In conversation with Chris at skinflint
Return to JournalThe Retreat: A skinflint x Dodds & Shute partnership
This month we announce a collaboration with skinflint, the vintage lighting firm with a mission to buck fast furniture trends operating across the UK, Europe, and the USA. Our newly launched collection, The Retreat features salvaged and restored lights that make the perfect sustainable addition to hotel bedrooms, bars, restaurants and lobbies.
It’s great to be chatting to you Chris...
Tell us a bit about skinflint! What led you to starting out?
As a business we’ve always wanted to challenge the status quo and create sustainable change in the lighting and design industries. After almost two decades gaining insight into this world (with the brave and the bold at Foster + Partners, iGuzzini, Isometrix Lighting and Philippe Starck), I knew the time was right to start a passion project with a purpose. skinflint was founded on a mission to stop vintage lights going to landfill; salvaging and restoring only the highest quality vintage lights from the 1920s-1970s. Today, our lights continue their journeys around the world, in shops, hotels, workplaces and private residences from fellow B Corps like Patagonia and Aesop, to bars and restaurants like Somerset House. And now with Dodds & Shute.
And what’s the mission?
Fifteen years later we’ve grown, but always stayed true to this founding mission: to buck fast furniture trends and be a solution to modern-day disposable lighting choices. What we’ve done is demonstrate that a fully circular approach to vintage lighting is absolutely possible. And we hope that other leaders in the industry will follow suit to bring about change in the sector.
How did sustainability become the main focus of the business?
The very nature of our business - salvaging and restoring well-engineered vintage pieces - means sustainability has always underpinned who we are and what we do. But working sustainably means constantly evolving the way we operate, both for our people and our planet. We’re a Certified B Corp, so we use business as a force for good and hold ourselves accountable to being the change we want to see in the world by donating to charities like 1% for the Planet every year. We continue to stop lighting going to landfill through product circularity initiatives like our Full Circle buy-back scheme. And we also offer a lifetime guarantee, meaning we’ll repair lights that need a little extra TLC. It’s our commitment to the circular economy and sustainability in practice.
And how did you find your B Corp Certification?
Joining the B Corp Movement in 2021 was a natural next step for us as a business. Its vigorous certification process verifies that as a business we’re meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. The nature of the application and retention processes mean we’re forced to consider and measure our impact; not just once, but continually. Covering everything from our governance and customers to our impact on our communities and employees, we’re audited and scored. It highlights the things we’re doing well and the things we can improve upon. We’re striving for net zero by 2025 and the accountability the B Corp Certification helps in keeping us on track.
Tell us more about the partnership, and why it’s a perfect fit for our two brands...
Our ethos has always centred around doing the right thing, and it’s great to see Dodds & Shute championing positive change and challenging the status quo in the same way. Their latest sustainability report recognises that it’s so normal for commercial designers on large-scale projects to request new furniture and new lighting options. But with hotels responsible for an estimated 1% of global carbon emissions* there’s never been a better time to rethink this. Using restored and reused vintage lighting in hotel interiors is just one of the ways we can shake up the sector. And working with Dodds & Shute to achieve this is something we’re really excited about; we’re so impressed with the way they audit and vet each and every one of their suppliers, helping clients make more sustainable choices.
How do you envisage this first collection for hotels working for your clients?
Five of the ten lines in The Retreat Collection were in fact salvaged from old hotels in former Czechoslovakia. It’s incredible to think that after all of these years, through careful salvage and restoration, they really will be going full circle to lead second, maybe even third or fourth lives in some of the world’s most sustainable hotels! From large quantities of retro glass wall lights, to industrial factory pendants, each light in The Retreat has a story to tell. Whether hotel foyers, social spaces, bars, restaurants, or hotel bedrooms, the collection is full of refined pieces that work to create considered spaces you’ll want to escape to.
In conversation with Chris at skinflint
The Retreat: A skinflint x Dodds & Shute partnership
This month we announce a collaboration with skinflint, the vintage lighting firm with a mission to buck fast furniture trends operating across the UK, Europe, and the USA. Our newly launched collection, The Retreat features salvaged and restored lights that make the perfect sustainable addition to hotel bedrooms, bars, restaurants and lobbies.
It’s great to be chatting to you Chris...
Tell us a bit about skinflint! What led you to starting out?
As a business we’ve always wanted to challenge the status quo and create sustainable change in the lighting and design industries. After almost two decades gaining insight into this world (with the brave and the bold at Foster + Partners, iGuzzini, Isometrix Lighting and Philippe Starck), I knew the time was right to start a passion project with a purpose. skinflint was founded on a mission to stop vintage lights going to landfill; salvaging and restoring only the highest quality vintage lights from the 1920s-1970s. Today, our lights continue their journeys around the world, in shops, hotels, workplaces and private residences from fellow B Corps like Patagonia and Aesop, to bars and restaurants like Somerset House. And now with Dodds & Shute.
And what’s the mission?
Fifteen years later we’ve grown, but always stayed true to this founding mission: to buck fast furniture trends and be a solution to modern-day disposable lighting choices. What we’ve done is demonstrate that a fully circular approach to vintage lighting is absolutely possible. And we hope that other leaders in the industry will follow suit to bring about change in the sector.
How did sustainability become the main focus of the business?
The very nature of our business - salvaging and restoring well-engineered vintage pieces - means sustainability has always underpinned who we are and what we do. But working sustainably means constantly evolving the way we operate, both for our people and our planet. We’re a Certified B Corp, so we use business as a force for good and hold ourselves accountable to being the change we want to see in the world by donating to charities like 1% for the Planet every year. We continue to stop lighting going to landfill through product circularity initiatives like our Full Circle buy-back scheme. And we also offer a lifetime guarantee, meaning we’ll repair lights that need a little extra TLC. It’s our commitment to the circular economy and sustainability in practice.
And how did you find your B Corp Certification?
Joining the B Corp Movement in 2021 was a natural next step for us as a business. Its vigorous certification process verifies that as a business we’re meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. The nature of the application and retention processes mean we’re forced to consider and measure our impact; not just once, but continually. Covering everything from our governance and customers to our impact on our communities and employees, we’re audited and scored. It highlights the things we’re doing well and the things we can improve upon. We’re striving for net zero by 2025 and the accountability the B Corp Certification helps in keeping us on track.
Tell us more about the partnership, and why it’s a perfect fit for our two brands...
Our ethos has always centred around doing the right thing, and it’s great to see Dodds & Shute championing positive change and challenging the status quo in the same way. Their latest sustainability report recognises that it’s so normal for commercial designers on large-scale projects to request new furniture and new lighting options. But with hotels responsible for an estimated 1% of global carbon emissions* there’s never been a better time to rethink this. Using restored and reused vintage lighting in hotel interiors is just one of the ways we can shake up the sector. And working with Dodds & Shute to achieve this is something we’re really excited about; we’re so impressed with the way they audit and vet each and every one of their suppliers, helping clients make more sustainable choices.
How do you envisage this first collection for hotels working for your clients?
Five of the ten lines in The Retreat Collection were in fact salvaged from old hotels in former Czechoslovakia. It’s incredible to think that after all of these years, through careful salvage and restoration, they really will be going full circle to lead second, maybe even third or fourth lives in some of the world’s most sustainable hotels! From large quantities of retro glass wall lights, to industrial factory pendants, each light in The Retreat has a story to tell. Whether hotel foyers, social spaces, bars, restaurants, or hotel bedrooms, the collection is full of refined pieces that work to create considered spaces you’ll want to escape to.
Return to Journal
