Keeping it Close To Home

Over the years, we have explored different options around the world for sourcing manufacturers who can make our exclusive ranges of children’s furniture, and have found, in time (thanks to plenty of trial and error) that in more ways than one, British is often best! So now, made by our UK suppliers are, the Victoria, Pic’N Mix, Toffee, Caramel, and Vanilla ranges. This post mentions some of the reasons why we have made the decision to stick to Britain.

1. Transportation and the big, scary carbon footprint: Everyone is trying to do what they can for the environment. As business owners, we want to be sure that our company’s negative impact on the environment is as small as possible too. When dealing with furniture, it’s not unusual to see woods being sourced from Europe, then furniture being made and assembled in China before returning to Europe and finally being sent on to the UK. That furniture has travelled further than lots of people ever will! Think of the carbon footprint! All the benefits of cheaper production and material costs, one could argue, are entirely offset by the environmental impact made by massive ships plying their way across our Oceans - let alone the time needed for the whole process. Because of the distance furniture needs to travel when it’s made overseas and the amount of handling that it endures, each piece needs to be packed into containers with many protective layers of plastic and cardboard wrapping. Comparatively, transportation across the UK in one of our environmentally friendly LPG (liquid petroleum gas) vans can be done with those items wrapped securely in reusable, recycled furniture blankets!

2. Simplicity: It sure is a lot easier to coordinate shipments with UK suppliers. There are no language barriers, no international shipping containers to arrange and considerably less concern over damage occurring during a long transit. At a basic level, furniture that’s made and dispatched from within Britain gets to us and then to you a whole lot faster. It allows us to replenish stocks quickly which means that we can provide people with what they want within a reasonable time span.

3. The current economy: There is lots of interest in keeping British jobs for British folks to help spur on the economy. We do have an interest in trying to help out with this where we can and if a British supplier is available for a line we are interested in making, we try to deal with them for all these reasons and because we really like the idea of having our children’s furniture mostly made here. It must also be considered that now that the pound is not as strong as it used to be, getting furniture made in Europe or Asia is not always a better deal.

4. Reliability: British companies tend to be pretty reliable. I am not trying to knock companies from other countries, as the majority of those that we have dealt with have been very good, but different cultures do not always have the same sense of urgency or quality control that is commonly expected in the UK. British workshops have Health and Safety standards to adhere to (as mentioned in the previous post about MDF) which makes us very comfortable to use them to make our products. We have achieved an assortment of accolades and awards for our British made furniture, such as The Furniture Maker’s Manufacturing Guild Mark, which is an award for excellence in manufacturing. This really is a tribute to the workmanship in our furniture and gives us the confidence to say our products really are top notch!