When you want to teach furniture design, you take on the very best furniture designer.
That’s why we’re so delighted to announce that the internationally-renowned Ben Dawson is joining the Chippendale team 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.
The new incubation space, in the process of being kitted out, is pictured below.
His role with us won’t be full-time as Ben is also moving his own furniture design and making business to the school.
While his teaching duties will therefore be limited, he brings with him a wealth of expertise and experience to inspire our students.
His career as a furniture designer and maker spans five decades.
He has worked 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.
Worshipful Company
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 and a Freeman of The City of London.
One of his other prestigious recognitions is that he’s a 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.
He was also accredited as a Design Consultant to The World Bank.
This saw him working 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.
This reflects 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 (pictured above); Ministers’ and Members’ Furniture for the Kuwait National Assembly; and furniture for the Welsh Assembly.
Exhibition and Open Days
Our graduate exhibition will take place at Greyfriars Kirk (Greyfriars Place, Edinburgh EH1 2QQ). On Monday 10th June the exhibition will run from 12 noon to 8pm, and on Tuesday 11th June from 10am to 8pm.
At the end of that week, on Friday 14th June, is an Open Evening at the school (Myreside Grange, Cockles Brae, Haddington EH41 4JA) from 6pm to 8pm, and an Open Day on Saturday 15th June (10am to 4pm).
Everyone is welcome to the exhibition, Open Evening and Open Day, and wine and strawberries will be served between 6pm and 8pm at the Monday, Tuesday and Friday events.