Navigating our business through COVID-19

Andy and I don’t really like to do things by halves. We had a baby, renovated a house and started a business in the same year.

In February, my maternity leave ended and I was due to start back as a project manager for an interior fit-out company. My job was fast paced, exciting and allowed me to work on projects worldwide, but I hoped to strike a balance between returning to work and our new family life. When my flexible working request was rejected, Andy and I decided to bring forward our plans for the business and started working together in March of this year.

We run a design and manufacturing consultancy, specialising in product development and manufacturing for commercial and retail environments. Last Christmas the business was busy and growing, then Covid-19 struck our shores and we were locked down.

The realisation of how serious the virus was then became very real. It affected our work life and our home life. And for others, the virus was so much more.

Projects we were working on came to a halt and those we had lined up went on hold. The social, economic and financial impact has been incredibly hard, with clients and businesses continuing to be cautious. We remain hopeful though that in the weeks and months to come, confidence grows and the projects start up again.

A huge positive that our family takes from the last few months has been the gift of time. We’ve had time to spend with our son as he grows in these early years, we’ve had the time to finish renovating our house - which has been extremely challenging with a small baby - and finally, we’ve had time to look at our business, allowing us to think carefully about our plans and how we can adapt to the challenges we are now facing.

We have always wanted to design products and make beautiful furniture. A few years ago, Andy designed a range of furniture called Circa Products which we launched at The Design Junction in 2016. At the time we were both busy working on major projects as part of our daily jobs, so sadly were unable to give this side of the business the full attention it deserved.

So, over the last few months we decided to relaunch as Circamakes!

Together we have designed, tested and created prototypes of products that we believe are clever, functional and look great at home. We have introduced and shared some of our favourite products on Instagram, giving people an insight into how our ideas start, through the design process to how the final product ends up.

Circamakes stands for fun, creativity and is ultimately a family business. We love seeing how other people design and make. Having a direct relationship with our customers and clients is of great importance too, as we want to ensure every project is personal and delivered in a reasonable time.

Only a few products will be available to purchase in the beginning as we find our feet, but rest assured we have plenty of ideas and designs up our sleeves which we can’t wait to show you. In the meantime, we are continuing to work on bespoke projects for new and existing clients.

Over the past few months, Covid has exposed so many problems within our industry, specifically with large companies and corporations who are dependent on mass manufacturing and wholesale. The losses and waste is unimaginable. Like many small maker businesses, this is not how we wish to work. Instead, we believe demand driven manufacturing is our future.

So, please follow us on Instagram, tell us what you like and what you don’t, as it will help us to design and make products that will really enliven your home.

Thanks so much for reading and we look forward to saying hello on our site soon.