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Christopher Tuohy — Future Makers 2025 Overall Emerging Maker

Christopher Tuohy is the 2025 Overall Emerging Maker Future Makers winner recognised by Design & Crafts Council Ireland for his distinctive approach to contemporary furniture making.

Working primarily in wood, Tuohy creates made-to-measure freestanding pieces that combine traditional forms with a modern, process-driven aesthetic.

About the Winner

Christopher Tuohy is a furniture maker whose practice is grounded in craftsmanship, material sensitivity, and a deep respect for enduring design. Based in Cork, he currently works from Benchspace Cork, a shared workshop facility that provides access to specialised woodworking machinery.

His work focuses on designing and building bespoke wooden furniture for domestic interiors. Drawing on long-established furniture typologies, Tuohy reinterprets them through contemporary techniques. His pieces are defined by strong architectural lines, visible construction methods, and the integration of handwoven elements, resulting in work that feels both tactile and structurally expressive.

Central to his practice is a curiosity about making itself — how materials behave, how processes evolve, and how craftsmanship can enhance everyday living. Tuohy’s philosophy resists the fast furniture cycle, instead positioning furniture as a long-term investment: objects designed to be lived with, appreciated, and embedded into the rhythm of daily life.

Their Winning Work

Tuohy’s Future Makers submission reflects his ongoing exploration of traditional furniture through modern production methods. His work stood out to judges for its clarity of design, technical precision, and thoughtful integration of material and form.

By exposing joinery and construction details, Tuohy invites the viewer into the making process itself — celebrating not just the finished object but how it comes into being. The addition of handwoven components introduces contrast and tactility, softening the solidity of wood while reinforcing the human element of craft.

The judges recognised the strength of his conceptual approach alongside his technical ability, noting the way his work bridges heritage and innovation. His furniture demonstrates a clear commitment to longevity, both in durability and aesthetic relevance, aligning with contemporary conversations around sustainability and responsible design.

Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) announced the 26 winners of the Future Makers Awards 2025.

Future Makers is a platform to showcase the talent of the next generation of makers, designers, and craftspeople looking to take the step from training into enterprise, and it provides them with much-needed financial support. Future Makers covers a wide range of disciplines and recognises vision, innovation and excellence among students and recent graduates.

Celebrating Emerging Talent

Established in 2009, Future Makers is a DCCI initiative which recognises talent, potential and creativity.

  • Christopher Tuohy, a furniture maker from Cork, received the 2025 Overall Emerging Maker award.
  • Rachel Kenny, a paper maker from Dublin, was awarded the Sustainable Design award.
  • Clodagh Nathan, a textile artist and designer from Co. Kildare, was named the Overall Student award recipient.
  • In the student and recent graduate sustainability category, Lucy O’Sullivan, a furniture maker from Kildare, received the Sustainable Design award.

Prize Fund

It is one of the largest prize-funded design and craft award programmes in Europe, with each winner receiving a mentoring package valued at €2,000 in addition to the award. In total, Future Makers offers an award fund of €25,000 and mentoring package of €52,000 in expert guidance and support to the award recipients.

The calibre of submissions this year was exceptionally high, reflecting the breadth of talent, creativity, and innovation within the sector. The award recipients demonstrate the vision, skill, and commitment that will ensure the continued strength and advancement of Irish craft and design both nationally and internationally.

Mary Blanchfield

CEO of Design & Crafts Council Ireland

A Showcase of Creativity

This year’s competition saw an impressive range of entries from all around Ireland, each one demonstrating a unique approach to creating beautiful and functional works of art.

From furniture and fashion design to ceramics and glassblowing, the shortlisted makers represent the most innovative and creative young designers and makers in Ireland, across both the student and emerging practitioner categories.

Expert Panel of Judges

Judges for the 2025 awards included:

  • Victoria Donovan – silversmith with almost 40 years’ experience and recipient of the Kilkenny Design Workshops scholarship in 1986
  • Anneliese Duffy Fallon – owner of The Linen Shirt Company and founder of Fashion Connect Ireland
  • Leah Capaldi – London-based artist celebrated for her pioneering work at the intersection of sculpture and performance
  • Brankica Zilovic – French-Serbian artist and educator based in Paris
  • Belén Llamas-Ferrier – art framer with over 20 years of industry experience
  • Róisín Pierce – multidisciplinary designer focused on material innovation and poetic forms

Applications are now open for Future Makers 2026.

The closing date for applications is 22nd June 2026. 

In 2026, the programme includes a €38,000 award fund plus a €26,000 mentoring investment, bringing the total support to €64,000.
  • Award fund – € 25000 increased to € 38,000
  • Mentorship – 26 × € 1000 = €26,000
  • Total – € 64,000

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Future Makers is one of many DCCI initiatives developing the Irish design and craft industry.

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