start from a Different Place

Send us a Message

A clever man once said that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. A sentiment that I agree with but whilst Albert Einstein may never have actually said this, over and over again it has been repeated and people have believe that he did. The fact remains that however and wherever the quote originated, many people are still starting from the same places and are still expecting something different.

Expect something different, because we are not starting from the same place. The vast majority of e-commerce sites are designed with one purpose and one purpose alone: to extract cash from customers. Whilst we accept that would not not survive without making some money – and the more we can make, the better – we believe that it should not be the primary driver. We would like our e-commerce efforts to help develop and maintain the small-scale, skilled manufacturing processes that make all of this possible. I have nothing against the principles and practice of mass production, and you can find whole sections of this site dedicated to such products – as long as they are interesting! Mass production techniques has helped reduce the price of quality making quality more accessible to more people. We start from a different place because primarily we want to help small-scale manufacturing processes achieve a sustainable operational equilibrium, and we also want to sell stuff that stands out. 

We start from a Different Place

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Approach

We find ourselves in difficult times, but difficult times can bring opportunities that might otherwise have been missed.

We believe that price-based competition is essentially a race to the bottom that ultimately benefits only the rich and powerful whilst worker incomes are further eroded. We believe that our collective future prosperity lies in positive collaboration and co-operation.  

We are committed to creating value for customers and for suppliers, and we want to make sure that all of it is sustainable.

Your products might look amazing but if your websites aren’t delivering value to everyone, they just aren’t right!

We propose a different approach.     

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Relationships

Life is all about making and developing relationships, and in investing time and effort into those relationships – when it matters. Buying a piece of furniture that may well be with you for the rest of your life is an investment, and a commitment. If it’s a one-of-a-kind piece of furniture, made to your own design and specifications, you will want to invest more of you into the buying process.

The more that you put into a relationship, the more you will get out of a relationship: your relationship with your maker matters!

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Marketplace

The MarketPlace allows makers to sell directly to their customers, pretty much like they might on eBay, Amazon or Etsy. The difference between them and us is that the tensegrity.uk MarketPlace is focused primarily on one-of-a-kind tables and the kind of things that one might keep on top of a one-of-a-kind table. 

The MarketPlace functions to allow makers to sell bespoke products that have been made but not sold, in contrast to bespoke made-to-order products that have been sold but not made.  

Go To the Marketplace
the science and the art of tension and integrity

Customer Service

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job to make the customer experience a little bit better.” Jeff Bezos, Founder Amazon

About Us

I have spent a long time designing and building customer-focussed systems for retailers, banks and mobile operaters. I decided that it was time to use that experience to build a shop that is more than a shop: a shop that is of benefit to the people that make things as much as it is to the people that buy things ... and to me!

Products

The products offered for sale on this site are products that I would buy. I don't buy presents for other people that I wouldn't like to receive myself; I'm not going to offer for sale products that I wouldn't want to own myself.

Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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