Self-taught joiner builds her own furniture business
Fay Sebel
Age: 29
Occupation: Owner, La Maison de Furniture (furniture maker)
Location: London
Half-Russian and half-Greek, Fay Sabel moved to London in 2009 to study music production. She moved into furniture manufacturing four years later, setting up La Maison de Furniture as a small company which she runs with her wife, Sara Hampson.
Fay, 29, bases her business at the Blackhorse Workshop in north London, a set of workspaces for small businesses in manufacturing and engineering. Her career journey was driven by necessity.
“Back in 2013 when I was a single mother, I was unable to afford any furniture for my home. I started to make little crates to keep things in from wood I had scavenged from the street. I taught myself the woodwork basics from YouTube and it went from there. When I joined the Blackhorse Workshop my learning curve accelerated massively.”
The couple sell their products mainly through personal contacts as well as websites including Instagram and Etsy. There are many benefits from being at the workshop, Fay says. “There are so many talented people doing so many different things, with different backgrounds. If I have question about something, there is always going to be someone who has the answer.”
