The inspirational story behind Goldfinger furniture

Goldfinger is a London-based bespoke furniture design studio, pioneering positive impact with great, long-lasting design. Here we share their brand story so far…

Tell us more about how Goldfinger came about and why?

Goldfinger is an award-winning social enterprise showing the world that high-end design can and should be planet and people positive. For both homes and businesses alike, Goldfinger crafts bespoke, made-to-order furniture from sustainable materials, diverting waste from landfill and reducing carbon emissions. Sustainability has always been at the heart of our mission. It is not an add-on, it’s our very reason for existing.

Goldfinger started out in 2013 focusing on repurposing old furniture and working with reclaimed materials. A few key partnerships paved the road to crafting luxury furniture. Our focus remains on using sustainable British timber sources that can reduce the need for imported wood as well as resist throwaway culture.

As a part of our social mission, we have always also had a deep sense of commitment to the community surrounding our studio in the iconic Trellick Tower on Golborne Road. Since 2015, we’ve been sitting down with our local community once a month at our People’s Kitchen, where we share an entirely free delicious meal cooked up from surplus ingredients. Likewise, the Goldfinger Academy exists to address the opportunity gap in our borough, training young people out of work and education, building their confidence and skills to enter design and craft careers.

October 2023 saw Goldfinger celebrate their milestone ten-year anniversary, marking a decade spent pioneering a vision for consciously-crafted furniture that supports the circular economy.

How is Goldfinger different in the market?

We primarily source timber from British trees that have been felled due to disease, weather, and development, which we call ‘Treecycled’ wood. Every year thousands of British trees are felled. Most are needlessly chipped and burned for biofuel, prematurely ending the tree’s life-cycle. By collaborating with local sawmills, in 2023 alone Goldfinger saved 4300kg of Treecyled timber from incineration by transforming it into furniture. This gives felled trees a second life, sequesters carbon stored within the timber, and creates a new circular supply chain.

With Treecycled wood, Goldfinger can ensure an incredibly high degree of supply chain traceability. As a part of our maker’s mark, we off to stamp the exact GPS coordinates of where the original tree once stood onto Treecycled products, embedding transparency into each design, and connecting customers to its natural heritage.

Tell us more about the design process and the journey from ideation to product? How do you collaborate with clients?

We pride ourselves on our collaborative process working with our clients in the A&D trade. Often, they may bring us a concept, sketch or open brief that our designers have the freedom to further expand and advise on. If the design is already set, we are happy to further consult on sustainable material options and timber choice before fabricating and bringing their idea to life.

Several of these bespoke projects were further developed to become co-branded collections, such as our line with Inhabit Hotels and the Goldfinger + TATE Modern collection.

We also offer a curation of Signature designs on our website. These are our most popular ready-to-make designs accessible to both designers and general consumers alike. Each piece is made-to-order to maintain a minimal carbon footprint.

What is your view on sustainability in furniture making and the importance of working with clients on bespoke projects?

Education is an enormous part of the equation in moving towards greater sustainability in furniture making. Our impact arm, the Goldfinger Academy, opens career opportunities for those underrepresented in design industries by teaching sustainable woodworking traineeships. It is also our pleasure through speaking engagements at trade events and CPDs to further the conversation with designers on how to specify sustainable timber alongside integrating circular design processes.

Our clients come to us precisely because they are excited about the provenance of the materials we can access and the social impact we deliver through our products. They’re keen to have a piece with a rich story behind it, that can equally lean into the expert, handcrafted joinery techniques we employ as well as the origins of their chosen timber.

What’s next for Goldfinger in 2024 and beyond?

We are excited to finally reveal later this Autumn one of our largest projects to date, a custom workplace installation for Heatherwick Studio’s Kings Cross headquarters. Heatherwick Studio has been a wonderful champion of our work, amplifying the importance of working with the materials on our doorstep.

We will next be appearing in good company in The Green Room at Decorex showing the way forward as sustainability-led brands. We always look forward to trade shows to personally connect with designers, hear what they need from us now, and showcase the range of our capabilities.

For more information and to see full Goldfinger collection and bespoke project case studies please visit goldfinger.design

DISCOVER ANOTHER BRITISH FURNITURE BRAND HERE.