University News Last updated 11 December
A Product and Furniture Design graduate has won the prestigious Design Award at the New Furniture Makers Exhibition.
Reuben Porter, who graduated from BCU in 2025, secured first place in the Young Furniture Makers Design Category of the New Furniture Maker Awards for his contemporary reinterpretation of the classic machinist chair, Archetype – M.
The award was presented by award-winning bespoke furniture designer-maker Rupert Senior at the recent New Furniture Makers Exhibition, held across the Furniture Makers’ Hall and the Dutch Church in Austin Friars, London. Sponsored by NaughtOne, the ceremony took place on Wednesday 29 October.
Established more than 15 years ago, the annual event offers school pupils, students and graduates a valuable platform to exhibit their work, engage with industry professionals and connect with potential employers. The exhibition showcased more than 70 innovative designs from emerging designer-makers.
Reuben explained that applicants first went through a selection process before being shortlisted for the main London exhibition, which featured three categories: Bespoke, Design and Textiles. The final show presented a diverse range of finely crafted furniture, from traditional drinks cabinets to innovative café stools.
Reflecting on his win, Reuben said: “Winning the furniture maker’s design award was a real honour! To receive the award at such a prestigious event, especially with so many strong entries.”
Inspired by early industrial machinist chairs, Archetype – M reimagines a functional form for contemporary living. The design features a contoured frame made from locally sourced sycamore, capturing the agility and utility of the original while offering a modern aesthetic.
“My piece comes from my final major project at BCU,” Reuben explains. “Archetype studio chair is a timber and steel task chair with backrest and height adjustment, designed and hand-made at BCU. It was inspired by early industrial machinist chairs. We had loads of them, mainly in the fashion workshops, and I was always drawn to their utilitarian charm and strong presence, qualities I feel are missing in many contemporary task chairs.”
Reuben looks back fondly on his time studying Product and Furniture Design at BCU.
“It was one of those courses you could really shape to suit your own interests. For me, it became a very hands-on experience, lots of making, prototyping, using this as a way of learning design. I worked with loads of different materials, and the lecturers and technicians were amazing. They really knew their stuff and were always willing to help you experiment and push your ideas further.
“I basically lived in the workshop and used it for everything it had to offer. It was such a great environment to learn, test ideas, and make things happen. We explored everything from one-off prototypes to larger-scale production techniques, which gave me a proper understanding of how things are made, not just how they look on a screen.”
Since graduating, Reuben has taken part in several exhibitions, including a moving showcase at the London Design Festival. This latest award follows his earlier success at New Designers, where he won The Conran Shop Design Award. Now working as a Furniture and Lighting Product Developer at The Conran Shop, Reuben’s professional career is well underway just two months after graduating.
“I received the role through exhibiting at New Designers, where I was lucky enough to win The Conran Shop Design Award,” he said. “As part of the award, I was offered an internship at their head office in London, where I’m now working full time.
“Working at The Conran Shop has been a learning curve—getting a feel for designing within a brand, working with manufacturers from across the world, prototyping and refining as part of the process. It’s all been steady, hands-on learning so far.”
Looking ahead, Reuben said: “I’m not completely sure what I want to do long-term, but I’m drawn to the idea of starting a studio focused on furniture and object design.”
His advice for fellow graduates is simple: “Take as many opportunities as you can. Enter competitions, share your work and try to get your name out there while you’re still studying. Build a strong portfolio – even a simple website makes a big difference. And don’t get too hung up on thinking you need to know everything right away; once you leave uni, things change, and the real world rarely looks the way you imagined it.”