POSTED ON 09/20/2018 IN Blog , News BY Jamie Bourn
Paving the Way for the Future of UK Upholstery Manufacturing
In the final part of our mini series looking at how Whitemeadow supports its customers, we are looking to the future and the ways in which Whitemeadow are investing in the UK upholstery industry. Inspiring the next generation through engaging with school children, helping re-train the local community in key upholstery skills and investing heavily in new facilities are just a few of the ways we demonstrate our dedication to ensuring Whitemeadow stays at the forefront of the industry way into the future.
In 2017, Whitemeadow Upholstery and The Furniture Makers’ Company were delighted to announce the launch of the first-ever Whitemeadow Upholstery Design Award. Whitemeadow Managing Director, Ian Oscroft commented at the time: “We know that to ensure Whitemeadow stays at the forefront of the industry, we need to continually bring fresh new designs to the market and to that end we encourage a working climate for inspiration”. The first placement was so successful that we have now welcomed our second student, Megan Glew, a Product Design student from Nottingham Trent University, into the Design department for a 1-year placement.
And we’re not stopping there, we’re going back to school! We're helping to inspire the next generation of designers and furniture makers by supporting a campaign organised by The Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishing industry’s charity. We are sponsoring eight schools within the Nottinghamshire area, where the company was founded and still based today. Launched in 2014, the School Design Prize raises awareness of the furnishing industry among school children by rewarding them for their design & technology course work. Whitemeadow believe it is absolutely key for our industry that we focus on developing the next generation and we are keen therefore to support this initiative within our local area. Hopefully we will see some of these young faces working at Whitemeadow in the future!
Later this year we are due to launch our Sewing School for local people who would like to train as sewing machinists. The idea behind our sewing school is to encourage people to pursue a career in upholstery manufacturing and equip them with the technical skills and experience they need to make a go of it.
And finally, we are delighted to unveil our brand new, state of the art Design and Development Centre. We have invested more than £700,00 in the custom-built 13750 sq ft facility, which not only houses our full design and development team, but also a 4000 sq ft customer showroom!
We are confident that the investment Whitemeadow have made in their workforce and facilities at the front end of the business will stand us in good stead for the future and help strengthen our position as one of the most creative and innovative furniture manufacturers in the UK.
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Discovering New Talent at the Creatives Industries Expo, NTU
Whitemeadow were delighted to exhibit at the first ever Creative Industries Expo at Nottingham Trent University last month. Managing Director Ian Oscroft, Human Resource Manager, Karen Clarridge and Marketing Manager, Zehra Gezer manned the Whitemeadow stand throughout the day. Ian commented: "We know that to ensure Whitemeadow stays at the forefront of the industry, we need to continually bring fresh new designs to the market and to that end we encourage a working climate for inspiration. It was particularly refreshing to attend the fair and talk with so many young people who are passionate about design and have a desire to innovate".
The Expo was aimed at students enrolled on creative courses such as Product Design, Furniture Design and Textiles who are looking for opportunities including graduate jobs, work experience, freelance projects during their studies or volunteer work. Over 40 companies exhibited on the day, including Next Retail Ltd, New Look Retailers Ltd, Design Council and Games Workshop. In total, 739 students attended the fair and was deemed a great success by the organisers.
Karen commented:"Whitemeadow already have a strong relationship with Leicester De Montfort University where we launched the first ever Whitemeadow Upholstery Design Award in 2017. Product Design student Josh Greaves was the winner and is currently completing a very successful one year work placement with our Design department. This event has given us some great exposure amongst local students, and meeting so many talented and enthusiastic individuals has given me confidence in the pool of talent from which we can attract future employees".
Whitemeadow Launches Upholstery Design Award 2017
PRESS RELEASE
The Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishing industry’s charity, and Whitemeadow Upholstery are delighted to announce the launch of the first-ever Whitemeadow Upholstery Design Award for 2017.
The new award, which was launched on Monday 30 January 2017, will ask students to design a commercial upholstery range of sofas or chairs for the home, focusing on excellence in design, materials, craftsmanship and function.
The competition is open to any product design or furniture design student over the age of 18 in full time education at any college or university in the UK.
The winner will be offered a paid work placement within Whitemeadow’s busy design department at its base in Sutton In Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, where they’ll receive insight into the practical side of upholstery design and manufacture.
Ben Burbidge, Master of The Furniture Makers’ Company, said: “As the furnishing industry’s charity, we want to encourage new talent to enter our industry and have put in place an extensive education programme to help create a powerful workforce for the future.
“We would like to thank Whitemeadow for sponsoring this new award, which will challenge young people to think both creatively and commercially, and for offering such a fantastic prize to the winner.”
Ian Oscroft, Managing Director at Whitemeadow, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with The Furniture Makers’ Company, our industry’s charity, on this new award. There is a wealth of talent out there and we’re excited to see what the students can design.
“We know that to ensure Whitemeadow stays at the forefront of the industry, we need to continually bring fresh new designs to the market and to that end we encourage a working climate for inspiration. We look forward to welcoming the eventual winner and helping them develop as a designer.”
The deadline for entries is Friday 14 April 2017.
The information pack and application form is available by emailing Damilola Bamidele: grantsandeducation@furnituremakers.org.uk.
Why Whitemeadow is at the Forefront of the Upholstery Industry
Continuing with our series on how Whitemeadow supports its customers, this week we are taking a closer look at the expertise and experience that Whitemeadow is home to.
Situated in the heart of the upholstery manufacturing centre of the UK, Whitemeadow was established in 1994, handcrafting products in our Nottinghamshire factory.
Fast-forward to today and we’re proud to maintain our commitment to craftsmanship, but now on a much larger scale. Expansion has allowed us to produce more but has never extinguished our commitment to keeping all our products hand-crafted in our Nottinghamshire factories.
And we wouldn’t be where we are today without the exceptional skills of our experienced and dedicated workforce. Team members at Whitemeadow hold a wide set of skills which enables us to be agile in our creative and manufacturing processes, and we are proud to have a workforce that has built up many years of experience with the company- our Frames team have a combined experience of 118 years!
Experienced Design and Development department
Beginning with just one designer 20 years ago, our innovative and passionate design team is the foundation of our business. The team is now over 20 strong and embodies a mix of creative energy and industry experience. The whole team shares the same drive and desire to create inspirational, innovative designs in the latest fabrics and get them to market before our competition. Our Design Director, Paul Ainley, who has been with the business for over 20 years, commented “Our team here are always working on something new, it’s exciting to take new designs to our customers and see them get really enthusiastic about our products, it’s what we’re here for”.
Fully trained Customer Support teams
We have specific teams to support our customers and continually invest in ongoing training to assist you with all your pre-delivery and post-delivery queries. Whether you wish to amend an order or simply track the progress of your order, we have over 107 years of experience at Whitemeadow within our Customer Support teams, so you can be sure that the person dealing with your request is an expert in their field.
Whitemeadow are committed to focussing on design leadership, efficient production processes and attention to quality to ensure that we support you, our customers, in making your business a success.
To find out more about how we can support your business please contact your Whitemeadow Sales Manager or email enquiries@whitemeadow.com