User Archives: Kim

We spotted this vibrant lighting last week, and just couldn't take our eyes off it!

It's fun because you can choose different sizes, loads of coloured shades and mix the coloured flex to create your own combination. An added bonus comes in the form of a charitable donation made for each one sold. The designer Bonnelycke mdd donates a percentage of each purchase to a fund that supports a social cause in India through the charity Enable Denmark. We love the colour and the story behind it.

We're looking forward to getting them on display in all our shops shortly. Watch this space!

Rosie Teasdale, Deputy Director at FSC-UK, talks to Kim Corbett

  When we began research for our furniture rating label back in 2003 we asked forest campaigners at Greenpeace to identify gaps in our scheme. While they were enthusiastic about the label, they were very clear that the best independent & credible certification scheme was the FSC. We didn't have even 1 FSC product at the time so we went about looking for interior hardwood products with FSC chain of custody certification. We found very little. A lot has changed since then and now over 40% of what we offer is FSC certified. We commission our own designs in FSC oak and ash and we have two large workshops who have demonstrated their commitment by undertaking FSC certification. To get a handle of the history and workings of the FSC I asked Rosie a few questions: Kim: How does the FSC work and how long has it been around? Rosie: The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme was established in 1993 in response to growing concern about global deforestation and demand for a trustworthy wood-labelling scheme. FSC has developed a system of forest certification and product labelling that allows consumers to identify wood and wood-based products from more...

The Temporium, a unique pop-up design store created by Dezeen, returns to central London this Christmas with over 20 designers and brands selling their products direct to the public from 1-24 December. more...

Entitled 'For Austerity's Sake', design critic Nicole Swengley writes about Chest of Drawers in Saturday's Financial Times - the venerable 'How to Spend It' magazine. She celebrates the trend towards a "...more considered, even intellectual approach, to buying furniture. Showy pieces and glitzy designs are giving way to to a very simple - almost stark - aesthetic underpinned by quality craftsmanship."

Swengley continues "... of course some furniture makers have always espoused a pared-down, almost austere look. The rustic, hand-crafted, solid wood furniture sold by long established London retailer Chest of Drawers scooped a Guardian Sustainable Business Award a few months ago..." OK, I'll swallow the 'rustic' remark since she nailed this growing appreciation for all things well crafted right on the head. Personally I like the inference that our aesthetic is 'raw' - that we allow the natural elements of grain, tone and character of our timber to prevail in all of our designs. And I grant that there are rustic elements in our Eden table. Raw or rustic, the article is a tribute to all the designers who espouse simple, well crafted design.

Swengley offers up some beautiful pieces in her article and I wholly support her assertion that the demand for quality and craftsmanship in simple design is indeed enjoying a resurgence.

The London shows never disappoint but this one seemed even more enticing than previous years. It was great to see so many UK designers producers. Solid wood furniture and accessories, our particular passion, were highly visible at 100% Design, the Tramshed and Tent London. Products made from natural materials were in abundance and I was heartened to see so many items made of sustainably sourced materials, especially recycled pieces. Here's a few favourites to start:

The Hidden Art space was filled with gorgeous things, check out Ralli Design's FIKA tea set.

We loved John Reeves' metamorphic side table cum chair so much that we'll be stocking them shortly. Brilliant shape, space saving stackability - every home needs one!

Check out these rubberised newspaper bundles - the rubber even forms a bond that acts like velcro when stacked. Versatile re-useability. Make side tables, stools or a chair as shown.

 

Our biggest ever ex-display clearance event gets under way on Saturday at 10am in all our stores (sorry all pieces sold as seen so they aren't available for sale on our website). We do this every Autumn but we've never had so many pieces at such reduced prices - it's a great opportunity to grab a bargain. We've got all ex display beds at £495, miscellaneous ex-display dining chairs for £50 each, ex-display sofabeds for £495, two of our fabulous ex-display Marais extending dining tables at 50% off  - seriously good deals. Everything is at least 50% off.  And most is ready to deliver immediately. What's not to like?

It's on for 16 days only. We've got new pieces coming in October and old display pieces in need of refreshing. There's over 250 pieces reduced at least 50%. Definitely the biggest clearance we've ever done. See you on Saturday?

Here's our Kingston team dealing with a mountain of ex-display pieces.

 

These are cool, they have street cred and eco cred! Levi's have been busy making a fuss over waterless jeans, a project that looked at full life cycle of a pair of 501s and came up with a way to reduce the amount of water used over the life of the jeans to between 28-96%. What's really interesting is that 45% comes from the washing of the jeans once a consumer buys them. So that bit is not entirely in their control but that doesn't stop them - they have teamed up with a large laundry product manufacturer to address that side as well. Read more on their site. A pair of Levi's always looked good, now they look even better! So make sure to wash your Steve McQueen's in cold water!

We met up with Tim Larcombe, MD at Levi's, at the Guardian Sustainable Business awards where Levi's won an award for this project. Read what Tim's got to say about it on our interview page. There's a great video too!

Our newest shades! In lime green, amber and natural, the Honey lampshade blooms like a flower, settling into its final beehive shape after a few days in position and creating a beautifully intricate patterned silhouette on walls and ceilings that gives a natural, calming feel to any room. Made of premium felt (100% wool) & dyed with eco friendly tints, it's just £28 and comes in gift worthy packaging. 

Yipee! We scooped the Guardian’s Sustainable Business Award last night. Beating fellow finalists and multi-nationals Unilever and Lend Lease for a shock victory in the supply chain category. With other category winners being Tesco, Levi, British Land and Marks & Spencer, it shows that you don’t need to be big to be innovative and make a difference.

Director Kim Corbett said “We are absolutely thrilled - all of us, the staff, our suppliers, even my hard to impress children who wanted to take the award to school with them this morning! This means so much to us and all our staff, and of course credit belongs to our loyal customers too. We have always concentrated on long lasting, well designed furniture from sustainable sources, but we never thought we could win an award in such salubrious company. We see this as simply another step in a long process of showing that businesses, large and small, can be run with a responsible attitude to the environment.”