News

Ben Dawson, the internationally-renowned furniture designer and maker, is joining the Chippendale International School of Furniture as Design Tutor.

He will also have a secondary role supporting recent graduates who have set up in business in incubation space on the school’s campus.

“Ben’s role with us won’t be full-time as he is also moving his own furniture design and making business to the school,” said Tom Fraser, deputy principal.

“While his teaching duties will therefore be limited, he brings with him a wealth of expertise and experience to inspire our students,” he said.

The Chippendale school in central Scotland runs one-week introductory courses, one-month intermediate courses and a nine-month professional course.

This year, from an annual intake of 26 students, the school’s professional students come from the UK, USA, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Poland, Australia and Iceland.

Ben’s career as a furniture designer and maker spans five decades, working internationally for corporate, public, institutional and private clients.

A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, he won The Andrew Grant Postgraduate Scholarship and The Andrew Grant Travelling Scholarship.

He was also awarded The Eileen Price Travel Scholarship by The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers.

Ben is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts; Freeman of The City of London and Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers.

He’s also been awarded a Design Guild Mark by The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers for The Cirrus Collection.

With accreditation as a Design Consultant to The World Bank Ben has worked in former Soviet Union countries on reconstruction of secondary timber manufacturing.

Many leading architectural practices including Simon Laird, Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Edward Cullinan, Zaha Hadid, and Enric Miralles / Benedetta Tagliebuie have entrusted Ben with the design development and realisation of their project furniture.

Ben is particularly interested in the use of high technology for the artist-craftsperson, reflecting his lifelong belief in the potent combination of traditional Art School-based design and craft training with industrial processes.

Among stand-out projects he’s completed are MSP’s furniture in the Scottish Parliament Debating Chamber; Ministers’ and Members’ Furniture for the Kuwait National Assembly; and furniture for the Welsh Assembly.

“We pride ourselves as being one of the world’s leading furniture schools, and Ben gives us yet another teaching dimension,” said Tom Fraser.

To find out more about the School, see
The Chippendale International School of Furniture website.