We’re sustainable in every sense of the word
Dernier & Hamlyn has been manufacturing, designing, restoring, and installing bespoke lighting in the UK for 135 years.
Clearly being around for such a long time means that our business is sustainable in terms of longevity, but how sustainable is it in terms of environmental performance? It’s a subject that the company takes very seriously both for its own sake and to meet the requirements of its clients. And the most practical way for this to be achieved and for Dernier & Hamlyn and its clients to contribute to the circulate economy and live sustainably, is by reusing existing light fittings rather than manufacturing new.
Around a quarter of our business is restoration of lighting that already exists, much of it originally made by our team 20, 30, 40 or more years ago. This is the most sustainable way possible to produce bespoke lighting and can also be the best way to achieve period appropriate fittings and lighting that is most appropriate to achieving a sense of place.
A great example of this approach is a project where we revisited chandeliers in a hotel that our team had made almost forty years before to give them a new identity. The 12 crystal chandeliers that had hung throughout the building in the 1980s were updated both aesthetically and technically. The chandeliers were taken to our factory where the crystal was meticulously cleaned, the chandeliers’ metalwork restored and the wiring updated. The chandeliers were then rehung in clusters to give a more current and playful twist.
A major development is the massive improvements that have been made in LED lamps. When they first started emerged some 20 years ago the light quality wasn’t consistent and was often very cold and they weren’t meeting the long-life ambitions that had been boasted. However, light levels and temperatures have improved beyond recognition meaning that wastage is massively reduced and costs to change lamps has also decreased. Nowadays there are very fittings that our team produces that do not contain LED lamps because they achieve both the functional and aesthetic effects required.
Dernier & Hamlyn director Michael Mulhall said: “I am extremely proud to work for a company with such an illustrious history and take extremely seriously our commitment to reduce our business operations impact on the environment. We have made significant progress in this area and are working on other initiatives that will reduce our carbon footprint further.”
How our team can save designers time and money
Dernier & Hamlyn has been producing bespoke lighting in the UK since 1888. At our custom-built studio and factory, designers can see traditional methods of design and manufacture alongside the latest techniques.
We welcome designers to visit and discuss their lighting requirements with our team.
Why should you visit?
Bespoke lighting requires specialist skills and is best achieved when designers work closely with our team so that all their requirements are understood from the beginning which reduces iterations, time and, ultimately cost.
What will you see?
From hand sketching to CAD and digital renders to 3d printing. From turning, milling, folding, and bending to various types of soldering and welding.
For projects large and small
Whatever your budget and however outlandish your bespoke lighting designs, our team will invariably be able to come up with a way to achieve what you want. Take a look at some of the projects that include the fantastic bespoke lighting we have created over the years.
We’re easy to find
We’re in Chessington, five minutes from the M25 or 25 minutes by train from Waterloo. So, we’re easily accessible however you prefer to travel and you’re guaranteed a warm welcome from our team of craftsmen. They have been making bespoke lighting for hotels, restaurants and bars for more years than most of them will admit!
For a sneak peek at some of what you’ll see take a look at this short video.
Please get in touch to arrange a visit. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Award nomination for our bespoke lighting
Dernier & Hamlyn has been shortlisted in the DARC Awards for our work at the Nobu hotel in London’s Portman Square.
Winners will be decided through votes cast by interior designers, independent lighting designers, light artists, architects and product designers.
They will be presented at [d]arc night, the awards party at Fabric in London on 31 March. Votes should be submitted via the DARC Awards website by the deadline of 28th February.
The event will feature a series of exclusive light installations from collaborations between manufacturer partners and lighting designers that will create inspirational interest.
Our high quality lighting design and manufacture has been independently assessed
Dernier & Hamlyn has always worked hard to ensure that every light fitting that leaves its factory is of the highest quality. This is achieved through a focus on craftmanship and working closely with clients to meet all their bespoke lighting requirements.
Over the company’s 130-year history they have developed robust processes that manage operations and safeguard their people’s health and safety effectively. Alongside the manufacture of new bespoke lighting, Dernier & Hamlyn encourages designers to consider refurbishing existing lighting in the sites where they work to reduce the environmental impacts of their work.
