Our manifesto
From tree to table
Our future depends on trees.
Use wood thoughtfully.
Your table was once a tree.
Some day it could be something else.
Make sure your wood hasn’t travelled too far.
Reuse where possible.
Demand that it’s sustainably grown.
Buy less. Use your hands more.
Question how things are made, and what they are made from.
Learn how to make something — it's revolutionary.
Invest in the traditions of craftsmanship.
Good design, made well, lasts longer.
Invite others to your table.
Enduring beauty is meant to be shared.
Create spaces that feed the soul.
Let’s reset our relationship to the living world.
Our everyday choices have power.
Choose as if all life depends on it.
The Goldfinger story
Design and sustainability pioneers Marie Cudennec Carlisle and Oliver Waddington-Ball, opened the doors to Goldfinger at the foot of Trellick Tower in 2013. Named after renowned architect Ernö Goldfinger — the design master behind our Grade II listed Brutalist home — we decided to take its literal meaning as guiding inspiration: the material we touch, we turn to gold.
Bespoke furniture
Our North Kensington wood and joinery workshop is the lifeblood of our enterprise. Here, we design and craft bespoke furniture and homeware for residential homes and many London businesses;from hotels to cafés, shops to offices. Many of our design classics are available to purchase from our online shop too.
Goldfinger Academy
We teach marginalised young people the art of woodworking through our apprenticeship programme, so they can progress into meaningful work. We also offer public craft workshops - with free spaces offered to local residents on low income - plus corporate away-days for you and your team, designed to enhance wellbeing and celebrate the joy of making.
People's Kitchen
We're taking direct action and tackling food waste and social isolation through our charitable initiative, People's Kitchen. Every third Sunday of the month, we cook and deliver restaurant-quality meals (made from surplus food) to vulnerable residents in the local community, supported by our dedicated volunteers.
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Marie Cudennec Carlisle, CEO & Co-Founder
Growing up in rural Hong Kong (yes that does exist!), Marie grew to love the natural world and became determined to end the waste that she saw around her. She has led the Goldfinger team since 2017 to become a respected social enterprise that has won the support of Hermès, John Lewis and Tom Dixon. She started her career in luxury branding and product marketing at LVMH, Richemont and Estée Lauder. In her spare time, Marie can be found on her yoga mat and blogging about her favourite recipes.
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Leslie Feeney Baily, Head of Partnerships
With a background in architecture and design, Leslie is an entrepreneur with a focus on product design and project management. She first came into contact with Goldfinger as a client, and now works with us to develop design partnerships and help with client strategy. Leslie has managed a successful fashion accessories design and production firm since 1991. She has lived in West London since 1999, and is a passionate supporter of several local charities and human rights organisations.
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Carl Blücher, Head of Retail and Creative
After cutting his teeth at Central St Martins School of Art and Design, Carl has gained 20 years' experience in the art, design and retail industries - from design and branding to buying and marketing. He also runs a pottery business on the side, and likes to spend his spare time on the coast of Kent, normally with his miniature Dachshund Mr Big by his side.
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Michael Lambrianos, Head of Sales & Business Development
Michael is a sales leader with over 10 years of corporate experience, an entrepreneurial attitude and a strong academic background. He was most recently the Senior Director of Business Development at NowyStyl UK, spending 3 years before that as the Managing Director of Wiesner-Hager UK & Ireland. Michael is passionate about growing and developing his teams, driving everyone within the business to success in their own unique way through coaching and mentoring.
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Joseph I'Anson, Senior Design and Production Manager
Joe was born and raised in North Yorkshire. Growing up with a passion for all things creative, he moved to London to study Product & Furniture Design at Kingston University. He has since gained diverse experience, working within a variety of studios and designing furniture and interiors for both residential and commercial environments. His practice is driven by a strong desire to engage with the local community and his interest in how businesses can benefit the communities they work within.
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Daniele Barco, In-House Designer & Maker
Daniele began his design career early, building skate ramps for himself and his friends, because there weren't any in his home town. He later graduated in industrial design in Rome. Daniele co-created a design collective in 2010, focused on bespoke furniture design, making, and teaching workshops, with a special focus on upcycling and DIY. He has a deep appreciation for traditional techniques in woodworking.
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Jason Posnot, Freelance Designer & Maker
Jason grew up in Durban, South Africa, instilling in him a love of nature and outdoor sports. After moving to England at the age of 15, he went on to graduate in Sustainable Product Design from Falmouth University. He has since worked as a freelance designer and maker for various studios, developing a passion for designing and making things that benefit the communities and world we live in. When not in the workshop, you can find him at the climbing wall or catching waves on his surfboard.
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Mattia Gasparini, Designer Maker
After graduating with an anthropology degree, Mattia decided to change careers and become a cabinetmaker. Having found an excellent woodworking school, he settled in Lisbon in 2015 where he spent 3.5 years studying and working. Since then, Mattia has worked with wood for various enterprises, first in Portugal and then in Italy, and developed a deep passion for furniture design. Coming from the Italian Alps he loves nature and all mountain sports, particularly cross-country skiing, mountaineering and rock climbing.
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Anna Kidel, Marketing and Communications Manager
Anna looks after all things marketing and comms at Goldfinger. She joined the Goldfinger family in 2019, after several years working in the creative industries. She loves expressing her creativity to share the story of Goldfinger, from copywriting to product photography. In her spare time, she runs her own small-scale furniture business and enjoys whipping up new recipes.
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Effy Harle, Community Outreach Programme Officer
Effy is an artist and arts organiser, hailing from beautiful Budapest, with a passion for woodwork and community building. She moved to London in 2019 to study at the Royal College of Art, where she graduated with an MA in Contemporary Art Practice in the Public Sphere. She has worked in art galleries including Nottingham Contemporary and Eastside Projects in Birmingham. She also runs FemTech, a skill-share network for women in the arts to learn basic carpentry and construction skills. In her spare time, she enjoys playing sports and is currently exploring Thai boxing and weightlifting.
