Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers Guildmarks

Of all awards for furniture, the least significant has to be this one. Whilst in my final year of college, three old duffers came round to hand out these marks of distinction. As young makers we felt that this meant something. There was a nice guy on our course who, I am sure by his own admission would accept he was competent but not great. He was awarded three guild marks. This is no sour grapes but a statement of fact. There are some good pieces with guild marks, I have one, yet there are hoards of modest achievements that this strange, antiquated body have given out. The whole idea of a body able to cast approval is antithetic to progression. There were some real special works that went unnoticed that day and since then I have seen through their whole pretentious reasoning for existence. Anything connected to them is questionable and an attempt to perpetuate a past that never existed.