The idea of British made is a bit anomalous these days, such allegiances provoking a wary glare, batedly awaiting the accompanying bigotry that usually follows.
Union Jack murals on houses, England shirts, Kebabs and Curries, are what the term British made invokes. But it does harken back to a time when the modest, honest to a fault ‘British’, made quality things with their hands.
It’s the mid 1940s onwards and droves of bodies are returning from their service as soldier to flood the labour market. Indeed in the USA these veterans are demanding a ‘new deal’ from Roosevelt creating arguably the greatest economic and social stimulus package we know of.
The remnants of British prestige can still be seen in luxury leather, with many brands using the so-called British heritage as cool by association. But British furniture hardly carries the same PRESTIGE…. It once did.
G-Plan, Esavian, Pieff are some of the more well known UK purveyors of quality vintage and mid-century furniture. All were integrating into their designs the technology and manufacturing facilities available to produce bombers, beds, boots. Out of the apparatus of War came radial proportions, rapid assembly, material manipulation and saturation - a language of design.
No British furniture design mention would be complete without Habitat® in its heyday. Introducing Blighty to solid oak alternatives, and trading nans brown velvet sofa for a monochrome red Pop! TC’s (Terrence Conran) Habitat became a yuppy Primark for a sullen culture revoluting their daily grey aesthetic.
ESA or Esavian, was another furniture manufacturer employing residual aircraft materials, particularly steel used to make spitfires, to make desks and chairs. Timothy Oulton is synonymous with this aviation style design.
Manufacturing quality, workmanship and material quality is a constant litmus test of cost nowadays, designed to last as long as the fad does, not the centuries the items will, inert to decomposition. Whereas the British steel in James Leonard Esavians chairs and tables is as strong today as it was 60 years ago.
Add the cost of doing business against the exploitative costs capital demands from browner countries. And making affordable items, that are good quality with good workmanship is not only impractical but basically impossible.
Luckily though, like all things conjured nostalgic, we can be grateful to prior custodians for preserving, and to good design for enduring.
And to good sourcing…. Here is a selection of vintage British made design
LARGE CHROME RIBBON HABITAT LAMP | PAIR
STEEL INDUSTRIAL STOOLS | VINTAGE
VINTAGE THORN LIGHTING TABLE LAMP
Vintage Thorn lighting uplighter
Tim Bates for Pieff Black Sofa
Vintage mid-century Flambe studio vase
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