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Being Sustainable with all our packaging

At Mark Lowe we are always trying to be as sustainable as we can. A big part of this is being sustainable with all our packaging. We are always working on how to make our products more sustainable. We know that our customers are not the type of people to buy and then throw away objects after a year or so. Our customers buy our products to last for many years maybe even forever!

When it comes to packaging we want to do the same. Most of our products are posted in some way (see a previous blog on me driving to south Wales for an alternative). We have to make sure that whatever has been ordered will survive the journey, therefore we have to use enough packaging to protect your precious cargo.

We have updated our packaging over the last 6 months and now only use paper packaging for all our products – our shades do come in a plastic bag as this comes from our shade manufacturer. – We have found a good alternative to bubble wrap through a company called Kite packaging which does the job very well. (see picture below).

So, we will continual to work hard and be sustainable with all our packaging.  I think we are doing well so far.

Mark Lowe

 

Sustainable packaging at mark lowe

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Featured Nottingham Creative for The Creative Quarter.

Featured Nottingham Creative – for The Creative Quarter.

Thank you to the Nottingham Creative Quarter for featuring us in their weekly newsletter/online in their ‘Featured Business’ section.

I enjoyed answering a few questions regarding the business, other businesses and Nottingham in general.

It’s nice to get questions and then to really think about how you should answer. It was nice to mention some friends and fellow creatives that I have worked with and that have helped me – Olivia Aspinall and Joff and Ollie have been really big helps to us and good friends as well. It’s also nice to talk about where we go in Nottingham for food and drinks.

Follow the link and have a look. Article

Keep Safe

Mark

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Embankment show at the begining of March

We were pleased to take part in the recent event at The Embankment near Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

The Makers Market is held a few times a year. We had a brilliant spot in a beautiful room to show off or product range.

marklowe.co.uk wanted to use the event as a way of enabling some of our local contacts to come and see us and be able to see all our products out on show. We got in touch with all the local interior designers we have talked to and were please to welcome a number of them over the day.

As any business person knows, it is so important to be able to talk top customers ‘in the flesh’ and for them to see our products in front of them and altogether.

We have also developed some new products that we had showcased at the event. We have a key rack in the theme of the Edie coat rack and two different shaped hardwood cutting boards that also follow the theme. We got loads of positive feedback about them. They will be coming to our shop very soon.

Next stop is ECLECTIC HOMES & INTERIORS FAIR 

Sat 11 April 2020 (Shoreditch, London)

More to come very soon.

Kind Regards

Mark

 

 

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We’re at the Makers Market – The embankment – This Weekend

We’re at the Makers Market – The embankment – This Weekend

We’re looking forward to our first time at this event. It’s at The Embankment, Arkwright Street, Trent Bridge NG2 2GR. Free entry and pen between 11am and 4pm.

The Embankment was the old Boots Social Club and is now a pub and venue. The main room we are using is the function room which has a beautiful interior with lots of windows and a real character. There will be many other makers there, all I believe are from the local area.

Tamily Cookson is the organiser – Tamily Cookson Events. She has a great deal to do with local makers and is also part of the creative quarter team based in Sneinton market.

Please come down and have a look around. Come and say hello – mark lowe -and event pop back down stairs for a Sunday pint or even Lunch.

and don’t forget – We’re at the Makers Market – The embankment – This Weekend

Mark

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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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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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Working with ‘Anything In Particular’

Anything In Particular Mustard and Chrome Prova Lamp

From antique to vintage, from decorative to downright bizarre. We have been doing some work with Anything In Particular (https://anythinginparticular.co.uk)over the last few months and really enjoying it.

I met Jon through a mutual friend a couple of months ago and we were talking about our businesses. His and his partners business is in buying (and sometimes restoring) all sorts of objects from any decade or even century. A lot of the objects he buys need some sort of restoration or even to be appropriated as something very slightly different. I was happy to help him with some of these objects.

As you can see from the object above this lamp was a wall lamp and by simply making a tasteful base it can now be used as a table lamp.

We will continue this relationship as it works well for both businesses. I also find it a challenge to think of a simple way to fix a problem much like when I am designing my own objects, design really is about solving a problem simply.

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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!’