News
The Samsung AirDresser
The Samsung AirDresser is a technologically advanced gently steams, deodorises, sanitises and dries your precious garments. During November and December this year, this innovative and versatile appliance will be included as a complimentary addition to any Mark Wilkinson dressing, utility or boot room projects commissioned with us. The standalone AirDresser cabinet keeps clothes refreshed, revitalised and sanitised, uses JetSteam technology to provide 99.9%* sanitisation and refreshes garments between washes. The AirDresser’s Deodorising Filter eradicates lingering odours that build up over time and it's HeatPump Drying uses cooler temperatures to dry clothes gently and quickly – reducing damage and shrinkage. When the door is open, the AirDresser also doubles up as a dehumidifier for the room which helps remove moisture from the air.
For further details please call +44 (0) 1380 850007 or email us.
We are Open...Go Virtual with Mark Wilkinson!
JUST LAUNCHED, an alternative to how we usually conduct our showroom design appointments. Meet our talented designers virtually in a fully immersive design service in the comfort of your own home with a shared screen to discuss your project design plus all the finer details. This sophisticated service will give you all the same elements of as if meeting you in person and the ability to make decisions at every important stage of the design process.
For further details please call +44 (0) 1380 850007 or email us.
Mark Wilkinson Furniture Announces New Ownership
Mark Wilkinson Furniture is delighted to announce that it has a new owner. Gary Barnett, the founder and president of Extell Development Company, one of New York's most successful property companies, has purchased the heritage maker alongside its sister brands Smallbone of Devizes and Brookmans. The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, was agreed on Thursday 29th November and ends months of speculation around the future of the much-loved British brands.
Gary Barnett said: "Having deeply admired the company for many years, I was so keen to take this great opportunity to acquire these unique brands. Over the past 10 years, I have had the pleasure of working with Smallbone of Devizes on many projects such as our One57 development in Manhattan and was struck by its incredible design and making; it is rare to find this level of quality. I am looking forward to working to develop and evolve these luxury British, hand-made furniture businesses in the UK and around the world."
This sale has secured the future of 260 employees and continued production in Smallbone's historic home of Devizes, WIltshire, where the company is a major employer and all of its furniture is crafted by hand for sale throughout the world.
The Rt Hon Claire Perry, MP for the Devizes constituency comments: "Smallbone of Devizes, Mark Wilkinson Furniture and Brookmans are heritage brands synonymous with Devizes. I am delighted that production will continue here in Devizes, as it has done for many years, and that the jobs of the employees and local suppliers are secure."
Smallbone of Devizes and Mark Wilkinson Furniture have been at the forefront of kitchen design for the past 40 years. During this time, its clients have included top celebrities and its furniture has graced some of the world's most ground breaking international developments in cities including New York, London and Dubai.
The Walpole British Luxury Awards
Held in late November at the Dorchester Hotel and hosted by Catherine Zeta-Jones, Walpole's British Luxury awards celebrated the legend of Mark Wilkinson OBE.
Selected by an expert panel of judges from the luxury industry from Michael Ward, MD of Harrods to Walpole’s Chairman; Gillian de Bono, to the Editor of FT How to Spend It; Hannah Rothschild. The late Mark Wilkinson's wife, Cynthia collected Walpole's honourable lifetime achievement award on his behalf.
“Mark’s work completely redefined what we understand by a beautifully designed kitchen. Described by one critic as the ‘Mozart of kitchen cabinet makers’, he, more than anyone was responsible for switching the focus away from the kitchen as a utilitarian work-place and into the centre of elegant entertaining. He made the kitchen the heart of the home.” -Helen Brocklebank, Walpole CEO
IN LOVING MEMORY OF MARK WILKINSON, OBE
It is with great sadness that Canburg announces that Mark Wilkinson OBE, one of the world’s most influential designers has passed away peacefully at his home in Wiltshire.
A truly English “eccentric” Mark Wilkinson was a visionary designer and an exceptionally skilled craftsman and furniture maker. Amongst other accolades, he was a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers, a Fellow of the City and Guilds Institute and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers of the City of London; in 2010 he was awarded an OBE for Services to the Furniture Industry and Charity. Mark was also a member of MENSA.
During his long career his designs ranged from clothing to object d’art, but it is for furniture that he will be best remembered. In 1977 his first kitchen design in old pine pioneered the “English Country kitchen” and launched a new industry specialising in this aesthetic and style of living. Mark was a co-founder of Smallbone of Devizes and in 1981 he founded Mark Wilkinson Furniture. The company was sold to Canburg in 2009 and Mark was made Group Creative Director; he remained involved in the business until his death.
Best described as “furniture alchemy” the designs and artisan making of Mark Wilkinson Furniture carries forward Mark Wilkinson’s values in every piece that the company makes – inspired by a sustainable vision of bespoke furniture, rich with heritage and imbued with Mark’s infectious creativity.
Born in 1950, in North London, Mark’s early educational experiences as a child with dyslexia, informed both professional choices and personal passions. He had a long-standing commitment to supporting charities for dyslexia and the educational needs of children with the disability. He and his wife, Cynthia, had recently formed the Mark Wilkinson Foundation for Innovation and Employment to help further the ambitions and careers of young people with dyslexia.
A NEW DIRECTION FOR A STYLE CLASSIC
Britain’s finest furniture maker, Mark Wilkinson Furniture, is celebrating the start of a fifth decade of world-leading furniture design born of a deep-rooted craftsmanship and sense of occasion. Showcasing a new livery for all their showrooms, emphasising it’s world-quality heritage, the new colours employ metal accents in Brushed Gold Titanium, subtly paired with a classic Georgian Brown painted background, reflecting as it does its artisanal roots embroidered into the status that owning the furniture brings.
The unashamedly luxurious brushed metal with concealed halo lighting are techniques that are reflective of Mark Wilkinson’s influence on aspirational lifestyle and will sit comfortably with the most modern of homes. This mould-breaking new store front is already drawing accolades from seasoned market-leading style observers and is naturally followed through by the collections that lie within, proudly earning the accolade, ‘Furniture Alchemy’.
MICHEL ROUX JR’s PERSONAL CHOICE
Michel Roux Jr has a house in France and keeps a traditionally elegant apartment in Clapham for himself, his wife Giselle and daughter Emily, who is currently learning the art of the chef in Paris.
For a family with so many generations dedicated to the art of cooking, the company chosen to design and supply a new kitchen in his home, had to be the best. Michel discovered that many of his contemporaries enjoyed Mark Wilkinson kitchens at home. Having heard what both Michel and Giselle wanted from their new kitchen, Mark Wilkinson Designer, Leila Conway introduced them to the New England Collection with a contemporary twist in choice of colour.
"Although this is a kitchen for Michel, one of the country's top chefs, he was keen that it is also a family kitchen," Leila says, "and quite different from the commercial kitchens that he works in at the restaurant. There are, obviously, some similarities. For instance, at Le Gavroche Michel uses 'induction' cooking and was keen to include the latest Induction technology in the space”.
Michel says: “A kitchen really is the heart of family living, particularly when you come from such a food-focused family as we are. So, as well as being a practical space that gives you enough room to store and prepare everything, it should allow you to express your own style and display some of the special things that you have collected.”
SHANGARA – SOARING ELEGANCE IN CHELSEA
A beautifully proportioned and symmetrical Chelsea townhouse is the perfect fit for the elegant and refined Shan Gara collection. The soaring ceiling height has been enhanced by the use of mirror fronted doors in the upper cabinetry and the space has been finished with wall paneling that integrates seamlessly into the furniture.
Inspired by the Orient, Mark Wilkinson’s Shan Gara is his instinctive translation based on his observations and feeling for the region’s timeless and highly cultured lifestyle. With Shan Gara he has taken the idea of beautiful, simple and evocative forms and created this intriguing collection that is both functional and full of surprise.
HOLLAND PARK SHOWROOM REOPENS WITH A FRENCH FLOURISH
An invited audience of ‘lifestyle-lovers’, which included home-owners, interior designers, international artists and journalists, shared in celebrating the new look Mark Wilkinson Showroom on Holland Park Avenue.
After mingling over a glass of champagne, guests were welcomed to the event by master designer Mark Wilkinson OBE, who introduced the company’s rationale in re-planning the magnificent showroom. He described the modern evolution of two of his collections, Newlyn and New England, which along with the Portobello collection, were designed to offer quite a different experience in viewing kitchens for the 21st century.
Mark explained, with great feeling, how a trusted brand-name is built when he explained a little of the history and background of the company. He ended with a view of how lifestyle-design is developing as the kitchen grown more central to modern life, with family, enjoyment of entertaining and food at its core.
The welcomes over, Mark passed the floor to the UK’s favorite French Chef, Michel Roux Jr., who installed Mark Wilkinson furniture in his family’s apartment in Clapham. Michel is, of course, chef at La Gavroche on Upper brook Street and he entertained guests with demonstrations of famous French dishes. These included Chicken with Saffron Milk Cap Mushrooms… or Poulet aux lactaires delicieux et Rhum. In true Roux tradition, Michel was assisted by his daughter, who is on her way to become an accomplished chef. Guests were spellbound by his demonstration and had opportunity to interact with Michel and to experience his culinary expertise.
PORTOBELLO – CONTEMPORARY URBAN STYLE
Portobello, a contemporary kitchen collection from Mark Wilkinson Furniture, takes its design inspiration from one of London's most iconic streets.
Vibrant, multicultural and buzzing with energy and excitement, Portobello Road has always sparked the imagination of famous film and TV directors, novelists, artists and musicians. Nestled in the trendy London district of Notting Hill, it draws visitors from all over the world to its market stalls, rich character and sense of history. Colourful in one sense but dynamic and cool in others, the young-at-heart are attracted to its unique atmosphere.