From Britain with Love

I’ve worked for many years in the design industry and spent many hours at trade shows scouring for new ideas and products. It was only when my son Samuel was born that I found a real lack of quality design in children’s furniture. Practicality and fun were all lost to cheap flat packed items in garish colours and inferior materials, and nothing was manufactured in the UK.

I started to research materials and designs. I scoured antique shops and salvage yards to get ideas about furniture making from the past masters. I also took inspiration from Shaker designs - they had a saying: “whatever is fashioned, let it be plain and simple and for the good”. Our range is quite plain and simple but with a little bit of vintage British fun built in.

I work from a large mill in Steeton which is near to where I live in Skipton, North Yorkshire. The mill is owned by my business sponsor who runs a large country furniture business, so it's the perfect location. The mill is full of fantastic pieces of furniture and lovely old antiques, so I have no lack of inspiration, although Fairbourn has now outgrown the space and I’m hoping to move into a unit close by which would be fantastic and a bit scary.

All our furniture is hand made using excellent quality FSC approved timber. Our joiner is a real craftsman and to see a piece made from start to finish is a wonderful experience. I make all the small pieces myself and they are hand painted and lightly distressed to give a lovely vintage feel to the range.

I don’t think there is one piece that has the most popularity, although anything personalised seems to win every time.

I love every bit of what I do, it’s a messy job, and sometimes I do seem to get more paint and dust on me than most people do, but I love getting the job done. The satisfaction when I see a wardrobe painted and finished from a stick of wood to a thing of beauty gives me real pleasure.

I especially love hearing from customers, I have some really great customers and their feedback has really spurred me on. I've had so many good ideas given to me by customers who want a particular item but can’t find it in the shops, and those ideas are priceless. Fairbourn wouldn’t be where it is now without the loyalty of our valued customers.

Fairbourn made a decision early on to support local producers. I found so much skill locally that wasn’t used - I could very easily have taken my designs to Poland and produced the items at a fraction of what they cost me now, but I believe there’s a price to pay if we can’t produce items ourselves. If all manufacturing leaves the UK it will be very sad, especially when I’ve seen first hand the skill we have just in the Yorkshire area.

I’ve sold some items to a couple of high profile celebrities which I got a bit giddy about. Of course, I can’t mention names but a couple of my items appeared in Hello magazine which was such a scoop for us. It wasn’t long after I started the business so it was a real boost.

I sell through a few different channels. I have my own website www.fairbournchildrensfurniture.co.uk and I also sell through Not On The High Street. I also have several small retailers who sell my items who are spread across the country, but the furniture is mostly sold within the Yorkshire area in specialist interiors and children’s shops.

All of the shops are beautifully laid out and run by very professional people who have good knowledge of the products. Local stockist include The Old Tree House in Hedben Bridge, Precious Little Treasures in Clitheroe, What Mum Made in York, The Home Store in Harrogate, and Bay Tree Interiors in Grassington.

I greatly admire many British makers and after showing at Top Drawer in January I couldn’t believe the vast amount of good design around. I especially admire Poppy Children - I occasionally work with Bryony who owns the company and her Poppy & Fred concept is fantastic. It mirrors everything Fairbourn wants to be - very British and very vintage.

I firmly believe in buying British. We have a great farmer's market in Skipton where locally produced items are sold, unfortunately it’s only once a month but I love the look and feel of the traditional market. I also love the Wild Oats Cafe in Skipton - they sell fantastic homemade vegetarian food which is all locally sourced.

I think for us the Lake District wins every time. We love the Lakes and we're hoping to get our son Sam walking some of the higher peaks this year. It holds so many good memories for us, as we got married looking over lake Windermere at a fantastic place called Linthwaite House.

We also love the seaside and I always love going to Whitby in North Yorkshire. I love the little Whitby Glass Ducks you can still buy, they remind me of childhood visits there many years ago.

I love to walk, any chance we get we pack up and head to the Lake District or the Yorkshire Dales. We’ve done quite a few of the peaks including my favourite Helvellyn and Striding Edge.

We also love to visit National Trust and English Heritage sites, and we're very lucky to have so many on our doorstep. We especially like Harewood House; Lord Harewood is a keen art collector and the exhibitions there are fantastic.