We’re proud that the Chippendale school has such an excellent international reputation.
That, of course, is mainly down to the quality of our teaching.
But we also offer something else at the school: a holistic approach to learning that doesn’t end when you graduate.
During the course, for example, students learn about business planning and marketing.
Both are important to anyone thinking about setting up in business for themselves.
We also have advisors to help students with creating marketing content and website design.
Marketing prize
Indeed, the school awards a prize at our graduation ceremony to the student who has designed the best portfolio of marketing materials.
This year’s prize went to Heather Jones from Los Angeles, a former Hollywood set designer.
Successful graduates are also offered membership of the Fine Furniture Guild.
Free to join, this is an online resource, only open to our professional course graduates, and acts as a bridge between woodworkers and potential customers.
But our holistic approach doesn’t just stop when our students graduate.
We also have created incubation space at the school where graduates can rent space and set up their businesses.
This means that they don’t have the expensive outlay of creating their own workshops – a significant factor for any new business.
Each studio provides a generous working space, comprising a bench and separate assembly bench. Students can stay on in our incubation space for at least two years – and longer if demand allows.
Myreside Studios
Called Myreside Studios, these spaces are all about giving our students the very best start to their careers.
They not only have access to all our equipment and machinery, they also have access to Alan McGovern who has been a tutor at the school for 35 years.
His role is to provide practical help and support to graduates in our incubation space.
Later this year, the internationally-renowned Ben Dawson will be joining the Chippendale team.
Ben’s career as a furniture designer and maker spans five decades. He’s won The Andrew Grant Postgraduate Scholarship and The Andrew Grant Travelling Scholarship.
His work has been recognised by The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers. He is also a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts and a Freeman of The City of London.
Ben and Alan will be a formidable team in helping our students find success as professional fine furniture makers.
So successful has our incubation space been that we’re busy creating new workbenches (main picture) and installing new machinery in the adjoining building (pictured above).
Reflecting that success, we now have 18 incubation spaces.
It all adds up to a significant commitment from the Chippendale school.
We not only want to train our students, we give them the best all-round support to help them succeed after graduation.