Hands recently sponsored final year furniture design students from Rycotewood Furniture Centre – Oxford and Cherwell Valley College, to design a piece of furniture that could be used in a reception, lobby, hotel etc.

The Gorgon Russell Design Competition was organised in conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers, with student entries encouraged to use sustainable materials local sourced if possible, and to be in the spirit of the design philosophy of Sir Gordon Russell.

In all, 12 pieces both designed and made to finished standard were submitted, and the winner was Tom Pugh with a beautifully made simple walnut armchair.

The competition judges – Deborah Allen Design Director of Artillery Architecture and Design, Peter Grant of Grant Thorp Interior Design and Ray Leigh, Retired Architect and Designer, and Chairman of the Gordon Russell Trust and Museum – commented that they were pleasantly shocked by the exception high quality of both design and making of the cast majority of the pieces presented.  The final decision took much debate and consideration.