OakBloke York
Doing our bit for the environment to bring you beautiful, sustainable and personalised products
Doing our bit for the environment to bring you beautiful, sustainable and personalised products
We’re a family run business based in York, and have worked with lots of local schools, clubs and companies all over the country. Find out more below about how Oakbloke started and its aims for the future.
Ever since I can remember I have been making and designing my own gifts, from personalised cards to an army of peg dolls for my wedding favours. I love seeing the reactions of people and this is what prompted me into stepping into the unknown and to start my own business in 2016, which like an acorn has grown and grown.
I am a Design Technology teacher, and I love my teaching and the difference you can make to a pupils life. Children have a wonderful imagination and bundles of creativity, so I thrive in this environment. Working with different materials every day, you learn very quickly what works and what doesn’t.
Furthermore, I have a keen passion for sport and coaching so this has driven the business more down the sports awards and medals route. Having run a few marathons and played a variety of different sports I’ve seen my fair share of medals and trophies but there is a real gap in the market for bespoke awards and medals that are not only sustainable and good for the environment but that actually look nice and is something you would be proud of displaying. That’s why my focus with the business has now shifted and I am certain I can change the stigma around sustainable awards.
I am a huge lover of long countryside walks and view the oak tree as a natural and much loved symbol of the British countryside, cutting these down would be a travesty, therefore I only ever use reclaimed Oak through the use of old flooring and kitchen worktops that would overwise have been burnt or sent to landfill, Oak is so durable that once sanded down you can’t tell that it’s had 40 years as a floor or a worktop in a busy restaurant. On the rare occasion that I buy the Oak it will be PEFC and FSC certified. That’s the same as our laser ply we use for medals it only comes from fully certified sustainable sources.
I mentioned early I am a teacher and also a father of two little girls (who love coming in my workshop) so my time is precious, but I do have this real drive for Oakbloke to succeed and when I’m in the workshop I lose myself. It’s hard to explain really but time seems to stand still. Since starting in 2016 with a tiny second-hand laser machine in the house, I now have 2 workshops and 2 bigger laser machines that have meant I have been able to scale up the business and improve efficiency. Because of my nearly decade working with Lasers, I have found a winning formula which means the designs are always deeply engraved and won’t fade overtime like a lot of our competitors.
