Let’s work together

 

Thinking about a commission?

Commissioning a custom-designed project is an exciting and rewarding experience as you are actively involved in all stages of the design process. 

Engaging in a dialogue with us enables you to be involved with all the creative decisions, together we invest in this rewarding process to ensure a custom outcome which is designed and made specifically for your needs. Surprisingly, the commissioning process may be more affordable than you think. This is because the correct materials will be sourced and manufacturing techniques identified to fit your budget. In the long-term commissioning something that works specifically for your needs can be more cost-effective than purchasing something off the shelf which doesn’t quite fit the space available or suit your requirements and therefore may need replacing in the short term. While a custom project may seem like a serious undertaking, our highly skilled team will take care of the process from beginning to end.

 

Why Commission Us?

As a design team, we excel in undertaking bespoke commissions for your home or business. This is because we are highly experienced designer makers, which means we have an exceptional understanding of functional requirements and a thorough knowledge of material qualities and aesthetic styling.

Everything we do is made to order, therefore our personalised design service is specially tailored to your specific requirements

We invite you to visit our design studio and workshop, where we will view our facilities and share our portfolio highlighting similar projects that may interest you. This introduction ensures you have a clear understanding of our values and expertise, this is followed by a dialogue with you about your project aims and ideas. Together we will establish a design brief of your requirements and we may wish to follow this up with a visit to your home or business premises to check through all the details.

Our clients include architects, independent retailers, arts and charitable organisations, interior designers, galleries, theatres, marketing agencies, museums, universities and private clients.

 

How we work together

As each project is unique our personalised design service enables us to create a custom outcome tailored to your requirements.

Here you can find an outline of each stage, so you know exactly what to expect should you choose to work with us.

 

Say Hello

Your exciting custom project is about to begin and together we'll bring your vision to reality.

Drop us an email at hello@dual.works or fill out our contact form to outline what you are thinking

We will then organise a time for you to visit our design studio and workshop to discuss your project ideas.

 

Visit us

We invite you to visit our design studio and workshop.

This is a good opportunity to discuss your project and for you to meet us to see what we do and how we do it. 

At this stage, we need to gain an understanding of what you’re thinking so our conversation will cover the following questions.

  • What are your project ambitions?

  • What are you aiming to achieve?

  • Who is it for?

  • How do you want it to function?

  • Where is your location?

  • Where will it be situated?

  • What do you want it to look like?

  • What material qualities do you enjoy? 

  • What is your budget?

  • What is your timeline?

It is helpful for you to consider your answers to these questions before we meet as our dialogue helps us to understand what you’re looking for and whether it’s viable for us to make it for you.  Don’t worry if you haven’t got all the answers at this stage as we are here to help guide you through this process. This conversation shapes our design brief so it’s great to share which of our current projects interest you and also to see examples of other projects that excite you. Therefore it is useful to bring photographs with you, this gives us an idea of the space you wish to transform and the visual style of things you like. Our conversation enables us to form a design brief together which then becomes the parameters of your project.  We may wish to follow this up with a visit to your home or premises to check through all the details and we will answer any further questions you may have.

 

Design Brief

Following our meeting we will compose a design brief which outlines your project requirements, this is an important part of the process as it clarifies your project intentions, setting out the aims and ambitions of your project.

The design brief covers visual qualities and functional requirements and ensures our collective thinking moves in the right direction. Alongside this, we will draw up a letter of agreement, which outlines our terms and establishes a commitment by both parties which has been agreed in writing and forms a written record and confirmation of our commitment to your project.

 

Design Proposal

Once you have agreed on your design brief the fun begins! This is an exciting part of the process as we begin our research and start to play with ideas.

Our design team explore ideas via drawing, conversation and materials. We think through all aspects of your project and start to formulate the best ideas to take forward. We select the most successful ideas to draw up digitally and these digital drawings form the basis of our design proposal. We collate this information together to create a design presentation and invite you to our studio to review our proposals. During the presentation, we will share our research, design thinking and discuss the various aspects of the proposal. At this stage, the drawings are early concept ideas and formulate an overarching vision of the project. Technical details come later and as part of the manufacturing stage. Together we evaluate our project proposals and take on board your feedback to then formulate a direction for the final design.

