It’s always nice when newspapers or magazines come to visit, and this week we had Clare Trodden from Living magazine.

It’s a wonderful lifestyle title from here in Scotland with a circulation of over 100,000, and we’re looking forward to the published article.

While we do, of course, want to promote the school here and internationally, we also wanted to use the opportunity as a way of promoting fine furniture making.

A great many people don’t realise the breadth of woodworking talent on their doorsteps, and don’t therefore consider buying a bespoke piece of furniture.

That’s why, for example, we created the Fine Furniture Guild as a means of raising the profiles of Chippendale school professional course graduates and, by listing them by geographical area worldwide, help put potential customers in touch with them.

It’s also part pf the reason why the school’s principal, Anselm Fraser, is writing a monthly article for The Woodworker – not so much to promote the school but to promote woodworking, and to help hobbyist woodworkers to get more from their hobby.

It’s also why, for example, we have raised the issue of woodworking as a careers option with government and why we regularly write to school careers advisors.

What we’d like is for fine woodworking to be given a higher public profile and for more people to commission, or buy from, fine furniture makers.

That would help create a bigger market for graduates from every woodworking school, better secure their futures, and keep our age-old skills alive.

Picture: Clare Trodden speaks to student Fiona Gilfillan