Awards Supplement The David Caulfield Outstanding
Contribution Award 2023 Simon Taylor, Managing Director, Simon Taylor Furniture
How did you begin your career within the industry?
I left school age 16 to do a two-year course to become a master cabinetmaker at Rycotewood College, a specialist educational establishment dedicated to making handmade furniture. I was awarded Craftsman of the Year and graduated top of my class. I set up my business in 1985 and soon started making furniture for Linley together with bespoke kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms for private clients. Through word of mouth, the business expanded quickly. Simon Taylor Furniture soon moved to larger premises in Bierton, Buckinghamshire, which remains the location of our HQ, showroom and cabinet workshop to this day.
What would you say is your key to success and the longevity of your business?
Being true to the original ethos of the business, which is to be truly bespoke. We have never offered pre-designed furniture ranges and we only design and make completely bespoke furniture in any style, size, colour and material, within reason. Every project is individually designed to suit the lifestyles of our clients, and made to their exact requirements. We also offer full project
management where we design, make and install all kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms, and we offer a white glove service. Consequently, we achieve a high rate of client recommendations.
Another important factor in the success of the business is that I work with two longstanding directors and long-serving staff, for whom I have great loyalty and respect. In addition, I have always run an apprenticeship scheme to help support young people with craft skills to enter our industry. In 2021, Simon Taylor Furniture partnered with Rycotewood College in Oxford to offer a Level 2 Bespoke Manufacturer Apprenticeship scheme which is part academic, with modules held at the college, and part work-based, at my cabinet workshop. I am about to recruit my third apprentice on this scheme and we are working on introducing other courses.
What would you say has been your greatest achievement?
My two wonderful children, George and Lucy.
What does winning this award mean to you? It means a huge amount. I had no idea that I had even been nominated, and it came as a great
surprise to find out that I had won the David Caulfield Outstanding Contribution Award and, for that, I thank the judges and everyone at BKU. Because I was allowed to make a short speech at the BKU Awards, I was alerted in advance, which allowed me the opportunity to not only invite my work colleagues, but to also invite my wife, Deborah, who works in the business, my sister Juliette, my son, George and my mother, Rosemary. It was my first opportunity to publicly thank my mother for the many sacrifices she made for me when I went to college, and when I started in business, and that wil be a lasting memory for me.
What does the future hold for you and for Simon Taylor Furniture?
We currently have a full order book, and I am in the process of hiring more fitters, which is heartening in these straitened times. In addition, we will be taking on more apprentices into 2024 and beyond. We are also upgrading our showroom and we are working toward the 40th anniversary of the business in 2025. For me, personally, I have lot more to achieve before I can even consider retirement.
6 BKU DECEMBER 2021 AWARDS SUPPLEMENT
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