The Futon Workshop
The Futon Workshop, Shuch Design and Shuch Futons Ltd
Feb 88 – Feb 93
Principle role:
Founder/Managing Director.
Established and actively ran the Futon Workshop as the leading futon sofa bed company in the North of England, taking a one man craft business to a company employing 23 staff enjoying 38% market share of all national sales in three cities.
Skills:
Principle disciplines: Marketing: Copious and original marketing material production through in – house studio and equipment including personal production of all brochure material, photography, flyers, newsletters, advertisements and packaging.
Direct Marketing: Mail order and associated fully computerised data base market research that gave the Futon Workshop the leading edge.
Public relations: Extensive proactive public relations exercise operation gaining full regional and national TV coverage in addition to regular press coverage. Competitions and charity work included pushing a sofa bed from Newcastle to Sheffield for Comic Relief, flying a sofa off Mt Blanc, driving a sofa bed through the Peak District and even floating a sofa bed on Ullswater.
Furniture design: Personally designed and developed a comprehensive range of new and original sofa beds, market leading designs that won several awards for enterprise. Other disciplines included furniture retail, wholesale and manufacture. Production management. Staff management, team culture development, morale and motivation. Financial control.
