The Association of Master Upholsterers & Soft Furnishers (AMUSF) has joined The Furniture Ombudsman (TFO) as an affiliate member, to pledge its ongoing commitment to helping the industry improve.
This means AMUSF is continuing to raise standards and the organisations are committed to sharing knowledge, pulling expertise and working on initiatives that will help businesses and consumers.
The AMUSF was founded in 1947 to protect the interests of upholsterers, small furniture makers, and soft furnishers. Since then, the association has vastly extended the range of support it gives to members. It is still a lobbying body but it also provides diverse services to individual members including advice on sourcing materials, a technical help line including the current fire regulations, a group buying scheme, a free legal help line and many others.
TFO has a pool of members which extends to approximately 8000 furniture and home improvement outlets in the United Kingdom. All of its full members pledge to abide by a Code of Practice which bestows additional rights on the consumers who shop with them. Most of the UK's biggest furniture and home improvement retailers pledge their support for the scheme.
Richard Ranklin, association manager, says: “We are delighted to have formally linked up with the TFO. This partnership not only ensures we have access to help and advice for our members on trading and consumer issues that arise but has the bonus of that advice coming from a body built around our industry. The TFO has unrivalled experience in the furnishings industry and to be able to call on that will undoubtedly be beneficial to all our members.”
Kevin Grix, chief ombudsman and chief executive of The Furniture Ombudsman, says: “We recognise that furniture making is not all done in warehouses with the support of technology and optimised operations and we are keen to engage more and more with the sole traders and craftsmen in England. We are proud to have joined a partnership with AMUSF and hope to better understand the challenges faced by the upholsters in the industry, and then support them in raising their standards, and therefore inspiring consumer confidence.”