All of this has now been formally recognised by the company’s achievement of ISO 9001 (quality management) ISO 45001 (health and safety) and ISO 14001 (environmental management) standards.
Dernier & Hamlyn’s Director Michael Mulhall said: “Dernier & Hamlyn has a well-deserved reputation for high quality production and attention to detail. Having our ways of working independently assessed and certificated is a great achievement by our team.”
Environmentally responsible designers increasingly reusing lighting
With responsible sourcing and sustainability high on designers’ priorities Dernier & Hamlyn’s bespoke lighting restoration service is a practical, cost-effective and fitting solution to a range of relevant issues.
While designers can take steps to ensure materials are obtained and processed ethically and with due regard to their effect on the environment by the way that they are sourced and transported, in many instances, a more effective way of producing bespoke lighting appropriate to the setting is to re-use existing fittings.
This approach can be utilised across a wide scope of settings in both contemporary and historic buildings. Some designers choose to just update lighting technology and undertake required repairs while others completely re-purpose existing elements in a new way so that the lighting design narrative takes inspiration from the past with new emphasis and influences.
Dernier & Hamlyn’s Head of Design Mark Harper says: “We have always offered a restoration service, however how designers are viewing it is starting to change. In the past it was usually conservation architects or designers working on heritage schemes that came to us with lighting restoration projects. Increasingly people are now appreciating that talking to us about repurposing all sorts of fittings can be an important part of their contribution to building a circular and more sustainable economy.”
Bespoke lighting projects that Dernier & Hamlyn’s restoration team have worked on include hotels such as Four Seasons at Ten Trinity Square, The Standard, London, The Berkeley, Kimpton Fitzroy, London as well as Annabel’s, Fairfield Hall, Brasserie Zedel, Fortnum & Mason, Derry Guildhall and City Varieties Music Hall.
Expanding our studio capabilities to meet designers’ needs
3d printing has been added to Dernier & Hamlyn’s studio services as part of its continued investment in the latest technology to provide the best service to its designer clients.
Although newly installed, it is already being used extensively to produce patterns, prototypes and elements of light fittings.
Dernier & Hamlyn’s Head of Design Mark Harper says: “We have used externally produced 3d printing as part of what we offer our clients for some time. Having this facility within our own studio means we can provide a much more flexible and fast service which is key to our focus on quality and high levels of customer service.”
Our design and manufacturing expertise strengthened
Dernier & Hamlyn is expanding with new people joining the team, investment in technology, upgraded facilities and the launch of new services.
The latest appointment is Mark Harper who has joined Dernier & Hamlyn as Head of Design. He has worked for Dernier & Hamlyn previously, primarily hand drawing designs to meet the challenges of clients’ proposals. In his new role he will lead on developing client relationships to ensure that the team meet designers’ and their clients’ requirements. These include incorporating ever changing lighting gear, finding workable solutions to technically demanding designs, accommodating energy saving lighting and working with the diverse range of materials that some clients now want to use in their bespoke lighting.
Mark said: “It is great to be back at Dernier & Hamlyn in vastly better premises, with a team that is firmly focussed on delivering the best of what the company is known for and enhancing this with new services to our clients such as our in-house design studio with the latest software and 3d printing for fast prototyping. This new approach means that designers will be in closer contact with the people who actually design and manufacture their bespoke lighting which will reduce delivery timescales and potential costs.”
Eugene Kudrjavcev has also joined the team as a Production Engineer. His varied metalworking skills are utilised across a wide range of the company’s bespoke lighting projects. He has professional qualifications in welding technologies and previously worked in production roles for several UK-based high-end lighting manufacturers.
Head of Production Mark Pye said: “Eugene is a great addition to Dernier & Hamlyn. He is a real craftsman with a passion for detail.”
We’re members of Made In Britain
Dernier & Hamlyn has joined Made In Britain, the organisation that brings together the British manufacturing community, united with the use of the registered collective mark.
With a heritage for bespoke lighting design, manufacture and restoration that goes back to 1888, we are proud of our part in British history and being accredited by Made in Britain recognise as us one of its best manufacturers.
Michael Mulhall, director of sales said: “Joining Made in Britain means that Dernier & Hamlyn is recognised as one of Britain’s best manufacturers and we will proudly be telling clients old and new that we are members of the organisation.”
