Colchester Institute furniture making student George Davey has won the first ever ‘Davonport Gauge of Excellence’ award.
Set up in partnership between the Colleges Wood Occupation’s department and Davonport, a local furniture company in Colchester that specialises in hand-crafted bespoke kitchens, the award will be run as an annual competition for the Colleges Furniture Production students.
Up and running for its first year, the award was open to all students on the Furniture Production programme. The competition involved a 6-hour task, where the students’ woodworking skills were put to the test, creating a footstool combining dovetail joints as well as mortise and tenon joints.
2022 winner George Davey was delighted to be the first winner of the award. “It was quite a challenging task and I was up against seven other great furniture makers. The day was great fun, I didn’t realise how competitive I really was before this!”
Richard and George
Presenting the award was Richard Davonport, the Founder and Managing Director of Davonport. “We have been working in partnership with the College for several years now, supporting and nurturing young talent of the future. However, this year I wanted to take it to another level and mark the partnership with an annual award.”
Head of Wood Occupations and Associated Trades, Chris Coe spoke highly of the award. “Davonport are a leading company in Colchester and already recruit a number of Colchester Institute students, either part time whilst studying at Colchester Institute or full time, once our learners have successfully completed their studies. By having the ‘Davonport Gauge of Excellence’ award, the learners have something to aspire to and it is also a reward for the outstanding work they have done.”
As well as the title, the award winner also received a handmade trophy, designed and made by Davonport.
