The Furniture
Magazine

Students and apprentices

Starting out in furniture? Start here.

Courses, bursaries, competitions, what employers look for and the makers who were in your shoes a few years ago. Free, every fortnight, for anyone learning upholstery, furniture making or restoration.

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Routes in, help paying, and first jobs

Mahogany easy chair of 1790 to 1800 stripped to its original muslin-covered foundation
The Trade

Heritage Crafts funds furniture and upholstery training in its latest 35 bursaries

4 Oct 20262 min read
A frame maker at work in the George Smith workshop
The Trade

What George Smith looks for when it hires a new upholsterer

27 Oct 20264 min read
A curved upholstered piece in a workshop, with paper patterns hanging behind it
The Studio

What your upholstery course did not teach you: the trade answers

27 Oct 20263 min read
Leather pleated around the scroll of a top-stuffed arm on Annabel Lloyd's winning chair
The Bench

The David James Award 2026: three student chairs, in the makers' own words

27 Oct 20267 min read
Oak bench with a Danish cord seat by David Wraith
The Studio

Chippendale class of 2026: where three graduates are now

27 Oct 20264 min read
Luke Newton at the bench during the Craft Competition, checking a component against the drawing
The Trade

Apprentice joiner Luke Newton wins the Joiners and Ceilers Craft Competition 2026

27 Oct 20262 min read

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