We will respond to your feedback and may need to develop the design further, We will work with you on any amendments, tailoring the design concepts to meet your requirements. The length of this stage naturally depends on the scale and complexity of your project, your feedback and how many iterations we need to undertake.

We may need to visit your home or business premises at this stage to carry out full and accurate measurements. We take photographs of the space, ensuring all specific details that will require accommodating in the designs are noted.

 
 

Final Design

Any fine-tuning happens at this stage, this is to get your design exactly right for you and a final design drawing will be prepared.

This final design drawing articulates and illustrates the outcome of your project. It will include all relevant information that you will need to determine if you would like to proceed to the production stage, such as recommended materials and dimensions.

Some projects may require a prototype which needs to be made before the production of the outcome. Prototypes help to visualise characteristics by clarifying three-dimensional qualities. We will inform you if this is necessary at our design meeting.

The final design presentation will either take the form of a meeting or will be emailed to you for review. At this stage, we will include a full quotation to estimate manufacturing costs for you to consider.

At this stage, you decide whether you would like to progress to the production stage.

 

Production of Project

We manufacture all of our projects at our workshop located in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham.

On your agreement, we will proceed to the manufacturing stage and commence production of your project. We will be eager to get started as designer makers we thoroughly enjoy the making process and we will be excited to bring your design proposal to life. There are many stages to production and our team works together on the various aspects of your project. Before we start making we prepare technical drawings for manufacture, liaise with our material suppliers to order your project-specific materials and arrange any specialist companies for outsourcing bespoke components. We use the highest quality, well-sourced, fully traceable and certificated raw materials via our network of trusted suppliers.

As your project takes shape through the various stages of making, we will keep you updated on our progress. We will photograph aspects of your project coming to life to share with you and you are also welcome to visit our workshop during this stage.

Things to consider before we start; all aspects and stages of our work are laboured intensive. Designing and making custom projects takes time and as our work is handcrafted it can be difficult to determine exact timeframes for projects as many aspects are variable. Please let us know your timeframe in advance, so we can bear this in mind and determine whether we will be able to meet your time scale with integrity and quality. We will advise accordingly and keep you informed throughout the process.

 

Installation and delivery

Upon completion of your project in our workshop, we will contact you to arrange collection, delivery and /or installation.

We will agree on a suitable time and plan with you any necessary details for your delivery or installation. We often need to consider logistics and make arrangements accordingly.

If we are installing a project at your home and/or business premises, we may need to use tools and equipment to complete the installation process. We will discuss with you the best way to do this before delivery and advise if there will be any disruption during this process. We like to work in a quiet and considerate way, and will leave no trace that we have been present except for the project! We take pride in our work and are respectful of your home and /or work environment.

Upon completion of the project, we will advise you of the best way to look after your project.

We are happy to make deliveries in Birmingham and the surrounding area.

 

Our payment process

Our payment process for custom projects is straightforward and divided into three key stages.

Stage 1 - Our design fee is due on completion of the design phase. This fee is agreed upon before the commencement of the project and is payable whether or not you decide to progress to the production phase, Stage 2. Upon completion of the design stage, there is an opportunity for you to decide if you would like to progress to the production stage and there is no obligation to proceed if your plans have changed.

Stage 2 - A 50% non-returnable deposit payment is due before we commence production. Upon receipt of your deposit payment, we will then book your project into our workshop schedule, purchase your project-specific materials, liaise with any service providers and plan our manufacturing schedule. We will keep you updated on progress throughout this period. Delivery time on custom commissions can vary greatly depending on the scale of the project.

Stage 3 - The final balance is due upon completion of your project following collection, delivery and /or installation.

Our payment terms are 7 days for deposit payments and 14 days for all other invoices.

