Bespoke furniture maker
Creative and design
Level 3 -
Producing and assembling bespoke pieces of furniture to meet individual customers’ requirements.
Reference: OCC0639
Status:
SOC 2020 sub unit groups:
- 5442/02 Furniture makers and fitters
- 5442/04 Furniture sprayers and finishers
Technical Education Products
Employers involved in creating the standard:
Senator, Simpsons of Greenfield Mill Ltd, Mascari, Harrison Spinks, Hypnos, Airflow, Burbidge, DFS, Mills and Scott
Summary
This occupation is found in the furniture, furnishings and interiors manufacturing industry. The UK furniture, bed and furnishings manufacturing industry has seen substantial growth over recent years and makes a significant contribution to the country’s GDP. There are over a quarter of a million people in jobs relating to the industry, with 118,000 in manufacturing alone. As well as manufacturing furniture for residential accommodation, there is also a large market for office and commercial furniture.
The broad purpose of the occupation is to produce and assemble bespoke pieces of furniture to meet individual customers’ requirements. This can cover pieces such as tables, chairs, cabinets, office furniture, kitchens and bedrooms. Bespoke Furniture Makers work with and need to understand a variety of materials – including wood, metals, glass, plastics, fabric, finishes and other relevant materials.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with a range of colleagues including designers, production/manufacturing managers, quality technicians, production leaders and product developers. They will need to work closely with designers and installation teams. Bespoke Furniture Makers will work alone or within small teams with other makers and will be responsible for liaising with colleagues and suppliers and in some roles with customers. They tend to work in small craft workshops but can also work in larger factories. The usually report to a senior colleague such as the managing director.
An employee in this occupation will be responsible for interpreting and challenging designs and offering solutions, selecting appropriate materials, making the components and assembling pieces of furniture using machinery and hand production techniques. Bespoke Furniture Makers also produce prototypes to bring designs to life, they will produce complex jigs and templates. They attend design meetings to contribute to designs regarding feasibility and costs.
Bespoke Furniture Makers will also need to coach and mentor apprentices, trainees and other colleagues.
Employers involved in creating the standard:
Senator, Simpsons of Greenfield Mill Ltd, Mascari, Harrison Spinks, Hypnos, Airflow, Burbidge, DFS, Mills and Scott
Typical job titles include:
Bespoke Furniture Maker
Bespoke Furniture Manufacturer
Cabinet Maker
Furniture Maker
Keywords:
Arts
Bespoke
Crafts
Creative
Design
Furniture
Maker
Manufacturing
Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs)
K1: Health, safety and environmental management and risk assessment for example Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH), Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), Health And Safety At Work Act (HASAWA), Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) and manual handling
K2: Furniture making drawings, specifications, scales, technical terms related to furniture making, for example terms such as bunching, beading, chamfer, marquetry and sauvage
K3: Visualisation of final furniture making designs
K4: Furniture making industry materials - limitations and uses of materials, defects - characteristics including wood and timber, manmade composite materials including plywood, MDF (Medium Density Board) and MFC (Melamine Faced Chipboard), veneers, laminates, edging materials, stains and finishes, fixtures and fittings (including glass, plastics, electrical components and fittings), fabrics, springs, manmade and natural fillings and adhesives
K5: How to reduce waste in furniture making
K6: Furniture manufacturing/production methods for example cutting, bending, molding, laminating and assembly
K7: Drawings, specifications, scales, technical terms related to furniture making
K8: Construction methods for furniture produced for example doweling, jointing, gluing
K9: Quality standards and control methods for example British and European standards
K10: Current legislation related to furniture machinery and equipment used in your workplace for example Safe Use of Woodworking Machinery Approved Code of Practice
K11: Safe Systems of Work, the formal procedures for safe methods and procedures adopted during work activities, for relevant processes, including use and maintenance of machinery used
K12: How to create complex jigs and templates to meet furniture making specifications
K13: Machine tooling used for example drills, blades or profile cutters
K14: How to operate furniture making machinery, tools and equipment used
K15: Fixtures and fittings used in furniture making, for example brackets, hinges, runners and handles
K16: Assembly methods used in furniture making
K17: Joints used in furniture making
K18: Adhesives used in furniture making
K19: Quality standards you need to meet
K20: Faults and problems that could occur and problem-solving techniques for example plan-do-check-act or root cause analysis
