Our Story
Made by hand.
Made with heart.
Based in Repton, Derbyshire, Penn & Bristle is a family business born from a shared love of beautiful things — exceptional craftsmanship, considered design, and furniture that tells a story.
Penny — a lifetime of craft
Penn & Bristle takes its name from Penny, whose background in fine art and decorative finishes underpins everything we do. A trained artist with further education in Art History, Ceramics, Photography and Film Studies, Penny brings a depth of creative knowledge that is genuinely rare in the furniture world.
Her specialisms span an exceptional range — marbling, gilding, hand painted designs and a host of specialist paint and wood finishes that transform furniture from functional to extraordinary.
Penny spent many years as a professional greetings card designer, creating work for some of the industry’s most respected names — Hallmark, Carte Blanche, Simon Elvin, Wishing Well Studios and Kingsley Cards among them. That career gave her an instinctive understanding of colour, composition and the art of making things genuinely beautiful.
Much of Penny’s mastery of traditional paint finishes was passed down by her father Roger — a traditional signwriter and coach painter who worked for Bass Brewery and Eddie Stobart, practising a craft that stretches back centuries.
Mike — the foundation
Behind every beautifully crafted piece is the business that makes it possible. Mike brings a long career in business management and a breadth of commercial experience across many industries — ensuring that Penn & Bristle operates with the same attention to detail behind the scenes as Penny brings to her work in the studio.
From managing commissions and working relationships with our manufacturing partners, to ensuring every client experience is seamless from first enquiry to final delivery, Mike provides the structure that allows the creativity to flourish.
Designed by us.
Made for you.
Penny designs our own furniture ranges, developed in close collaboration with our trusted manufacturing partners. Every piece is available with her bespoke paint finishes — from classic heritage tones to intricate specialist techniques that simply cannot be found elsewhere.
We work with respected, high-end furniture manufacturers to source exceptional pieces, which Penny then transforms into something entirely bespoke. Whether you are working to a specific interior design scheme, a particular colour palette, or a finish that simply does not exist off the shelf — Penny’s specialist techniques can be applied to any piece to create furniture that is made, in every sense, for you.
Every commission, however large or small, is treated as a personal project. That has always been the Penn & Bristle way.
Ready to start a conversation?
Whether you’re furnishing a room, sourcing for a client, or simply curious about what’s possible — we’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch