality sectors, or private individuals. If you are a designer working on a smaller scale, success will depend on a mixture of design skills, contacts, self-promotion, reputation, reliability, interpersonal communication and profile.

Many designers choose to be self-employed. If you follow this route, you will need to find out about studio availability. Some designers beginning their careers share studio space with other 'new starters' in the industry in order to divide costs and pool resources. Check with the Crafts Council or the crafts officer of your local regional arts board (see Arts Council England , the Scottish Arts Council (SAC) , the Arts Council of Wales , or the Arts Council of Northern Ireland ) for lists of studios and information about funding. Another good source of lists is a-n: The Artists Information Company and you can approach local councils or private landlords about vacant buildings that could be converted into studios.

AGCAS

Written by Rita Kapadia, AGCAS

Last updated:

January 2009

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