The Shop Floor Project was founded in 2006 by Denise Allan and Samantha Allan (mother and daughter) with the aim to design, develop and source collections of the highest craftsmanship from makers and traditional manufactures, predominately based within the UK and Europe.
As professional artists and curators they see the Project as a series of curated spaces filled with objects that fulfill their main criteria; that the object is worthy of keeping and passing down through generations - be it a handwoven Herdwick blanket or a hand beaten wall sconce from Sweden. Their development of contemporary heirlooms continues daily.
The Shop Floor Project has been described as ‘one of the most beautiful websites around’. It has been featured in many publications such as iCatching: Shopping Design Online and awarded Best Site Design at the handbag.com Online Fashion Awards. Our products have been featured in the New York Times, The World of Interiors, Vogue, House & Garden, Elle Decoration, The Guardian, The Times, Homes & Gardens and more...
For the past four years The Shop Floor Project has been sourcing makers from Japan and bringing them to a UK audience, many for the first time. A highlight of this initiative was a visit in December 2013 from the renowned potter Yu Kobayashi who stayed for a week and co-hosted an evening event which included a tea ceremony with her own tea bowls.