Occasionally, we may customise an instalment plan and payment terms for more complex projects, agreed upon in advance and entirely at the discretion of Dual Works

We offer a 48 hrs cooling-off period on receipt of your deposit payment for bespoke projects. This allows you 48 hours for you to change your mind, no questions asked and we will return your deposit payment. Once this time has passed we will then proceed to commence production, at this point, you are fully committed and no further refund can be made. As each bespoke project is unique, personalised and made-to-measure, once manufacturing begins, we cannot offer any refunds.

 

Guarantee

Our guarantee to you is that we take great pride in the services we provide, therefore we are confident you will be delighted with the outcome of any bespoke projects you undertake with us.

We value the creative process and are rewarded by our collective endeavour. Our expertise and craft skills ensure we work to a high standard across all aspects of your project. We are proud of the work we create and the positive impact it has on people’s lives.

As we work closely together throughout the project our personalised service ensures you have played an active role in the decision-making process, conception of ideas, and witnessing the making process during production. We will have highlighted and overcome any problems during this stage and created your project according to our expertise and knowledge.

If any problems arise due to unforeseen issues or we have overlooked an aspect of your project due to a design fault or craft skill, we will endeavour to rectify this where possible and we offer to rectify faulty manufacture for six months following the completion of the project.

We do not offer maintenance or repairs for incorrect use, day-to-day wear and tear or issues relating to environmental conditions.

Should you regard any aspect of your bespoke project as faulty, please contact us within six months of delivery/installation for us to arrange appropriate steps to review the fault and to consider options for repair.

Please do not attempt to repair the item yourself or organise a third-party repair.  We reserve the right to refuse to repair your custom project if you have attempted and or organised for a third party to repair it. We cannot be held responsible for any faults or damage that occur if you have done so.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. We hope it helps to outline our working process, so you know exactly what to expect should you choose to work with us.

We look forward to starting a design adventure with you!

Let's work together

hello@dual.works
 

What people say about working with us

“It was a real pleasure to work with Dual Works on the design of furniture for the Waste Age exhibition at MAC.

They developed a unique design for the display plinths that perfectly aligned with the exhibition's ethos. The main structural components of the plinths are wooden Doka H20 eco P beams, sourced from construction sites where they are typically used as temporary supports for poured concrete. Additionally, wood from previous exhibitions and studio offcuts were repurposed for the new plinths.

Dual Works introduced a distinctive concept incorporating yellow ratchet straps, which allow the components to be temporarily fixed, highlighting the importance of reusability. True to the exhibition's values, all wood and straps will be reused or recycled after the exhibition ends.

Their friendly and professional approach made the collaboration seamless and enjoyable, and I was particularly impressed with how thoughtfully they approached the project. It was truly a pleasure working with them.”

Roma Piotrowska​​​​ Curator Midlands Art Centre

"Working with Dual Works is always a pleasure. They have the rare ability to talk through a vague idea and make it concrete by spotting unique (often oblique) angles and running with those in dialogue with me.

They have completed a number of projects in my house, from a jeweller's bench, wardrobes made from old house doors, an office-library based on 1960s municipal libraries and, most recently, a music workstation using an old school cabinet which I've had for years.

In every case, the resultant work has exceeded my expectations in terms of the quality of the craft, the materials and the function of the units."

Dauvit Alexander

"The Welcome Arch provided a place of gathering at the National Festival of Making - a place to sit with others, have a moment of reflection in the busy festival environment, and enjoy the changing colour reflections as the sun came out. Accompanied by workshops using offcuts from the making process, participants were able to take a piece of the Festival home with them.

Working with Dual Works, This is Nelson and members of the community on this commission resulted in a collaborative, high quality and unifying piece of work one that embodies the qualities of making we continuously aim to celebrate. For us, it was a joy to work with the whole Dual Works team whose passion for considered, contemporary design and engagement runs through their work.

We were so pleased they played such a significant part of this year’s Festival of Making programme and look forward to working collaboratively again in the future."

Elena Jackson | Director of National Festival of Making

"For us, our communities here in Pendle have to be at the heart of everything we do, and from the very first time we met the Dual Works team, we knew that they understood this. In addition to crafting the vibrant and fun Welcome Arch, Dual Works also developed workshops which meant that the contribution from our community members on the design of the Arch was truly meaningful. A joy to work with!"

