Dominic Marriott is enthusiastic about his work. In a workshop at Salle Moor Farm, he makes wooden treasures by hand, such as toy trucks and tractors, playhouses and more. What motivates him? “I want to put a smile on a child’s face, hence my toys,” he said.
Dominic Marriott
Using local timber and recycling whenever possible, Mr Marriott creates heirloom pieces that he hopes will last a hundred years.
Born in England, he grew up in Augsburg, Germany, where he qualified in engineering, returning to the UK at the age of 28.
In Norfolk, Mr Marriott’s wife, Katie, suggested he start his own business using his skills in woodwork, and Marriott’s Wooden Treasures was born.
At first, the plan was to work from a shed in his mother-in-law’s garden in Taverham. Mr Marriott contacted Broadland District Council and attended a business start-up course, put together a business plan, applied for a grant of £750 and tried the crowdfunding site Kickstarter for a similar amount. “If it wasn’t for the Council and Kickstarter, I wouldn’t be here,” he admitted.
It was very cold in the shed in winter. That was when Mr Marriott heard about Salle Moor Farm as a location for an industrial unit.
At present, he shares this with another small business; there are plans to build more units facing the yard, which he hopes will allow him to sell direct to the public on site.
So far, Mr Marriott sells mostly online, making full use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and the Etsy e-commerce marketplace.
He has sent several orders to the USA, Australia and Canada, negotiating the traps of various means of international delivery, finding Royal Mail the most reliable. About 80% of his online sales are outside the UK.
The business will make to order whatever a customer asks for – gates, doors, garden furniture. There are immediate plans to buy a good laser cutter, which will reduce the number of hours it takes to produce many wooden items. Again, crowdfunding is proving useful.
Mr Marriott, who lives in Cawston, has two children and stresses the importance of safety and child-friendly toys. He is aiming to obtain a “CE certificate”; one of the requirements of this is to supply eight of his creations to be tested to destruction.
The furniture and models he makes that are not toys are clearly labelled. One of his recent orders was an oak cabinet for Kinder Eggs.
“Salle Moor Farm is a great place to work,” said Mr Marriott. “I’m just a happy person here.”
Contact: Marriott’s Wooden Treasures. Tel: 07473 134578 or email. Photographs of the toys and other wooden products can be viewed on Facebook or Etsy.
Karen Brockman
