Blog
The Journey from Timber to Tom Howley
At Tom Howley, the relationship between incredible design and excellence in manufacturing is key to what makes us special.
Our founders knew when they started in this business that we couldn’t rely solely on good design or strong manufacturing alone. Both disciplines had to work in harmony.
From the initial conversation with our showroom team all the way to approving the final design, our team collaborates with you to make something truly personalised. What you might not see though, is the behind the scenes work that goes on to bring those designs to life.
That’s why we’re shining a spotlight on our manufacturing processes, the faces behind every Tom Howley kitchen, and the journey your furniture goes on once the design has been agreed – all the way from timber to table.
How a Tom Howley Kitchen Gets Made
When your design has been agreed and all the paperwork organised and ready, your order is sent to the workshop, where it is lovingly taken through the manufacturing process by dozens of experts in Glossop, in the Peak District.
It’s a busy place – there are around 75 kitchens being made in the workshop at any time – but each one is given the care and attention it deserves, from start to finish. In fact, every order has its own physical file of paperwork with a name and a number that follows your kitchen around the workshop. Some might call it old-fashioned, but it’s the best way for us to guarantee nothing is missed, and that every piece that arrives on your doorstep on installation day is absolutely perfect.
Often, our cabinetry and islands start life as solid blocks of carefully sourced hardwood, ready to be broken down into the pieces each kitchen needs. As an entirely bespoke kitchen brand, this way of working allows us to create components that fit perfectly to the designs we’re working on, and we’re not constrained by the limitations of pre-cut pieces. This end-to-end craft also means we’re less reliant on long supply chains, which means fewer delays in the creation of our kitchens.
As our business has grown, we’ve invested in technology to support our artisans and improve our product, but tradition and skill are still paramount to our process.
Much of our cutting, planing, detailing, sanding, painting, and finishing is still done by human hands, and we’re incredibly proud of the people behind our product and the amazing ability we have under our workshop roof.
The People Behind a Tom Howley Kitchen
Our business runs on incredible people doing exceptional work at every stage. We strive for excellence every day, not just to deliver a brilliant product for our customers, but so that we can all feel pride in the work we do.
“When I walk through the workshop today, the thing I’m most proud of is the energy in the factory. I like the energy. I’ve worked in a lot of factories in my life, and they can be negative places. But I don’t think it is here. People are busy, people are working. There’s pride in what they’re doing. People care. After 20 years, that’s what makes me the most proud.” – Mark Clayton, Co-founder and Operations Director
“From the first lump of timber entering the factory, we grade it to make sure it’s the right quality and that it’s right for our clients. As it’s moving through each of the operations, we have different checks where we’re checking everything being manufactured, and we’re asking, is it the right size? Is it the right colour? And that attitude and quality control progresses all the way through the factory.” – Ryan, Factory Manager
“We work to very small tolerances, since everything is so bespoke to Tom Howley. Every kitchen is framed with the door on, so when we receive every door, it’s a perfect fit to the frame, which means between the teams making the doors and the cabinets we have a 1.5 millimetre tolerance, so it’s got to be absolutely perfect before we allow it to go out the door. – Ben, Cabinet Shop Supervisor
“I think the pride that we put into every piece of furniture we make in this factory sets us apart from competitors at every level. Everything that we put in is to do justice to this brand and to the clients. The quality of the products sets us apart – we use some beautiful timber that’s lovely to work with – but I’d say the pride that we put into the work is the main thing.” – Adam, Production Manager
“I think what sets us apart is how much we care about the finished product, just down to the culture. Everyone checks their own work with the approach of “would I want that in my kitchen?”, which is a mindset that sets us apart from other companies. Everything we make, it’s like we’re treating it as our own.” – Pam, Spray Shop Supervisor
Made Proudly in the UK
From day one, every Tom Howley kitchen has been made here in the UK. Our factory in Glossop, Peak District, employs hundreds of local craftspeople with time-honed skill in a multitude of different crafts. We’re passionate about helping our people develop and share their skills to continually improve our product and create spaces that last a lifetime.
Coming up, we’ll be diving deeper into those values that set a Tom Howley kitchen apart from the rest, and how the care and passion we put in show up in the final product our clients experience once we’ve packed up and left them to enjoy their new space.