Nothing but the best will do when it comes to luxury brand Henry Tuke. Its founder tells Melissa Darlyne Chow about thriving on creativity
Tom Tuke-Hastings sabering a bottle of champagne in Ludes, France
A close-up of the champagne sabre
DESIGNING is not a hobby for Tom Tuke-Hastings, the founder of the London-based luxury brand Henry Tuke. It is part of his DNA.
His company, launched last year, creates high-end boy’s toys out of the finest materials and precious metals, such as the RM135,000 damascus steel and sterling silver champagne saber, and the RM120,000 ebony and silver backgammon set, which are sold in Harrods, London.
“It is not a hobby. It is something I cannot live without. Now, it is very much business. I am in a very fortunate position where what I love, live and breathe, is a business that will support me, and allow me to live my dreams,” he said.
The love for creation has always been in Tuke-Hastings, 34, whose first creation was a frog with a silly hat he made for his father when he was 4. His father still keeps the frog, as it has great sentimental value.
“I was always making lots of things, tying bits of strings or cutting things up. My first school report said I was all right in most of the subjects, but it said I was good at cutting out,” he says.
“I have been cutting out, drawing and making things ever since. Of course, since then (the days of making the frog), my designs have progressed.”
His love for creating is “normally leaking out at the edges".
“I find it hard to hold it in. Even when I’m sitting alone, I’ll type something, make a little chair out of wire, a turtle. I have always liked doing something with my hands.”
Tuke-Hastings is flowing with so many ideas that he keeps a notepad by his bed.
“In the middle of the night, when I wake up with the latest idea, I’ll write it down,” he says. “I have a large collection of napkins, menus and beer mats with scribbles and reminders. I have to write down ideas.”
The concept of “expensive big boy’s toys is something that Tuke-Hastings has been passionate about for a long time.
“I have been wanting to do this for many years. The idea stems very much from a love for the best, fabulous and exciting products.”
These days, it is getting harder to find fine craftsmanship. In today’s globalised world, “big useful brands get sold off, accountants come in, craftsmanship tends to go downhill, and the work is no longer necessarily done in one place by one craftsman.
“I want to go back to the good old days, when it was very much about having one craftsman taking the job through from beginning to the end, to make sure that the quality is always there.
“It is very much about having the very best and not cutting corners. Good enough just isn’t good enough. It has got to be perfect.”
Tuke-Hastings has always been competitive and has always wanted the best, so he “creates the best".
“I think most men never really grow up. They love having things they can play with, whether it is the latest computer gadgets, a new car or a speedboat.
“There is always competition to have the best... mine is bigger than yours, faster, shinier... whatever people get excited about.”
He had been playing around with the design of the backgammon set for at least 15 years. “It has taken a long time to get exactly what I want, to find the right people to make it and to make sure it’s quality.”
The key to a product is that “it makes you feel better about life”.
“Statement pieces make you walk into a room and go ’Wow! Where did you get that? That’s amazing’.
“It is not a little something that clutters the desk. I would like to think that it is the first thing you see in a room... the thing that gets all your attention. We do that, and we are very happy.”
Harrods is the company’s first port of call because it is globally famous.
“If you are an English, London-based company, it is the big shop. If your goods are in Harrods, it is a sign that if your quality is good enough for Harrods, it is good enough anywhere in the world.”
Tuke-Hastings is head of design in the company and notes that it is important to have “that one person leading the design team and take it the whole way through".
He is very involved in the selection of artisans. “Nobody makes any of my products unless I have interviewed them.”
“Henry Tuke pieces, the pieces within the pieces, are handmade in England. It is very important to me. Many countries make things very well, but I want Henry Tuke to be an English company, to celebrate British artisans.
“I can get pieces made on the other side of the world and they will be cheaper. But I do believe you should support your own economy, especially in times of financial turmoil.”
Henry Tuke works on a flexible structure and the number of artisans, such as the silver workers, swordsmiths and cabinet makers, is about 15 at the moment.
“This is not mass production. If someone wants 300 of an item by the end of the month, we won’t be able to do it. What we do is create beautiful things at our own pace.
“It is not about churning out big numbers. It is about having a small team of good people who know exactly what they want to do, and to take it from start to finish every time. The bigger the team, the harder it is to keep the quality high.”
Tuke-Hastings comes from a creative and entrepreneurial family and says his parents have always been supportive.
“All of my family are creative and they love making things. My mother was a photographer. She makes wonderful cakes, is a great cook and does interior design. My father thinks up concepts.
“That has probably rubbed off on me in a strong way. In school, I was encouraged to take up creative subjects rather than go for top grades. I’ve never had any fear of failing. My parents and I are fans of more testing and less debating. We get out there and give it a go.
“Things will always change. It will always be slightly different than what you thought initially. But if you don’t make that first step, nothing will ever happen.
“My parents are the key to the ethos — never be afraid to give things a go.”
Tuke-Hastings, who holds the Guinness World Record for the most champagne bottles sabered in a minute, has advice for those contemplating doing what they love.
“The world has changed in the last 10 years, to the point everyone should be able to try what they love now, whether it is creative arts or teaching. The Internet gives people such unrivalled opportunities to try. They don’t have to leave their jobs or country.
They can start doing what they like, can talk about it to people globally. It is a great way to work with others. It is lonely working on your own. People should try to live their dreams, even if they have to keep one foot in the real world.”
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