OUR FAVOURITE BRITISH DESIGN COMPANIES
Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another blog – this month we’ll discuss our favourite British Designs. Most of them are relatively new and small, which as we know is more important than ever!
SO WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO SHOP SMALL, OR IDEALLY AND, BRITISH?
This is for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, most people would agree that shopping smaller is simply more ethical, since you’re choosing to help individuals who are directly impacted by your purchases. As a small business ourselves, we understand the importance of supporting real people as opposed to huge corporations, where any financial investment in them is a mere drop in the ocean.
Shopping small is also often the more environmentally option, since larger corporations are responsible for more mass-production, creating significantly more environmental damage through harmful emissions and waste, ending up in landfills.
Secondly, we should shop British because this hugely decreases emissions caused by transportation of goods. According to the UKRI, shipping (one of the less damaging methods of goods transportation), is responsible for ‘around 940 million tonnes of CO2 annually, which is at least 2.5% of the world’s total CO2 emissions.’ (UKRI, 2021).
In addition, and perhaps more obviously, it’s good to support British Design since this allows more money to go back into the economy, and promotes the industry to a larger scale more generally. We’re also lucky that we have a lot of natural resources when it comes to things like fabrics and hard materials – so we have no excuses for not shopping more locally!
So now we understand the importance of the below designers and companies, let’s explain which ones in particular we love, and why we love them.
1. Another Country
Why we love them:
They’re a tiny, carbon neutral company, aiming to manufacture as close to their customers as possible. They also plant more trees than they consume, and use only FSC or PEFC certified timber. You can check out more information on their sustainability here.
Their contemporary yet timeless, classic designs mean that they fit in any space whatsoever, regardless of style or age of the property.
2. Roger Lewis
Why we love them:
They’re another carbon neutral furniture company, specialising in creating designs fit for large-scale products in commercial spaces. They also use ‘100% PET fibre, which is derived from recycled plastic bottles!’ (Roger Lewis, 2022)
They create sumptuous, beautiful furniture pieces that are also highly recyclable!
3. Hand & Eye Studio
Why we love them:
Their products ‘are made of natural materials and using hand-made processes’ (Hand & Eye Studio, 2022). They also sell directly to purchasers, cutting down on additional freight emissions.
Their designs are utterly beautiful and modern, with an emphasis on nature and authentic materials. As a result all their pieces are slightly different to one another, so you truly have a unique piece when you order from them.
4. Uncommon Projects
Why we love them:
Their ‘engineered plywood and hardwood veneers are all certified by the Forest Stewardship Council’ (Uncommon Projects, 2022) and we love that all their designs are totally custom to you, reducing ‘throwaway culture’ at its core by creating pieces that will last a lifetime.
We also love the Japandi-style of their designs, although they can be used in various styles of properties and spaces. Since their designs are totally bespoke you have much more creative freedom and potential.
Why we love it:
Benchmark is known for its simplistic design, using natural, non-toxic, recyclable and occasionally biodegradable materials. They have also ‘chosen to invest in Life Cycle Analysis of our core product collections to enable us to provide independently verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)… demonstrating the low environmental impact of (their) furniture.’ (Benchmark, 2022)
Not only do their fabrics and finishes feel lush, they look beautiful too. You can really tell that all their products are made with the highest quality, and their products have a strong sense of polished rusticity which is exactly what you want in wood furniture particularly.
Thanks for reading this month’s blog on our favourite design companies. We hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as we love supporting them, and do let us know if there’s anything else you’d like us to blog about next time!