Holly Noonan | Community Development Officer at Building Bridges Pendle

"One of the really important aspects of This is Nelson is for communities to feel engaged. The development of the Welcome Arch with Dual Works enabled this to be fully realised, giving depth to a structure which then provided the entrance to the Pendle Festival of Culture in a vivid, fun and exciting way. Dual Works have been a great team to collaborate with, and this project had the added bonus of creating something that united the two towns of Nelson & Blackburn at the National Festival of Making."

Paul Hartley | Co-founder of In-Situ

"Firstly, Dual Works are lovely, dedicated people and you can tell they really care. This year we had the privilege and pleasure of meeting the team after being recommended to them by our architect Chris. 

We gave them a challenge, our time frame was very tight but despite that they absolutely nailed it. Their work is of the highest quality and finish, we were all blown away with how stunning our bespoke cabinets are. 

Dual Works has our ongoing support, we honestly cannot recommend them highly enough."

Dom Holt, Tommy Cunliffe, Callum McDonald | Co - founders of Time. Shoreditch

"From our first meeting with Dual Works we have thoroughly enjoyed developing this project with them. Our job as Architects is always so much easier when working with nice people who share our creative passion. From concept to completion the Dual Works team were both engaging and proactive in assisting the design process. Through their expertise we were able to deliver a bespoke joinery scheme that excelled the clients expectations."

Chris Robinson | Director at TIDY Architects

“ We were really pleased when Dual Works agreed to design and build a kitchen for an extension to our home. We have always admired Dual Works creativity, use of colour and playfulness and were confident that they would deliver something unique to enhance the new space.  Which they did in spades!  Not only is the end product everything that we had hoped for, but the process was inclusive, comprehensive and of course fun.  They delivered to the agreed schedule but were also flexible when our build timetable overran.  One thing that you can’t so easily tell from photos and computer-generated images is the production quality – everything is beautifully made and exceptionally well-finished.”

David Woodbine and Bruce Badrock | Co-founders Five Acre Barn

“Teaming up with Dual Works was an absolute delight. Their friendly, collaborative approach made the whole relationship feel like a breeze. From concept to creation, their professionalism and creativity shone through. The bespoke portable units they crafted for our digital innovation centre were beautifully crafted with an eye for detail that brings a sense of joy to interacting with their creations.

But what truly stood out was their collaborative spirit – it felt like a partnership, not just a transaction. Dual Works is the go-to for top-notch custom furniture and expertly crafted objects. A five-star experience, hands down, I can’t wait to work with them again.”

Harry Conway | Innovation Manager, STEAMhouse

“Being listened to is a privilege and so I really enjoyed our initial conversations about what I was trying to create as a feeling as much as a finished object. Dual Works really heard what I was trying to do and didn't try to create a solution on the spot.  Working iteratively with them meant that I could see progress and that the design could be finessed just for me. 

The care and attention to detail meant that I now have a stitching tool called Connect More, there are so many applications for it which I will be researching in my MA and in my practice this year. But of course it is about much more than that.  I feel that Dual Works have set me on the right road of believing in myself so that every stitch has the ability to make a difference”

Tina Francis | Tapestry Artist

“Working with Dual Works to expand our exhibition space with vertical screens / display boards has been simple, straight forward and an absolute pleasure. 

Their creative solutions to design and budget has ensured our exhibition area functions seamlessly with our existing showcases. The display solution makes installation quick and effective and allows for a variety of configurations depending on the display required which has really enhanced the space.

A great team to work with and a high-quality result”

Claire Price | Birmingham College of Jewellery, Fashion and Textiles

“Dual Works has completed three design and build projects for us so far, including a home gym, a wine cellar and a home office. Dual Works were brilliant from start to finish each time, carefully translating our broad ideas and themes into high-quality, functional solutions which look amazing and make great use of our space.

As well as being fantastic craftspeople they're great fun to work with, finishing on time and in line with budgets, and we're already planning our next project with them!!”


Anka & Jon Addis

“We have known Dual Works for several years now they are some of the warmest and most friendly people you could wish to meet. So when it came time to add some new furniture to our Store in the Great Western Arcade, we didn't have to think about who would do this project it was always going to be Dual Works.

