Five generations of the Crispin family have owned and managed veneer specialist J Crispin & Son. So it was a bittersweet moment when a member of the latest generation, Lawrence Crispin, closed the doors of the historic workshop for the last time, having sealed a merger with another veneer supplier in east London.
Since being founded by Lawrence’s greatgreat-grandfather, J Crispin & Son had been based in one large workshop – a myriad of small, low-ceiling rooms connected by weaving wooden staircases. In each of the rooms veneers in more than 80 species had been carefully stacked since 1900.
When the area was at its vibrant best, the workshop would have been surrounded by 66 furniture makers on the one street alone. Traders would come to the region from across the city to purchase their materials, spy on rivals and discuss the latest market developments. But as the market changed and rates rose, fewer and fewer furniture makers found it viable to stay.
J Crispin, however, is going from strength to strength by vacating its premises in Curtain Road, off Old Street, to join forces with Capital Veneer Company, based in Carpenters Road, Stratford. The new business is named Capital Crispin Veneer.
Lawrence said: ‘I have worked there all my life, it is part of me. Everything I have learned has been through working there. I have enjoyed it probably more since I became a partner and had a real stake in it.’
Global links
J Crispin imports from Africa, South America and Asia and some of its most popular material comes from North America – in particular oak, cherry, maple and walnut.
‘People want to feel environmentally friendly and our sales pattern reflects this. When I started working we sold stacks of mahogany for reproduction furniture. This has almost died off,’ said Lawrence.
‘The North American material is more sustainable, although probably very little veneer is actually certified as sustainable. Also, North American oak is cheaper than European oak, and is generally sounder in our view. It is certainly easier to sell or buy.’
His customers are typically individual furniture makers in London and the south-east. One of his specialities is to sell inlaid bandings and marquetry bandings for fine furniture. Most of its veneer is purchased from larger veneer importers in the UK, although occasionally it’s bought direct from Europe.
Prior to the merger with Capital Veneer Company at the end of June, J Crispin’s annual turnover was £350,000.
Capital is another Crispin business as it is run by Lawrence’s father’s cousin, Les Crispin and his wife Christine. The merger will help both companies retain their market share – at a time when the market is shrinking, they both agreed.
‘A lot of businesses like ours are having to move out because they cannot find a workshop in the city they can afford,’ said Lawrence. ‘The demand for veneers is getting smaller and smaller.
Getting smaller
‘Now is the time for the number of suppliers of veneer in the UK to become smaller, because there is not the business around that there used to be.
‘People can buy lower quality but affordable furniture from home improvement stores so our market is not likely to expand dramatically in future.’
Capital Veneer began trading in 1989 and now has an annual turnover of £1.3m.
‘We concentrate on the top end of the market in terms of quality and we offer a very wide range of species ideal for architectural requirements and quality furniture,’ said managing director Les Crispin.
Merging will require some changes to Capital’s premises. The warehouse is 115,000ft2 and a mezzanine floor will be built to increase this capacity by a further 4,000ft2, allowing it to accommodate Lawrence’s material and display more wood species on the shop floor.
