Join the Guild as a Vermont Furniture Maker
The Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers has four levels of membership for furniture makers: Furniture makers, Emerging Furniture Makers, Educators and Students. The Furniture Maker and Emerging Furniture Maker levels require your furniture to be juried.
January meeting at David Hurwitz’s workshop in Randolph, VT
Furniture Maker level members are voting members and have full visibility on the Guild’s website.
Emerging Furniture Makers are non-voting members and have limited visibility on the website. The Emerging Furniture Maker level is intended for those who may be relatively new to the business of furniture making but whose work and attitude toward the profession shows promise to reach the full Furniture Maker level. Our intention, by way of association with the Guild’s more experienced crafts/ business people, is to help Emerging Furniture Maker members develop as professional furniture makers through group mentoring, and eventually jury in at the Furniture Maker level. Those admitted as Emerging Furniture Makers may request to be juried for Furniture Maker level membership after 1 year and must jury for Furniture Maker level after 3 years. Emerging Furniture Maker members are encouraged to participate in all Guild member meetings, events and shows. When exhibiting work at a Guild show, their pieces will be identified as that of an Emerging Furniture Maker member.
Educator members are individuals in Vermont who teach woodworking and furniture making at the high school or college level, or in other settings, like craft centers or individual wood shops. The Guild recognizes that while these individuals may or may not be making and selling their own work, they are playing a critical role in passing on skills to the next generation, and are therefore an important part of our furniture making community in Vermont. It is important to have Educator members to help foster the connection between the Guild and furniture making programs and students. Educator members have non-voting status in the Guild, but are encouraged to participate in all Guild member meetings, events and shows. When exhibiting work at a Guild show, their pieces will be identified as that of an Educator member. If an Educator member is producing work for sale or is taking commissions and wishes to have their work featured in the member galleries, they can then have their work juried and pay full dues as a Furniture Maker member.
Student level members are individuals who are enrolled in woodworking programs or classes in Vermont, or they can be individuals from Vermont who are taking classes out of state. Student members can attend Guild meetings, and will have access to a Guild email group for student-Guild email interaction to ask questions, get technical advice, etc. Student members will be listed on the website and will have an opportunity to be featured in the Guild newsletter.
Annual dues for the Furniture Maker level is $350. Emerging Furniture Maker and Educator level dues are $175. Student membership dues are $25.
If you would like to be considered as a Furniture Maker or Emerging Furniture Maker level member of the Guild you will first need to fill out an online application and then bring some examples of your furniture to be juried at one of the Guild’s quarterly meetings which are held in January, April, June and September. Upon receiving your application we will contact you to let you know the date and location of the next quarterly meeting. Below is the Guild’s current evaluation criteria. Educator and Student members do not require jurying.
Statement of Principles:
The Guild of Vermont Furniture Makers is an association of professional level furniture makers, dedicated to the promotion of quality craftsmanship, excellence in design, and pursuit of artistic vision. All members must be residents of Vermont. The Guild welcomes furniture makers working in a broad range of styles; the constant is that all work must reflect and communicate the unique aesthetic vision of the craftsperson. Persons applying for membership must be directly involved in building the work that is presented for jury.
Design:
The Guild encourages work in a variety of styles, but all work must present both a coherent aesthetic whole and the personal creative goals of its maker. Those goals may include the faithful reproduction of classic work, a reinterpretation of those classics, or a radical departure from them. What is important is that the maker’s intent and vision are clear and consistent. Simple designs might show more concern for well-selected wood and well-executed joinery than more exuberant contemporary work, which might highlight form and color. Technical proficiency does not in itself substitute for design sense.
Craftsmanship:
The decisions that guide the structure and craftsmanship of the work must be consistent with its aesthetic concerns. A Shaker bed stand should be well crafted and fitted with traditional drawers rather than metal drawer slides, but a desk’s file drawer might demand such slides. Additionally, poorly executed technique that detracts from the goals of the piece — e.g., poorly applied finish, obvious sanding scratches, careless or inappropriate joinery, ill-fitted doors or drawers — is unacceptable.
Function:
Work must function as intended by the maker. A beautiful piece that does not function well — a chair that is uncomfortable, a cabinet with door pulls that are painful or difficult to grasp — might be art or a tour de force of craftsmanship, but it is most likely not successful furniture.
