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Visit to Decorex

Yesterday was our first visit to decorex Decorex  International at Olympia London. Although I’ve attended a few exhibitions/events at Olympia  This was the first time I had visited Decorex.

As well as the usual reasons for visiting; getting inspiration and chatting to other makers and interior designers. Other reasons for visiting were  to meet to people with whom we had arranged before hand.

Visiting to decorex we met up with Jane and Cat from Author interiors who we will being doing business with very soon. We also managed to have a chat with someone from Eporta who was very helpful. To do with Eporta, we attended a talk/seminar about lighting design. Eporta sponsor all of the talks.

Although it was a lot of driving for a day it was definitely worth while, a few real positives came out of it, with interior designers interested in our lighting.

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New contemporary lampshade colours for the autumn

We have chosen new shade colours and are trying a new shade shape this autumn.

New contemporary lampshade colours for the autumn

At mark lowe We regularly look  for the new colour trends of the season. Keeping our eyes out throughout the year. Looking online, in magazines and by visiting shows. Yellow with a gold lining has been a very popular choice. This autumn we are going for a slightly different yellow this time in linen (also a very popular fabric). As with the previous yellow this will be with a gold lining. We are also going for a turquoise with copper lining. This is an exciting new colour with the ever popular copper lining.

Of course we still have a large variety of coloured fabric cords to choose from. Choose the right one to compliment your new contemporary lampshade colours for the autumn

All these new colour combos along with regular one’s will be available for you to view at The Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair, Deansgate, Manchester 10th -13th October.

We are looking forward to meeting you there.

Mustard yellow and turquois colour swatches
Colour swatches for the new autumn shades.

Yours Mark

 

 

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Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

Header for the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair

A couple of weeks to go before we are part of the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Manchester. I’ll post a few blogs building up to it. I’m using as much social media as possible to promote this show. This is not only for our business –Mark Lowe -but for all the great Designer Makers who will be there. These shows are a great opportunity for people to see ‘in person’ all of the designers-makers and to view, inspect and even touch their work. Many pieces will be available as well as commissions and orders being possible. For more details visit wwww.greatnorthernevents.co.uk Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair in Manchester
wwww.greatnorthernevents.co.uk
Great Northern Events

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Handmade Oxford

We had a busy weekend at the end of June as part of the Handmade Oxford show. this is part of the Handmade Britain group who organised a few shows over the year and around the country.

We had a stand there and enjoyed meeting and talking to many people including customers as well as other stand holders.

It was a busy and well attended weekend with lovely weather.

I am sure we will be there again and at other show as well.

Mark

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New Product Launch – Edie Coat Rack

We’re really pleased to be launching our brand new Edie Coat Rack at this years Handmade Oxford show (see previous blog).
Based on the Edie coat stand the Coat Rack is wall mounted and, as with so many of our products, you can different options to suit your style and needs. These include; Wood, size (how many hooks) and a choice of coloured discs inset behind the hooks.
Soon to be available on this website, come and view them at the show – Handmade Oxford, Waterperry gardens Thursday 27th to Sunday Edie Coat Rack in AshEdie Coat Rack in Ash

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Handmade Oxford

Just a short note to say that we’re looking forward to Handmade Oxford at the end of June. Thursday 27th June – Sunday 30th June.

Handmade Oxford – The International Contemporary Arts Festival

This will be our first major festival and we are looking forward to meeting and talking to lots of people and new customers.

More updates to come over the next few weeks.

Mark

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We’re in The Nottingham Evening Post

Just before Christmas I had an order to be delivered to south Wales. We booked for it to be picked up by Hermes but unfortunately they didn’t bother turning up not once but twice. Due to certain complications regarding delivery to the address I decided to take the parcel down myself. After doing this I posted a picture on Instagram with a brief description like this. This was picked up by The Nottingham Evening post and they did a (nearly) full page feature on the story!
Take a look here –

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/business/nottingham-designer-makes-long-journey-2345045

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Customer review from Isle of Mull

Thank you to our customer from the Isle of Mull for your lovely review and for ordering a table lamp after receiving her Adjustable Standard Lamp. Photo of her lamp is above.

Please read her review below.

Dear Mark and Marianne,

We are pleased to tell you that our lamp arrived safe and sound on the Isle of Mull this morning and it is beautiful. Parcelforce has been a great option for us and to be within 48 hours at this time of year is a miracle. 

We found the website through Etsy initially, then following on Instagram. The workmanship looked perfect for our aesthetic but since we had not seen any of Mark’s work it was a leap of faith to place an online order. We didn’t have a moment’s worry after placing the order, communication was excellent, timescales and expectations managed. Excellent, professional customer service for a small company. Their choice of courier for us meant that our item arrived within 48 hours in perfect condition. This is no mean feat considering we live in the Hebrides, Scotland. Lastly, our lamp is beautiful and we are very happy to have it in our home. 

Alison

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The Story so far….

Mark Lowe Adjustable Standard Lamp Wingnut Detail

The story so far…

Through simple design and quality workmanship, Mark Lowe has developed a reputation for quality, handmade lighting. Along with these attributes comes the knowledge that all the products are manufactured in Nottingham, here in the UK.

Even before studying for a degree in Furniture design at the renowned Loughborough College of Art and Design, mark was a keen observer and designer. ‘I remember feeling inspired by the history of design and reading about movements like Arts and Crafts and the Bauhaus school’. After spending time working as a lighting designer and then teacher of design, Mark had the itch to design and make his own products. ‘I was sitting on the sofa and thought it would be nice to have a light that could be adjusted for reading. I started sketching ideas and a few months later had a working prototype’. Many improvements and adjustments later and the first lamp was ready to go into production (on a small scale that is). Following the success of the MLASL01 Adjustable Standard Lamp the first range was completed with the addition of the Standard Lamp and the Table lamp, both sharing a striking design feature of the coloured cord being integral to the body of the lamp. Another big part of the designs are the choices offered when you purchase a lamp. As well as the different designs the customer can choose between timbers and a wide variety of cord and shade colours. ‘It’s a bit like buying a new car, you get a number of options to really make it a bespoke lamp for you.’

This has all happened over the last few years and Mark Lowe – Lighting continues to grow and gain new followers. However, Mark is keen to keep control, not only of the business but of the quality of the products. ‘I still make all the lamps myself by hand. I will be happy to have help but know that I must be the one to complete each lamp.’ Therefore, he will not be over expanding and just aiming to ‘make a quick buck’. ‘Although the lamps are designed to be batch produced, I want to keep the numbers down. I don’t want to make this a huge business selling to anyone’.

Looking to the future

With a small but perfectly formed range of lights and a philosophy not to become too big, perhaps the company might sit on their laurels and be happy. This is not the case. ‘We are an ambitious company and want to grow in the right way’. The company will continue to develop choice for the lamps and aim to be ‘on trend’ with colours and styles. They have many products in development and are ambitious about expanding the range beyond lighting to other related items. ‘I enjoy being in my workshop making our products and more recently developing new ones. We need to think about the future. We definitely have a good idea where we want to be in ten years!’