They took our brief and made sense of it! They spent time making sure what would work in our space, and be practical for our needs. Also, we really like that they sourced great material from UK suppliers, this was all delivered on time and on the budget.

We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Dual Works and use them for future projects.”

Matt Rose | Director at Glimpse Opticians'

 “Dual Works were commissioned to design and create the exhibition build for our national touring exhibition We are Commoners.

Dual Works responded to our brief and the themes and ethos of the exhibition with creativity and practicality. They devised a visual identity in collaboration with the exhibition’s graphic designer that referenced ideas of play, DIY and reuse. The build they have created is a clean aesthetic but striking which is important to mark out Craftspace’s work in the various tour venues. It is also practical and robust for touring; easily packed down, stored or transported and assembled. The best thing is it is all reusable or recyclable!

Dual Works were a pleasure and fun to work with too, making the whole process enjoyable.”

Emma Daker | Exhibitions and Project Development Manager Craftspace

“For Sense, working with DualWorks has been an absolute dream. Our work supports people who are deafblind or have complex disabilities to communicate, experience the world and fulfil their potential.

It’s wonderful to work with a partner who shares our vision of a world where everyone can take part in life, no matter their disability. This partnership has helped us to translate our sensory practice into the environments we have created for children who are deafblind or have complex disabilities. This ranges from tactile carriers, braille pegboards and sensory play stations right through to the gorgeous home pods we can turn into tents, story spaces or fill with sensory lights, music, scent and fabrics.

Feedback from parents who bring their children to Sense sessions has been so positive. Spaces are safe, welcoming and far removed from clinical spaces they may have experienced. You get a sense of calm joy when you walk into our new children’s studios. That is down to Dual Works partnership delivering on our shared vision for these spaces.

We are so delighted with the way this partnership has developed to create furniture for Sense Hub Loughborough, with more to come!”

Rachel Perrin | Associate Director: Operational Programmes at Sense

“When we initially approached the Dual Works to undertake work for us at the Coffin Works, our brief was basic and safe, but Dual Works vision brought it to life. They got us thinking and enabled us to be more creative, developing our brief so that it was more than just functional. This came from a true passion for what they do but also an appreciation of who we are.

Their approach is the perfect blend of personal and professional, but more than anything else, they care about getting the right results for their clients. They are our ‘go to’ design team and their quality and consistency has secured them multiple projects with us. I couldn’t recommend them more highly.”

Sarah Hayes | Museum Manager at Coffin Works

“We have really enjoyed working again with Dual Works for the design and installation of our office furniture, they are such a talented team, and they really listened to us to understand how we work and operate to be able to make bespoke for this.

They show brilliant attention to detail, precision, innovative ideas, and flexibility to accommodate work hours and patterns. Dual Works really go above and beyond to achieve a fantastic finish and feel, as well as a joyful personable service. We always look forward to working with them, and hope to collaborate again together soon”

Anna Parker | Founding director of Intervention Architecture Ltd

“A pleasure to work with the Dual Works they really took the time to listen to our needs and understand our space, aesthetic and audience. We commissioned a front of house retail unit, and they presented new solutions that we hadn't considered, ensuring longevity and multifunctionality. Excellent communication through the process of commissioning and installation.”

Naomi Clarke | Community Outreach & Learning Manager at The Hive, Ruskin Mill Land Trust

"Dual Works are truly dedicated and talented creators. Functionality and productivity is at the centre of their design process which was invaluable to me whilst setting up my small studio. They took time to understand what I required of my workspace and created customised pieces that are versatile and multifunctional.

From the design process all the way to the installation they were a joy to work with and I’m looking forward to working with them again in future. The Ultimate Dream Team"

Jennifer Bates | Founding director of In Bloom

"We are delighted with the outcome of the project and feel incredibly proud of the legacy this will create. These spaces will enable us to create innovative spaces for disabled artists’ audiences and communities, where people with complex disabilities are creative leaders, now and in the future."

Stephanie Tyrrell | Head of Arts at Sense Arts Charity