Business Central February 2021

| 89 David Trubridge Lighting the world with wellness DESIGN Karen Phelps The company has built a reputation for its beautiful kitset lighting, which is seen in spaces all over the world. Proudly supporting David Trubridge 0800 800 293 sales@hiq.co.nz www.hiq.co.nz Supplying New Zealand manufacturers since the early 80’s FOR EVERY SPACE, A MASTERPIECE davidtrubridge.com W hile lockdown was a time for many businesses to cut back, for Hawke’s Bay-based designer David Trubridge it was a time to give back. The company had been working towards paying staff a living wage and chose lockdown as the time to kick it off. “David’s design philosophy is about wellness and that our environments should be relaxing places,” explains David Trubridge head of marketing Ben Pearce. “So the living wage is a natural extension of this to ensure people can live a comfortable life,” he says. The philosophy was already apparent in other parts of the business with staff working flexible hours if they needed to attend a family event, for example. As a result staff retention at the business is extremely high with around half the team having served 10 years or more. David Trubridge was started in 1995. The company cut its teeth on bespoke designs and private commissions until a breakthrough in 2000 when David attended the Milan Design Fair to showcase his Body Raft reclining seat. It gained the notice of famous Italian design house Cappellini and subsequently saw Da- vid’s star rise internationally. The company has subsequently built a reputation for kitset lighting, which is seen in spaces all over the world. Nature and cultural influences are also im- portant aspects of David’s work and can be seen in all products – lighting, furniture and jewellery. Ethical principles are seen in every aspect of the product from material choice (bam- boo stalks that would otherwise be a waste product) to the fact it has been designed to be assembled by the purchaser (reducing freight size). “This was the result of a life cycle assess- ment we undertook, which highlighted that reducing the volume the lights took up during freight, could improve the footprint of the business. “People told David that nobody would want to assemble their own light, but we have found the opposite to be true and it’s been incredibly popular. “People like being part of the process and the satisfaction they get from assembling their light,” he says. “By investing in product changes and doing the right thing we believe successful results will follow and they have.” Ben says business has increased slightly globally everywhere except the United States and Europe, with more people focusing on their living and working environments as a result of Covid-19 and the lockdowns. While the trade and commercial sectors have not been as buoyant this is also starting to change. Ben says businesses are increasingly rede- veloping their sites to allow for more airflow and outdoor space along with the advent of home offices as people choose to work from home. Based in Whakatu, a small township in Hawke’s Bay, Ben says David Trubridge has resisted the pressure to relocate to a more commercial area. Supporting the local region has been an important part of the business philosophy and $1 from every light is donated to Marae- tōtara Tree Trust along with another $50 from the Maru and Navicula lights to Sustainable Coastlines. “David’s design philosophy is about wellness and that our environments should be relaxing places.” “It’s good to do something local and every year we can see the difference this business is making. “A lot of businesses would be better off if they took a holistic view and saw investment in these types of things as impacting their bottom lines positively as well, which we have found to be the case at David Trubridge.”

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