Capabilities / Design to delivery
From first idea
to finished piece.
Helm Works designs, engineers, samples, makes and delivers bespoke presentation boxes, packaging and furniture. You can come in at any stage, but the best work starts early, while the idea is still rough and the budget is still honest.
Discuss a projectSix disciplines.
One workshop.
Come in at any stage. Each one is carried out under the same roof in Penrith.
Design development
Whether you have a brief, a finished design or a rough idea, we can help. We can write the brief with you, design to a cost, or propose the solution and let commercial sign-off follow.
Engineering and prototyping
The fit of a lid, the smooth action of a hinge, the sound a closure makes: the parts that decide whether a piece feels right. We engineer them, prototype them and prove them before a run is made. Prototyping is available as a service on its own.
The golden sample
Before a run is made, you approve the drawings, a quality specification and a finished sample. The sample becomes the standard every piece is checked against, and the answer to any question about what was agreed.
Manufacture
Made in Penrith by skilled craftsmen. From a single piece to a full programme, with small works and large commissions running side by side.
Finishing
Every piece is finished by hand to the sample standard. Nothing leaves the bench unless our makers would be proud to put their name to it.
Delivery
Packed for the journey and delivered on the date, whether that is across the UK or the other side of the world.
The right material
for the idea.
Natural and engineered materials offer different possibilities in texture, colour, weight and stability. We develop the material approach around your brief and select the right combination for it.
Specific material grades, fabrication methods and finishes are agreed during development. Bring a reference or tell us the effect you want to achieve.
Priced for the piece.
Never from a list.
Every project is designed and priced individually, so there is no price list.
No minimum order. A single piece for an interior is as welcome as a full programme for a brand.
No budget yet? Most clients arrive without one. Tell us what the piece needs to do and we will work out the cost with you.
We would rather be good value than the cheapest quote. UK production, one point of contact and a piece that does not need to be made twice tend to cost less in the end.
Part of your team.
Or the whole of it.
Much of our work arrives through design agencies and brand managers, and we are used to fitting into a team. Designing to a cost, hitting a launch date, keeping the end client’s sign-off simple: that is the job.
If you would rather come to us directly, we can carry the whole project, design included.
Tell us about the projectFour worlds. One standard.
- 01
Spirits and drinks
Whisky presentation boxes, cases and limited edition releases for distilleries and drinks brands, from a single fifty-year-old bottle to a seasonal run.
Presentation cases, bottle and decanter boxes, anniversary editions, gift sets. - 02
Luxury packaging and gifting
Boxes and presentation pieces that are kept long after the gift is opened, for jewellery, watches, perfume, food and drink.
Jewellery and watch presentation, perfume coffrets, gifting ranges, seasonal editions. - 03
Furniture and interiors
Bespoke furniture and fitted pieces for luxury interior designers and private clients, designed with you and made to fit the room.
Bespoke furniture, fitted pieces, one-off commissions. - 04
Corporate and brand
Gifts, awards and promotional pieces for brands and their agencies, designed to a cost and made to a standard the brand would put its name to.
Corporate gifts, awards, launch pieces, event and promotional items.
The questions
on every first call.
- Who have you worked with?
- Our work spans drinks, luxury gifting and other brand commissions. Ask us about relevant experience for your brief; what we can share depends on each client’s confidentiality requirements.
- How long will it take?
- A small run from an approved design can be with you in a matter of weeks. A fully designed and sampled programme for a major launch can take a year or more. Tell us the date you need it and we plan backwards from there.
- What can you take on?
- Designs that are a little bit different. Bring a design other makers found too complex and we will refine it and make it. Small works and large programmes run side by side in the same workshop, with the same attention.
- Is there a minimum order?
- No. There is no minimum order and no minimum spend. A single piece is as welcome as a full production run.
- What materials do you work with?
- We work across a wide range of materials, supported by a skilled supply chain, including projects that combine several. Tell us how the piece should look, feel and function, and we will discuss suitable materials, finishes and development.
- Is production UK based?
- Yes. Our work is designed and made in our workshop in Penrith, Cumbria, and delivered from there to the UK and the rest of the world. If a project needs more flexibility on lead time, budget or capability, we can work with selected overseas partners, all managed directly by our team in Cumbria.
- Can we visit?
- Yes, by appointment. Come and see the workshop, the materials and the work in progress. We would rather you saw it than took our word for it.
- How do you handle confidentiality?
- We sign NDAs as a matter of course. Many of our best projects will never appear on this site, and we are comfortable with that.
Have a project
you would like to discuss?
Let’s start a dialogue about your requirements and how our team can achieve your needs.