Common questions.

Most commissions start with a conversation, through our contact form or by introduction. We ask about the project, the space, and the intended use before anything else. From there we advise on materials, process and feasibility, then move into formal design development once scope is agreed.

There is no obligation at the enquiry stage. We are happy to advise on whether a bespoke approach is the right fit for your project before any commitment is made.

Both. We work directly with private clients on residential commissions, and we operate as a trade supplier to interior designers, architects and hospitality developers. Trade clients have access to a dedicated account manager, our full sampling library, and a structured pricing schedule.

If you are specifying on behalf of a client and would like to discuss trade terms, please get in touch directly.

Yes. We routinely take technical drawings, AutoCAD files, finishes schedules and sample boards as the starting point for a commission. If you have a designer's specification you would like us to price against, we can provide a competitive tender with a detailed breakdown.

We do not publish a fixed minimum. Our work suits projects where the level of detail and specification justifies a bespoke approach, and that can be a single statement piece as readily as a full floor of joinery.

What matters more than value is fit. A bespoke commission carries design development, shop drawings, samples and project management whatever its size, so for a very modest single item those fixed stages can outweigh the making. As a guide, our cost guide shows pieces ranging from a few hundred pounds for a simple upholstered item to £3,000–£30,000+ for a dining table. If a brief is better served by an existing range or by made-to-measure, we will say so at enquiry, and where the scale is small we can introduce trusted craftspeople from our network.

Often, depending on the material and the project. Some samples can be provided on request. Others, such as straw marquetry, marquetry, liquid metal and verre églomisé, are made for the project. We normally agree the scope and a quotation first, and on larger projects we will often make samples up front. Get in touch and tell us about your project.

Sampling is a formal part of our process, and nothing is approved for production from a screen or a colour reference alone. We produce physical samples of every proposed finish, veneer, lacquer and upholstery combination: lacquer draw-downs, veneer coupons, metal mock-ups and upholstery panels. For complex materials such as marquetry, specialist lacquers or stone we make larger samples, because a small chip cannot show how a pattern repeats or how a sheen behaves across a whole door. Standard finishes can be couriered within days; developed finishes, such as a custom textured lacquer or a matched stain, take one to two weeks of workshop time. Approved samples are signed, labelled and filed as a matched pair, one with you and one in the workshop, and every finished piece is inspected against them. We agree how samples are handled alongside the commission before they are made. See how sampling works.

We maintain a curated stock of core materials, principal veneers, lacquers and upholstery fabrics, and source specialist materials per commission. For rare or limited materials such as certain exotic veneers, specific stone slabs or bespoke glass, we advise on availability and lead times before design development begins.

Browse our full materials library to see what we work with.

In some circumstances, yes. We assess client-supplied materials for suitability before agreeing to work with them, dimensional stability, moisture content, and finish compatibility all need to be confirmed. We carry no liability for defects in or arising from client-supplied materials.

We match to physical samples, not to colour references alone. If you have an existing piece, fabric, floor or paint finish you need to match to, we ask for a physical sample to work from. We produce a matching sample for approval before any production begins. For lacquer colours we work to RAL, NCS or British Standard references, or mix bespoke.

Design development begins with our team producing detailed drawn proposals, elevations, section drawings and material specifications, for your review. Revisions are made until the design is agreed, after which we move to shop drawings and production approval. We do not begin manufacture without written design sign-off.

For complex projects, design development includes prototype elements and construction method reviews before the shop drawings are finalised.

Most commissions take 10 to 16 weeks from written approval of drawings and samples to delivery. Before that sits design development, typically two to four weeks of drawings, specification and sampling.

The figure depends on what is being made. As published on our lead times page, casegoods and upholstered furniture run 10–14 weeks, fitted joinery 12–16 weeks including site survey and installation, bespoke lighting 10–14 weeks and Murano glass lighting 14–18 weeks, while stone and specialist materials add four to six weeks. Installation itself is usually one to five days on site. A full room of joinery or a hospitality FF&E package is planned as a programme rather than quoted as a single number, with long-lead items ordered against drawing approval. We issue a written programme at sign-off and update it whenever a milestone moves, so you always know where the commission stands.

