Faculty Selects 2009 featuring the Furniture Society’s Annual Student Juried Exhibition

Faculty Selects is an annual exhibition of student work sponsored by The Furniture Society, an international, non-profit organization based in nearby Asheville, and presented in conjunction with The Furniture Society’s 2009 annual conference, which will be held at Appalachian State University June 10 – 13, 2009. Jurors for the 2009 exhibition are Tom Loeser, who heads the Furniture Design program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison; student and Furniture Society board member Chris Schwab; and Alan Harp, Director of Georgia Tech’s Advanced Wood Products Laboratory.

Furniture and North Carolina are synonymous. Furthermore, Boone and Western North Carolina have a storied history and are the home in many ways to both the furniture industry and traditional craft. With well over 100 manufacturing plants in the region including such companies as Baker Furniture, Bernhardt, Broyhill, Century, Charleston Forge, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, and Thomasville, the area is also home to the Penland School of Crafts, Black Mountain College, John C. Campbell Folk School, Bienenstock Furniture Library, Southern Highland Craft Guild, UNC Center for Craft, Creativity and Design, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Furniture Society.

Appalachian State University has a long history and relationship of sharing, building, and reflecting the ideals of these seemingly diverse but common groups. Initially under industrial arts, the furniture studies program or some semblance of it, has existed at Appalachian practically since its creation in 1899. Established to help provide a labor force for the industry, the program has undeniably helped many independent craftsmen hang out their own shingle. With the furniture industry currently undergoing many changes, so is the program at the university. The newly formed furniture design concentration is now eager to “put itself on the map.” Appalachian State University takes this opportunity to host the 2009 Conference, celebrating and bridging the two sides of North Carolina’s rich furniture history as well as discovering a new future.

For more information on The Furniture Society’s 2009 annual conference, please contact the Department of Technology at (828) 262-3110 or visit www.tec.appstate.edu.