Higgs & Crick

Family oriented, made in Britain and fantastic product stories to boot, furniture and accessory company Higgs & Crick are our kind of company. I sat down with co-founder Will Hartley to find out exactly how the authentic British brand came about…

Tell us the Higgs & Crick story?

Higgs & Crick is the realisation of an idea myself and my brother (Ben Hartley) had after I acquired and renovated a midcentury house of significant importance in Saffron Walden. In my attempt to sympathetically furnish the property I struggled to find a UK interior company up to the job. So rather than shop abroad I embarked on a new chapter of my life and set up shop with Ben.

Our premiere collection of furniture, glassware and accessories has been inspired by the world’s greatest thinkers, writers, scientists and philosophers. Every Higgs & Crick product has been meticulously designed to stand up on its own aesthetic merits but also to work as a cohesive, curated selection of lifestyle pieces.

The lines of the bookcase are inspired by the initials of Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin Books, our iconic Wingback Chair pays homage to the preferred thinking place of Bertrand Russell, one of Britain’s greatest Philosophers and our Hitch Tumbler is designed to hold the perfect measures of one of Christopher Hitchen’s favourite tipples, Jonnie Walker Black label.

Higgs & Crick comes across as a very social and visually creative brand. How important is social media and platforms such as youtube to the story?

Engaging in social media is now as much a part of a business as having a decent product. I like to think of it like this – if a website is your shop window, then the way you engage on social media would be how your employees talk to your customers. No one walks into a shop and wants to be sold to. Staff are there to encourage conversation, help, guide and offer advice, but mainly to represent the brand. In all honesty we have had a pretty low key presence on social media as we have been careful to establish a decent supply chain before we go full tilt online. That being said we have sold products as far away as New Zealand, Texas, Mexico and LA all from just being polite and engaging with our limited followers. It definitely seems to be quality engagements over number of followers!

We have always been keen to keep the creativity in house as much as possible so we self shot almost all of the videos that you can find on our site. I think the fact the we rely so heavily on our engagements with our manufacturers meant that it was important for us to be the ones telling that story. Again, it’s early days for us in the realms of videos but the feedback has been great.

Why is the ‘made in Britain’ tag so important to the Higgs & Crick ethos?

We are brothers who have been brought up abroad. We’ve lived in Kenya, Mexico and Turkey as well as having travelled extensively as adults. I think a recurring theme that we can both talk about is how Britain is perceived in the countries in which we have lived and visited. To the world Britain is seen as an aspiring country with a heritage that is hard to replicate anywhere else on the globe. Words like, quality, history and culture are often used when talking to clients abroad so it is a fundamental part of our business plan that we make our products here. It certainly isn’t a sales pitch, we mean it. From our tiles in our artwork, down to the boxes our crystal is packed in. It’s in our DNA. We are a British company and we are selling great products made in a great country.

No piece of Higgs & Crick is complete without the ‘original and stimulating story behind its conception’. How does each story enhance the product and experience for customers?

Personally I love talking about a product I’m passionate about just as much as I love listening to someone share their story of what they like. Remember the M&S marketing campaign a few years ago? “This isn’t just any Shepherds Pie. This is a 100% Angus Steak, blended with the finest herbs,” you get the picture! I think it is business A-Level 101. Don’t sell the sausage sell the sizzle. So, granted, we are in an aesthetic business but a good story about a product can manage to enhance it further. We have had as many compliments about our business cards as we have our award winning chair. The card is based on Einsteins business card; same font, colour palette and layout. People love the look of the card and when they hear the back story they love it all the more!

What struggles do you face as a solely ‘made in Britain’ brand?

Of course the costs. Rent, travel, manufacturing, everything! Distribution is getting better and interestingly I think despite the shame that we have all but left the EU I think there might be some light at the end of the tunnel for the future of British manufacturing. We will have to wait and see. But to be honest we have friends who make all sorts and ship it in from China and they are certainly not without their own problems and headaches.

What advice would you give to small business owners considering becoming a ‘made in Britain’ brand?

You have to make it central to what you are doing. It can get pretty depressing in terms of costs when you know that products can be made abroad for less but stay strong. We could get our Crystal made for 40% less in Europe but it’s not the same as driving up the motorway and having a cup of tea with Robert, one of our glass cutters. Robert has lived and breathed the exquisite industry for 30 years and he’s one of the best there is. This level of personability is priceless.   

What piece of handmade Higgs & Crick product would best describe you both and why?

It has to be our Measured Crystal Glasses, and particularly The Hitch whiskey glass. I have a framed portrait of Christopher Hitchens by the Vanity Fair photographer Christian Witkin on my wall. It’s an original polaroid from the front cover of Hitch’s book Thomas Paines Rights of Man. He was a big drinker and a big thinker; a true contrarian and I and certainly Higgs & Crick the company have strived to be equally as contrary on our road to success. Think big, think differently, be yourself, raise a glass and try and have some irreverent fun along the way!

What does the future look like for Higgs & Crick?

The future looks good. We have learnt so much in the short 18 months we have been going and there are certainly no regrets. We have a new Crystal Collection coming out in January, a stockist in Brooklyn which we are keen to capitalise on in the next few months and we are also looking to distribute our glassware in Japan. We are bringing out a drinks cabinet next year as well which is going to knock peoples socks off. So I guess the future looks like more travel, more experience and more new friends to meet along the way!