Davonport -
click here to download articleAs a teenager, Richard brought home offcuts of timber to use on his father’s hobby lathe. At college, he qualified in cabinet-making and furniture design, his first job was making museum copies of antique furniture, later on a client asked if he would make some kitchen cabinetry, and it was the start of Davonport.
Set up in 1995 in Richard’s garden, the company moved swiftly to workshop premises, before relocating to its current 10,000 sq ft factory in Colchester in 2001.
Davonport furniture is sold through 12 displaying showrooms, – we focus on the craftsmanship of our kitchens and on making it work for our clients. I oversee every order we receive and maintaining our high level of quality and service means more to me than volume kitchen sales. Every Davonport kitchen carries my name.”
Although there are 8 “standard” door designs, Richard regards these as simply a “starting point”, stressing the bespoke nature of Davonport’s cabinetry. “We have the ability to make unusual furniture using beautiful timbers,” he says, adding that a recent investment in a new 5axis CNC machine keeps the factory facility totally up to date.
Today, the company continues to make English crafted kitchen furniture for our partner trade clients, with retail prices for its kitchens starting from about £30,000/£35,000. He says. “I’ve been trained to design and make cabinetry and we focus on the craftsmanship of our kitchens and on making it work for our clients.”