The National Bed Federation (NBF) has revealed its judges for the four 2024 Bed Industry Awards NBF member categories.
An independent panel of 11 judges from the furniture industry will decide which NBF manufacturer and supplier members will be crowned winners at the Bed Show Gala Dinner and Awards ceremony on Tuesday 24 September at the Telford International Centre.
The awards are an opportunity for bed manufacturers, suppliers and retailers to highlight their achievements from the past year.
Product awards
Joanna Fielding, beds category manager at Associated Independent Stores (AIS) makes her judging debut this year for the Bed Product of the Year Award. With a degree in surface design and eight years as a fashion design manager, Joanna broadened her expertise with a business master’s tailored for the creative industries. This qualification opened doors to a pivotal role in product development at Furniture Wholesale Group (FWG), where she excelled in design, development and project management, before joining AIS.
Returning to the panel is Steve Adams, founder and CEO of Mattress Online, one of the UK’s leading online mattress retailers. With over 20 years of e-commerce experience, Steve has transformed Mattress Online into the award-winning, multi-million-pound retailer we know today.
Sue Davies, owner of Sue Davies Design Solutions, returns for her fourth year as a judge. Sue trained as a surface pattern/textile designer with experience developing mattress ticking and upholstery fabric. She now designs products for various bed companies and is also an agent for BekaertDeslee, assisting in sales, design and new ticking and cover development.
No stranger to the awards is James Dunne, MD of Prestige Beds, whose family business secured winner and finalist accolades in previous years. James joined the retailer full-time in 2005 at 18 as a delivery driver, before being promoted to sales, then getting involved in marketing, buying, merchandising and e-commerce in his mid-late twenties. James took up his current role as operations director in 2018, after almost 18 years in the business.
Also on the panel is veteran judge Paul Farley, trade press editor of Furniture News. Paul joined Furniture News in 2006 and has been its editor since 2008, strengthening the magazine as the longest-established of today’s furniture trade titles. Paul also coordinates The Furniture Awards and is the vice chairman of the International Alliance of Furnishing Publications (IAFP).
Returning for the Component Product of the Year Award is a panel of NBF member judges: Natalie Armstrong, product and brand manager at Sealy UK. Natalie has a keen eye for what makes a winning product, with Sealy UK winning 2022’s Bed Product of the Year. Having worked at Sealy UK for eight years in various roles within marketing, for the last three years, Natalie has headed up new product development initiatives from conception through to launch.
Joining Natalie is Danny Blackmore, operations director at Silentnight. In his 30 years of experience within the industry, Danny has worked across a wider range of roles, beginning in operations before going on to Silentnight’s change management team. More recently, Danny has worked on product development, implementation and compliance, and took on the role of head of change before his current position.
Dave Morris, purchasing director at Sleepeezee, completes the panel. With over 30 years of valuable experience working in the bed industry at Sleepeezee, Dave has been involved in production, logistics, quality assurance, purchasing and product development.
Company awards
New to the panel for Bed Manufacturer of the Year and Supplier of the Year is Brian Ahern, Master of The Furniture Makers’ Company. With an extensive background in the furniture industry, Brian has held various positions in organisations including the British Furniture Manufacturers Association, the British Furniture Confederation and the Furniture Industry Research Association. Brian joined The Furniture Makers’ Company in 2003 and has served on the Court since 2013.
Joining Brian is David Fitzsimons, director of the European Remanufacturing Council based in Brussels. He is a member of the EU Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, an advisor to the WBCSD CTI metrics for the circular economy and an advisor to the European Bed Industries Association (EBIA) on Product Ecodesign.
Returning for his second year is Jonathan Hindle, Chairman of the British Furniture Confederation (BFC) and MD & President of KI Europe. Jonathan trained as a designer and practised at leading architectural and design and build companies before moving into sales and marketing, property development and office furniture design & manufacture. Jonathan founded the Design Guild Mark in 2007 and established corporate membership and fundraising programmes at The Furniture Makers’ Company.
The two product awards will be judged during the show and a shortlist of finalists for the three other awards will be published before the winners are announced on Tuesday 24 September.
More information on all the 2024 awards, including how to enter for free and detailed criteria for each category, are available now on the Bed Show website. Deadlines vary depending on the award, starting with Friday 2 August.