K21: Furniture finishing preparation methods for example sanding
K22: Different furniture finishes, their limitations and uses for example stains, sealers, lacquers/UV (ultravoilet), primers, solvents and water-based materials, paints, waxes, oils, grain fillers, patinas, varnish and polish
K23: Effective communication skills and techniques including verbal, written and physical non-verbal
K24: Coaching, mentoring and feedback techniques
S1: Work safely at all times, wearing appropriate PPE, adhering to COSHH records and completing health and safety records and reports
S2: Operate equipment to PUWER regulations
S3: Carry out health and safety risk assessments
S4: Create furniture making specifications, cutting lists and other relevant information from designs
S5: Identify any problems and issues that may occur such as feasibility or cost
S6: Challenge furniture making designs and offer solutions to any problems identified, for example can the design be made, is it the wrong wood species
S7: Identify materials used in furniture making for example wood and timber, manmade composite materials
S8: Select appropriate materials to meet furniture making specification for example wood and timber, manmade composite materials
S9: Manage furniture production including setting timescales and priorities to meet company objectives and delegating furniture making work tasks to others
S10: Cut, sand, bore, drill, create joints, mould, saw and plane wood and components
S11: Calibrate measuring equipment and use accurately
S12: Create complex jigs and templates to meet furniture making specifications for example Lock Jigs, Jigs for making Arcs as well as Jigs for making Frieze and Dentil Moulding
S13: Set up appropriate tooling to meet furniture making specifications
S14: Set up machinery, tools and equipment to meet furniture making specifications
S15: Operate and use machinery, tools and equipment to meet furniture making specifications
S16: Maintain furniture machinery, tools and equipment within limits of responsibility for example lubricating machinery, keeping machinery clean, sharpening tools
S17: Fit, fix and assemble components to meet furniture making specifications
S18: Use cramps to assemble components
S19: Attach fixtures and fittings to meet furniture making specifications
S20: Create joints to meet furniture making specifications
S21: Test and check furniture and components against specifications for example open and close drawers
S22: Rectify and remedy any faults, for example marking and blisters, defects, scratches, marks, density, holes, weave
S23: Identify trends in furniture making faults
S24: Prepare surfaces for furniture finishes for example sanding
S25: Repair any defects identified for example blooming, moisture, temperature, blotching, runs, streaks, curing, and silicones - orange peel, fish eye
S26: Apply appropriate finishes including by hand and by spray gun for example stains, sealers, lacquers/UV, primers, solvents and water-based materials, paints, waxes, oils, grain fillers, patinas, varnish and polish
S27: Apply effective communication techniques at all levels including written and verbal communication skills
S28: Identify training needs of self and others
S29: Maintain own continued professional development (CPD)
S30: Give appropriate feedback and support to others
S31: Seek constructive feedback on own skills and techniques against current standards
S32: Evaluate own skills and expertise
B1: Have a safety-first attitude, ensuring the safety of self and others as appropriate
B2: Be flexible in changing environment and demands
B3: Maintain focus and concentration during furniture making activities
B4: Demonstrates a positive can-do attitude by looking at every situation with a sense of enthusiasm
B5: Has a methodical approach to furniture making tasks
B6: Is decisive when accomplishing furniture making tasks
B7: Thorough and accurate when accomplishing furniture making tasks
B8: Shows integrity, aims for excellence and manages time effectively
B9: Works safely at all times
B10: Sets an example to others, is fair, consistent and reliable
B11: Be friendly and approachable in a furniture making environment
B12: Willing to help and support others
B13: Actively participates in discussions
B14: Shows ambition, drive and is self-motivated
Occupational Progression
This occupational progression map shows technical occupations that have transferable knowledge and skills.
In this map, the focused occupation is highlighted in yellow. The arrows indicate where transferable knowledge and skills exist between two occupations. This map shows some of the strongest progression links between the focused occupation and other occupations.
It is anticipated that individuals would be required to undertake further learning or training to progress to and from occupations. To find out more about an occupation featured in the progression map, including the learning options available, click the occupation.
Progression decisions have been reached by comparing the knowledge and skills statements between occupational standards, combined with individualised learner movement data.
Creative and design
Engineering and manufacturing