Furniture Design Trainer

Background

Turquoise Mountain is a non-profit, non-governmental organization specializing in heritage based urban regeneration, traditional craft-training and connecting artisans to market opportunities. We seek to provide jobs, skills, and a sense of pride, through heritage. Since 2006 Turquoise Mountain has restored 150 historic and community buildings, trained 10,000 craftspeople, generated direct sales of $7m in craft products and welcomed 1m visitors to our exhibitions worldwide.

Context

The Turquoise Mountain Institute of Design, Crafts and Economic Development proudly leads the way in embracing and reviving traditional crafts and sustaining economic growth. Committed to championing the exceptional cultural heritage of the Levant, the Institute’s ambition is to strengthen the unique cultural and creative industries. Through a comprehensive educational program, members of the Institute learn the skills needed to succeed in the crafts sector. This facilitates artisans to attain financial autonomy by launching their enterprises and actively contributing to the economy.

We seek a Furniture Design trainer to provide training and mentorship in Furniture Design for two training programs:

• Apprenticeship Program for Specialized Woodwork: The program is designed to allow woodwork apprentices to enhance their knowledge and skills in furniture design. The apprentices will be guided by master artisans and a furniture design trainer, with the support of our in-house design and production team. The apprentices will develop small- to medium-scale woodwork pieces for the Turquoise Mountain showroom.
• Furniture Design in The World of Traditional Craft: The is designed for designers and aims to educate them about cultural heritage and traditional crafts, mainly carpentry. Participants will be taught about the historical significance of traditional crafts in furniture design and will explore some of these crafts, such as Ajami, Wood Mosaic, and mother-of-pearl inlay techniques. The program ends with a furniture design project, where students will create detailed design plans and prepare for the final project presentation.

Objectives:

• To provide comprehensive education of design principles and techniques used in furniture design.
• Enhance knowledge of cultural heritages associated with furniture design.
• Enhance knowledge of the design and production process.
• Encourage the development of unique and innovative furniture pieces of high craftsmanship.
• Increase creative problem-solving abilities related to furniture design.

Role and Responsibilities:

• Develop and deliver a four-month furniture design training to 29 trainees, 9 of them being carpentry apprentices, and 20 designers with a focus on the following topics but not limited:

principles of furniture design, product design process from concept ideation until execution, sketching, drawing, and rendering, crafts and cultural sessions focusing on designers’ role in preserving cultural heritage, supervise craft training at the workshop.

• Use a holistic approach to ensure a good learning experience for the trainees and this includes but not limited to:
• Provide technical guidance and share best practices with trainees to improve design capabilities.
• Establish and maintain interactive teaching methods that encourage innovation and participation.
• Provide mentorships and feedback to the trainees through weekly sessions and assignments.
• Assess, review, monitor and evaluate achievable targets for trainees to progress the development of their pieces.
• Collaborate with the woodwork master artisan’s to be aligned with the technical techniques and ensure successful outcomes in design and production.
• Conduct one-on-one sessions with trainees upon request.
• Identify gaps in the skills and knowledge of trainees to develop personalized training plans accordingly.
• Build confidence in trainees to adopt creative approaches to furniture design.
• Organize visits and meetups to inspire out-of-the-box design ideas.
• Provide monthly reports on trainee’s progress, the activities conducted, outcomes achieved, challenges faced, and recommendations for development, design methodology used etc.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in furniture design, and technical drawing.
• Previous experience in training with youth.
• Good interpersonal skills with patience and flexibility.
• Experience in crafts and cultural Heritage is desirable.
• The training will be conducted in Arabic.

Working hours:

Minimum of 2 days a week (Sunday to Thursday) from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Contract Duration:

4 months

Location:

Jubeiha and Jabal Amman, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan