Made in Britain

Made in the UK: four words that are increasingly on British customers' radar. Why? Because buying home-grown products not only boosts the economy, but taps into a growing interest in the provenance of products.

Sue Chiverton, Buyer, silverware, cutlery and decorative glass, is working on projects with British designers including cutlery designer William Welch of Studio William. 'We are sponsoring a competition for design colleges that involves designing dessert cutlery. It will be judged by William and whatever is selected will be made and sold through us.'

Sally Hudson, Buyer, living and dining, sees supporting British furniture design as an important part of her team's strategy.

'Being able to combine this with sourcing lovely, unique pieces is a real bonus. Despite our size, we can still act as a showcase for smaller British producers and bring their products to a wider audience via John Lewis.'

Best of British

One of Sally's suppliers is Lucy Turner, whose  love of an old sideboard sparked a design career that now sees her unique pieces on sale at John Lewis.

'I bought a sideboard from a charity shop but my boyfriend hated it because it was dark and gloomy. As an experiment I decided to cover it in bright yellow Formica. It worked out just as I had imagined, my boyfriend loved it - and I realised I'd stumbled on something special.'

The idea was a moment of inspiration but acquiring the skills to carry out the designs took far longer. 'A lot of experimenting went on, and finally I came up with a process that is unique to me,' says Lucy. 'I took one of my first completed pieces to an exhibition and it created a lot of interest and sold immediately.'

Formica function

Lucy knew she was onto a good thing: it ticked lots of boxes, was sustainable, fun, bright, colourful, bespoke and made in the UK. 'Now, five years on, I feel I've really established myself and developed a distinctive design collection.'

Cutting class

Lucy did her design degree at Plymouth University and then spent two years at University College Falmouth. It was here that she was able to develop her Formica cutting skills.

'I wanted to stay working in Cornwall and create products that are totally British. I was determined to make my business work here though I knew it wouldn't be easy,' says Lucy. She took on lots of jobs, from postwoman to tiler on a building site, as she struggled to get her business off the ground.

Piled up in the corner of her studio is old furniture - cabinets, wardrobes and of course sideboards, waiting to be brought back to life. She mostly uses British pieces from the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

'They are well designed and beautiful, made of solid wood, and it would be a real waste not to reuse them. Where some people see old fashioned I see quality,' says Lucy, who tours second-hand shops looking for suitable pieces.

People also bring pieces to her. 'Often it's something from a grandparent's home that holds memories, but they feel is dated. I can give it a new lease of life.'

Design for living

Lucy's connection with John Lewis started when she met Sally Hudson, Buyer, living and dining, at a design exhibition. 'Supplying John Lewis was a big move forward for me but I was sure I could cope with the demand and Sally and her team have been very supportive.'

Julie Cowling, Assistant Buyer, has been working closely with Lucy to help her develop her retail experience. 'She obviously had great potential but we are the first retailer she has supplied,' explains Julie. 'However, she was happy to take our advice on how to develop her products.'

Industrial interiors

John Lewis also now stocks a number of Davey's wall and ceiling lights. Davey Lighting began business in the shipyards of 19th century London. Made in a factory in Oxford, its interior and exterior pendants, wall lights and uplighters were until recently only available to the trade.

Now John Lewis customers can home in on their simplicity of design and choice of finish, including weathered brass and copper, polished aluminium and galvanized cast iron.

The company was threatened with overseas acquisition last year but was rescued by Peter Bowles, founder of British lighting company Original BTC. Davey's manufacturing expertise and catalogue of historic designs now add an industrial edge to John Lewis's lighting range.

Diane Simpson, Buyer, lighting, explains, 'The pared-down style of the range fits in perfectly with Refined Puritan, our main contemporary trend this season.'

Potted history

Heritage designs from Burleigh as well as more modern items from younger company Big Tomato also grace John Lewis shelves.

Burleigh, a family business established in 1851, is still manufacturing a pure English earthenware product in its Stoke-on-Trent factory.

It uses ball clay from Devon; china clay from Cornwall and the highly skilled decorative process of underglaze transfer printing from engravings which makes every piece unique. This rare process was once common in the English pottery industry.

Much use is made of archive moulds and the company continues to preserve the same techniques and craftsmanship used since Burleigh was founded.

'We have a long tradition of working with the potteries in Stoke-on-Trent,' says Polon Tong, Assistant Buyer, table top. 'These include Burleigh, Denby, Portmeirion, and Big Tomato. This shows the breadth of manufacturing and design that still exist in the UK.'

John Lewis's support of this year's Elle Decoration British Design Awards also shows its commitment to supporting British designers and, where possible, manufacturers.

The shortlist for the awards was published in the October edition of Elle Decoration and the winners of the eight categories will be announced in the magazine's December issue, on sale 2 November. John Lewis is a nominee in the Best Retailer section.