HISTORY OF THE SOCIETY
Germinating from an idea first discussed in 1995, founder Sarah McCollum presented the concept for an organization that was to become The Furniture Society at the annual American Craft Council show in Baltimore in March, 1996. With strong interest and significant grassroots financial support, in April 1996 a Steering Committee was formed and charged with the tasks of formalizing the Society's bylaws and applying for 501(c)3 non-profit status. Plans were also established for the first Furniture Society conference, to be held in the summer of 1997.
In May 1996, the newly formed Steering Committee presented the concept of the organization to participants of the Philadelphia Fine Furnishings Show, and the first general members were signed up. One month later, the Society received a grant of $25,000 from an anonymous donor to help establish the organization.
Through the remaining months of 1996, the new organization developed a web site and a membership database through the efforts of Stephen Clerico and Craig Nutt—both volunteers and original members. Clerico soon after was hired as the Society's first employee, and in that capacity he managed both the web site and database until leaving the organization in 2006.
May of 1997 saw the publication of the first Society newsletter, Furniture Matters, edited by Rick Mastelli.
In June 1997 the Steering Committee was dissolved and replaced by the first Board of Trustees. Officers included president Sarah McCollum, vice president Dennis FitzGerald, secretary Brian Gladwell, and treasurer Deborah Levin Daniell.
June 1997 also saw the convocation of the first annual Furniture Society conference, Furniture '97, held at Purchase College in Purchase, New York. With 350 people in attendance, this conference set the standard and serves as a template for all succeeding conferences. Opening in conjunction with the conference was the first exhibition sponsored by the Furniture Society, Survey of North American Contemporary Furniture, curated by Paul Sasso and shown at the Neuberger Museum of Art on the Purchase campus.
The Furniture Society received its official tax exemption from the IRS, as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, in November of 1997. In December of that year the first official meeting of The Furniture Society Board of Trustees was held at Purchase College. At that meeting, a proposal was accepted to produce a series of books titled Furniture Studio, to be edited by John Kelsey and Rick Mastelli.
The second annual Furniture Society conference convened in San Francisco, at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now the CCA) and the Oakland Museum in late June, 1998. Titled Furniture '98: East Meets West, speakers included Aaron Betsky from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Ken Trapp of the Smithsonian Institution's Renwick Gallery.
One year later, The Furniture Society mounted its third annual conference, Furniture '99—The Circle Unbroken: Continuity and Innovation in Studio Furniture, at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Smithville, Tennessee. The DeWalt tool manufacturing company provided the first major sponsorship of a Society conference. Opening at the conference was the Society's first juried exhibition, The Circle Unbroken: Continuity and Innovation in Studio Furniture. Jurors included Andrew Glasgow, who 2 years later would become the Society's first Executive Director.
