Goldfinger is a social enterprise centred around design and making. They create quality bespoke furniture, homeware and fittings from reclaimed and sustainable materials, while also helping develop skills of local people. Goldfinger’s HQ is based at the foot of the Ernö Goldfinger-designed Trellick Tower in west London. At this location they have education programmes for marginalised young people, and the People’s Kitchen which offers free meals to local residents. Since it was founded in 2013 all of their profits support their social impact.

At the sustainable shop they sell products made by Goldfinger artisans, as well as independent brands who share their values of good design, sustainability and social responsibility. Sustainability is important to them and everything is crafted from rescued or sustainably-sourced materials, rescuing over 398 tonnes of material from landfill. Goldfinger also has collaborated with brands such as Tom Dixon, Arup, John Lewis and Whistles, helping to spread their beliefs. The Goldfinger Academy offers courses in sustainable woodworking and craft, while also leasing spaces free-of-charge to local residents on low-income, to create social inclusion and promote wellbeing. These artisans are asked to then pass on their knowledge to young residents, 16-25 year olds who may not be employed, in education, or training. This helps create future-proof crafts people with knowledge in important skills. Goldfinger Academy is also developing an in-school programme to equip young learners to be the sustainably–minded designers of their future.

Partnership with Tom Dixon

Goldfinger’s Manifesto:

Our future depends on trees.

Use wood thoughtfully.

Your table was once a tree.

Some day it could be something else.

Make sure your wood hasn’t travelled too far.

Reuse where possible.

Demand that it’s sustainably grown.

Buy less. Use your hands more.

Question how things are made, and what they are made from.

Learn how to make something — it’s revolutionary.

Invest in the traditions of craftsmanship.

Good design, made well, lasts longer.

Invite others to your table.

Enduring beauty is meant to be shared.

Create spaces that feed the soul.

Let’s reset our relationship to the living world.

Our everyday choices have power.

Choose as if all life depends on it.

The Ayrton Collection has recently been launched in partnership with London Craft Week. This is the first Goldfinger-designed furniture collection which gives new life to donated reclaimed teak. A desk, chair, bench and side table were made from reclaimed teak, donated by Imperial College London’s Department of Electrical Engineering, and Douglas Fir, sourced from British trees that have been felled to make way for urban development. The designs of the pieces themselves highlight the use of traditional joinery techniques by Goldfinger’s in-house Designer and Maker Daniele Barco, and feature minimal brass detailing. The collection is named after Hertha Ayrton, the first female to publish a paper at the Institution of Electrical Engineering and a suffragette. 

The collection launch will include an online auction to sell the exclusive first edition of the collection and raise funds for the Goldfinger Academy, a launch event at Goldfinger including a talk on Circular Design with founder Marie Carlisle and Katie Treggiden, and an Open Studio running throughout the festival. 

Since its beginnings in 2015 Goldfinger has been sitting down with the local community once a month at the People’s Kitchen, a place where free delicious meals are cooked from surplus ingredients. When the pandemic hit in April 2020, these monthly community meals turned into a meal delivery service for vulnerable and isolated local residents, to tackle isolation and food shortages caused by the pandemic. There is now a service on  three Sundays per month, with neighbours at Laylow cooking up meals twice a month from their restaurant, and the third Sunday hosted by Panella, the on-site café. You can support a local resident by donating meal vouchers via the Goldfinger shop. For each £5 donated, you will fund a wellbeing package for a vulnerable individual, including a restaurant-quality meal and additional treats to lift the spirits such as recipe cards and handmade gifts. For £25, you can feed a family of 5.

Good health and well-being is really important to Goldfinger. Their new Soulcraft courses are designed to improve the everyday wellbeing of participants, and 85% of learners have reported increased wellbeing, confidence with sharing within a group and community support.

398 tonnes of material rescued from landfill and lovingly crafted into something beautifully new.

109 tonnes of CO2e saved by using reclaimed rather than virgin material. That’s 162 return flights from London to New York.

13,809 hours of paid and meaningful work created for young people not in education, employment or training from the local community.

1757 hours of training in sustainable woodworking given to our community free of charge.

5060 meals prepared by our People’s Kitchen and delivered by Goldfinger volunteers to 200 vulnerable local residents.

2.6 tonnes of delicious food in our bellies, not in landfill. The People’s Kitchen rescues perfectly good food from nearby shops to cook for the community.

Online Auction, September 23 – October 7, 2021 www.goldfinger.design

As part of London Craft Week, this exclusive edition will be sold by auction on the Goldfinger website goldfinger.design, running from September 23rd to October 7th. The profits will be donated to the Goldfinger Academy, which runs craft courses with free spaces reserved for those on low income to create social inclusion and promote wellbeing. The Academy also offers training opportunities to local NEETS (Not in Education, Employment or Training), and is developing an in-schools programme to be launched in Spring 2022, to equip young learners to be the sustainably-minded designers of their future. 

Launch Event, October 6, 6.30pm Goldfinger, 13-15 Golborne Road, W10 5NY

On October 6th, Goldfinger will host a launch event at their showroom at the base of the Trellick Tower. Guests will be invited to see the first edition of the collection in person. The evening will include a talk on Circular Design with Marie Carlisle, CEO and Co-Founder of Goldfinger, and speaker and writer Katie Treggiden, who is known for championing a circular approach to design. 

Open Studio Goldfinger workshop, 13-15 Golborne Road, W10 5NY 

Monday-Friday of London Craft Week, October 4th-9th, the Goldfinger workshop will be open to visitors, with live demonstrations from Daniele Barco. 

Special thanks to Goldfinger