Furniture Society hosts a throwback conference

The Furniture Society held its annual conference in partnership with the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, June 19-22, in Milwaukee. The conference centered around the importance of research to gain inspiration in studio furniture making.

About 200 attendees explored related topics through artist presentations, panel discussions, workshops, and exhibitions.

“People came together in a way, from what I’ve been told, that hadn’t happened in years. It felt very akin to the early days of The Furniture Society which was really community focused,” says Monica Hampton, the society’s new executive director.

“We had this opportunity with [MIAD] to actually partner with them rather than just rent a space. They have a furniture minor and are looking to grow the program into a furniture major, so to have all of these furniture makers from all over the country, and abroad, was a great opportunity us and for their faculty and staff.”

The conference also featured a collaborative project. “MIAD has a relationship with the museum which has a teen program for youths in the Milwaukee area. We worked with the teens during the conference to build benches for the Victory Over Violence Park in Milwaukee,” says Hampton.

For more, visit www.furnsoc.org. 

This article originally appeared in the August 2019 issue.