We work to agreed prices. Once design, materials and scope are signed off, the price is fixed unless you ask for a change.

Every quotation is itemised line by line, covering materials, labour, finishing, hardware and logistics, so you can see what each decision costs before it is made. Where specifications are still open, we quote provisional sums with the assumptions written down and firm them up as drawings are approved. Any variation you request is costed and approved in writing before work changes; there are no retrospective additions at invoice. Payments are typically staged: a deposit on confirmation, stage payments at production milestones and the balance on delivery or installation, with contract work aligned to the main contractor's valuation cycle. Each quotation states how long it remains open, with material prices held for as long as suppliers allow. Our approach is set out in more detail on our pricing page.

Yes. We work to construction programmes regularly, coordinating with main contractors, project managers and site teams. We require a confirmed programme and access schedule at the start of design development. Where a fixed handover date is critical, we factor this into our production planning from the outset.

Yes. Delivery and installation are planned and run by the same project team that manages production, so nothing is handed between strangers at the loading bay.

Finished pieces travel in custom transit cases, blanket-wrapped and padded, in crates built to the piece rather than the pallet. Before anything arrives we check site readiness against the programme (floors down, decoration complete, power available, access clear) and protect adjacent finishes. Fitted joinery is scribed to the room's true lines and fixed to structure; furniture is positioned, levelled and adjusted in place. Installation typically takes one to five days on site, followed by a formal snagging inspection with you or your designer and a written sign-off. On hotel and commercial sites we work inside the contractor's programme, with inductions, RAMS and night working where a venue is trading. For international projects we work with trusted logistics and installation partners, coordinated by our project management team. See delivery and installation.

Yes. We offer an aftercare service for all completed commissions. This includes guidance on routine maintenance, supply of touch-up materials, and return visits for minor adjustments within the agreed aftercare period.

Extended aftercare agreements are available for hospitality clients with ongoing maintenance requirements.

Yes. We have delivered commissions across Europe, the Middle East and the United States, including recent projects in Monaco and the South of France.

International projects are run by our project management team, who coordinate crating, freight, customs documentation and installation partners on the ground. Those steps are written into the programme from the start rather than added at the end, so a commission bound for the Gulf or North America is planned backwards from its installation date with shipping and clearance built in. Production draws on fifteen partner workshops and factories across the UK, Italy, Poland, Turkey and Oman, so a piece can be made where the craft is strongest and shipped direct to site; our largest partner factory, in Istanbul, ships more than 30 containers a month. Upholstery, fire-performance and electrical standards are specified for the destination at brief stage, so compliance is confirmed on the samples, not discovered at customs.

Across a network of fifteen partner workshops and factories, each chosen for the discipline a piece needs, with the studio coordinating the whole commission.

Ten of those workshops are in the UK: upholstery and case goods in High Wycombe, residential joinery in Essex, hospitality furniture in Leicester, lighting in the West Midlands, metalwork in Sussex, and specialists in marquetry, straw marquetry, verre églomise and antique mirror. Larger volumes and further techniques run through partner factories in Istanbul, Lodz and Bergamo, hand-blown glass comes from Murano, and rare decorative disciplines such as khatam and damascene from Oman. Together they bring more than 450 craftspeople and over 20,000 m² of production to a commission. Production is allocated by discipline and brief, never by postcode: we do not manufacture overseas to reduce cost, we manufacture where the craft is. Every site works to the same drawings, control samples and inspection standard. See our manufacturing network.

Workshop visits can be arranged during production, on request and subject to site access rules. Our studio at Chelsea Harbour is open by appointment.

We find that seeing work in progress is one of the most useful parts of the commission process for new clients, it clarifies how decisions made at the drawing stage translate into the making.

We are an industry partner of the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID), and our work is Made in Britain accredited. We are happy to provide references from past clients and designers upon request.