50 Embellish & TRIM Emily Langley, Marketing & Digital Content Creator at Barnett Lawson Trimmings talks to Craft Focus about moving from their Aladdin’s cave establishment in the heart of Soho to being fully digital Tell us a little bit about the company. Where are you based? We’re currently based in Pulloxhill, Bedfordshire. For many years, Barnett Lawson was based in the heart of London, moving once in its time there. Many people will remember our basement premises on Little Portland Street as the ‘Aladdin’s cave of trimmings’ with boxes of trims, feathers and millinery supplies piled from floor to ceiling and in every other space imaginable. Around eight years ago, the shop underwent a huge overhaul and became more of a showroom, making it easier for customers to view all of our products easily and find what they were searching for without having to rummage so much! When lockdown hit in 2020, as with all businesses like ours, the shop was forced to close its doors and we focussed on building our online presence. By the time the world opened up again, we’d launched a new website and massively built up our database of products listed online. We felt that it would be beneficial to move to a larger space outside of London. We briefly moved to a site in Berkhamsted, and then on to our current home in Pulloxhill. Who founded the company and why? Many of the details of the history of the company have been lost over time, as it has changed hands. But we know it was first established in the mid-1940’s in London. It’s very exciting to be a part of an establishment that would have seen so many changes over the years. How has the company evolved? Barnett Lawson has changed in some significant ways, and remained the same in many others. In just the last 10 years, some major changes have been made in the way we sell our products to customers, moving from a primarily in-store shopping experience with handwritten receipts, to a primarily remote and online experience. As time has passed, we’ve always been committed to finding the best ways to serve our customers and give them access to our products and services quickly and efficiently. As a result of advances in technology, coupled with changes in the way people work and shop now, our website has become our main point of contact with customers. We have, however, maintained our dedication to providing quality trims and a helpful, personalised service for individual and wholesale clients including films, theatres, fashion and interior designers, and more. What do you specialise in? Our main focus is trimmings – so that’s braids, ribbons, fringes, cords, lace, tassels buttons and appliques, all the things to embellish and enhance your creation. Talk us through the current products you’re particularly excited about. Do you have a favourite? We’ve recently listed some patterned braids, some new and some that are vintage ones we’ve had in the warehouse for many years. When we first started the website, we focussed on top-sellers like the fringe and gimp braids, but now we are getting to the more quirky trims, that are really unusual. We love a trim that can inspire a project. We often think of the fabric being the first port of call for inspiring a design, but sometimes, a fabulous, eccentric trim can be the start of something incredible. Hobby & crafts have boomed over the last two years! Have you noticed any new trends? We launched our Etsy store in March 2021, which gave us the opportunity to connect
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