words Max Fraser
Mark is a new British furniture and lighting brand. The name stands for “Made and Realised in Kernow”, Kernow being Cornish for Cornwall. While “Made in England” may have lost its gleam, here’s a company that’s happy to whet our appetite for products that state their provenance.
Based in Falmouth, the company has pooled a selection of British designers, comprising Richard Shed, Tom Price, Gala Wright, Dylan Freeth, Sam Johnson, Kay + Stemmer, Tom Raffield and Tomoko Azumi, and partnered them with skilled Cornish manufacturers.
One such partnership takes surfboard producer Homeblown into furniture production by introducing its Biofoam material to a surf-inspired tabletop by Kay + Stemmer and a sleek low-level outdoor lounger by Tom Price. Other manufacturers include the established contract furniture producer Zoeftig, cabinetmaker Rozen, and family-run Perham Upholstery.
Despite being among the poorest counties in England, Cornwall promises a lifestyle change which attracts many people to move there. MARK founders and contributing designers, Anna Hart (the interior designer responsible for Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall) and John Miller (director of design at University College Falmouth) are two such emigrants from London. Indeed, they view Cornwall itself as being their third (and silent) business partner, as they aim
to integrate elements of the county’s scenic beauty and laid-back atmosphere into a growing collection of comfortable, well-made, locally produced and usable products – qualities that are often missing in our current age of over-design.
