A partnership with a local furniture maker and social enterprise is giving new life to old benches, and an opportunity to own a piece of EEE history.

When the teaching labs in the Electrical Engineering building were refurbished last year, our Building Manager Zia Rahman and Technical Services Manager Danny Harvey were determined to find a worthy home for the teak lab benches — which have been part of the Department for generations.

They teamed up with Goldfinger — an award-winning furniture showroom, woodworking workshop and teaching academy located in the iconic Trellick Tower in North Kensington.

Goldfinger provides skills training and assists people in gaining or returning to employment, as well as offering designers, makers and craftspeople a platform to develop and sell bespoke furniture and homeware.

From the Department's donation of the old benches — amounting to one ton of reclaimed solid teak — Goldfinger artisans crafted ten tables (above) for a new café opened by Fat Macy’s, a social enterprise that organises supper clubs and catering, providing skills-based training for young Londoners living in temporary accommodation.

Launch of the Ayrton Collection: own a piece of EEE history

For London Craft Week 2021, Goldfinger is holding a fundraising auction of first edition pieces from their new design collection, handcrafted from more of the reclaimed teak donated by the Department, combined with Douglas Fir, sourced from local trees that have been felled to make way for urban development.

The name for the collection — suggested by Danny and Zia — honours electrical engineer Hertha Ayrton, who was the first woman to publish a paper at the Institution of Electrical Engineers and a proud suffragette.

The Ayrton Collection features a desk, chair, side table and bench. It has been designed and handcrafted by Goldfinger’s in-house designer and maker Daniele Barco. The minimal design and brass detailing a nod to its former life as lab benches. 

Proceeds from this fundraiser will support their teaching arm, Goldfinger Academy, funding free spaces on Goldfinger craft workshops for local residents on low income, and supporting their apprenticeship scheme for local young people who are not in education, employment or training.