32 CRAFTING ESSENTIALS Andrew Brooks, Commercial Director at Whitecroft Essentials (Lydney) Limited chats to Craft Focus about being a one-stop-shop for stationery, haberdashery and wire-forming products Tell us a little bit about the company. The origins of Whitecroft Essentials (Lydney) Ltd, often known locally as the Whitecroft Pin Factory, date back to 1910. The factory and business were founded by Michael and Stanley Jarrett. They started manufacturing safety pins in the Forest of Dean with only six employees, eventually expanding to a wide variety of wire-formed products like hair grips and paper clips. How has the company evolved? The factory quickly became the main employer of women in the Forest of Dean, a region otherwise dominated by coal mining. The workforce grew to over 400 people before WWII. The company diversified into wider wireformed products like hair grips, paper clips, and zipper fasteners. By 1961, the company employed 275 people. In 1964, it was bought by the American Scovill manufacturing group, officially becoming Whitecroft-Scovill Ltd. In 2000, the company was taken over by Prym before in 2008 it came back into UK ownership through a management buyout. What do you specialise in? The company splits its business between wholesale and contract stationery, wholesale haberdashery and bespoke wire formed products. The company is also the official commercial distribution partner for Nurge. Nurge is a premium Turkish manufacturer renowned worldwide for producing top-tier, professional-grade beechwood embroidery hoops, needle punch hoops, embroidery stands, and stitching accessories and is Whitecroft’s ‘top level quality’ needlework offering. Nurge was founded in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1985 and is widely recognised in the global stitching community for redesigning standard hoops. Their hoops often feature an engineered notch-andgroove or inner-lip system that tightly pinches the fabric, providing far superior tension compared to traditional bamboo or smooth wooden hoops. Originally focused on wooden hoops, the company has since expanded to produce spring-tension hoops, squareshaped plastic hoops, and versatile seat/ table stands. Talk us through the current products you’re particularly excited about. Do you have a favourite? All Nurge products are fantastic so it’s really difficult to single out any one favourite product. The topselling Nurge products in Whitecroft’s wholesale distribution line include: Nurge Beechwood Embroidery Hoops (Series 100) - they’re round, 8mm-deep hoops featuring an adjustable brass tension screw. Whitecroft moves massive quantities of these to retail shops and kit manufacturers. There’s also, Nurge Square Plastic Embroidery Hoops. Favoured heavily by cross-stitchers and machine embroiderers, these distinctive square-shaped hoops feature clip-on tensions rather than traditional screws.
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