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William del Rivero, Studio Manager
William studied media and worked in the creative industry for several years, before moving into operations. Whilst managing offices he developed a passion for sustainability and the responsible use of resources. Data driven and stats obsessed, you can find him having a blast with our CRM or boring staff with his latest cocktail creation.
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Jessica Bennett, Head of Development
Jessica joined us with over ten years experience of working with the charity sector, most recently for Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres where she led the London fundraising campaign to bring more Maggie’s Centres to London, and previously for Breast Cancer Care. She is passionate about driving positive change through charitable and social enterprise initiatives. In her (limited) spare time she can be found enjoying time with her two young children or on her yoga mat.
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Sophie Rose, People Manager
With a curiosity for people and a talent for shape-shifting, Sophie's portfolio career consists of over 15 years’ community building and strategic management experience across the commercial, cultural and support sectors. Building on her background in performance and live arts, Sophie is known for developing people, processes and possibilities. Sophie leads Goldfinger's People department, alongside training to become an Integrative Counsellor and Coach (and wandering the city's many second hand shops and markets!).
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Karen O'Leary, HR Coordinator
Karen grew up in Drogheda, just outside of Dublin. After studying English & French at Trinity College, she completed a Master’s in Publishing Media at Oxford Brookes and moved to London soon after. When Karen is not providing invaluable HR support to Goldfinger, she loves nothing more than exploring London’s many neighbourhoods, wandering around bookshops, parks, and cafés.
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Rosey Marsh, Senior Finance Advisor
Rosey is our in-house numbers and spreadsheet guru. She worked for BP as Finance Manager for their Global Business Services organisation, from its inception in 2008 right through to a multi-centre, global organisation with over 6,000 people. In 2016, Rosey retired, and now supports Goldfinger in an informal pro-bono CFO role. She has an honours degree in Maths and Chemistry, and a PhD in Polymer Science. She is also a keen skier, sailor, and sax player!
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Alicja Bieniek, Retail Assistant
Born and raised in London, with a design degree from UAL, multidisciplinary designer and artist Alicja’s perpetual endeavour is to interlink design and making processes in a sustainable, environmentally focused way. Since graduating Alicja has enrolled at KLC design school, focusing on bridging the gap between intergenerational equity and high-end design. In her free time, Alicja loves travelling, creating ceramics, gardening and designing the next iconic furniture piece.
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Teddy Cudennec Carlisle, Chief Welcoming Officer
Teddy joined Goldfinger upon graduating from puppy training classes and has been an energetic and indispensable member of the team ever since. He has a deep appreciation for previously discarded objects and is often found keeping our backs warm while he naps on the chairs in the Goldfinger office.
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Tim Church, Corporate Governance
Tim retired in 2016 as CEO of MIO Partners, Inc. the investment office of McKinsey & Company, having joined the firm in 1991. Prior to that he was at Advent Ltd a UK based venture capital firm. Tim is chairman of The HALO Trust the world’s leading mine clearance charity and a trustee of Aid to the Church in Need and The Orders of St John Care Trust. He is a senior advisor to Actis LLC a leading emerging markets hard assets private investment firm, on the Investment Committee of Lakeview Capital Management, a US based family office and a director of the impact venture firm Mustard Seed. He is married with five children and a growing portfolio of grandchildren.
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Ann Wong, Business Strategy & Planning
Ann is working with Goldfinger to distil what we are working to achieve, and what we need to do to get there. Ann last led finance and business operations for NBCUniversal’s International Consumer Products division. Her work spanned many disciplines and many countries: she led teams that opened offices in more than ten countries, and spent almost two years in China herself. Ann is also a director of her local veg box co-operative, and a trustee of her local community centre.
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Steven Overman, Acting CMO
Steven has pioneered his career at the intersection of media communication and technology innovation for over two decades, and most recently was Chief Marketing Officer at Kodak. As a strategy and innovation consultant for startups and Fortune 100 companies, Steven has collaborated with the world’s leading creative studios and advertising agencies. He has imagined and evangelized concepts for sustainable hospitality and sustainability infrastructure. His book, The Conscience Economy, was launched at Goldfinger in 2015.
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Sayo Ayodele, Sustainable Business
Sayo is a Partner at Leaders' Quest, a social enterprise that helps leaders and organisations align profit with purpose. She is currently on secondment to the United Nations High Level Champions team for COP26, where she is working to drive climate action from different parts of society. Sayo is passionate about strengthening the links between business and society, and cares deeply about sustainability and equality. Having lived and worked on five continents, she considers herself a global citizen, and her experiences have fostered a love of international affairs, languages, and travel. Sayo is a W10 local and volunteers for the People's Kitchen.
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Ahilan Sivaranjan, Sales & Pipeline
Ahilan has spent the past 14+ years working in the Cyber Security industry. Having a background working with both large players in the space as well as experience in the startup world. He is most recently working for Palo Alto Networks where he manages a set of Financial Services accounts. Ahilan's work with Goldfinger is to support the team in sales initiatives, how to manage a sales cycle, and best practices across pipeline generation and reporting.
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Tor Burrows, Sustainability & Innovation
Tor Burrows is the Executive Director of Sustainability & Innovation for Grosvenor Britain & Ireland (GBI).
Her role is to galvanize the delivery of GBI’s environmental goals for 2030 which will see the business become net carbon zero and zero waste by the end of the decade, while also contributing to a significant increase in biodiversity in its communities.
Tor sits on the GBI Executive Committee and Chairs the Westminster Property Association’s Senior Advisory Committee.
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Daniel Gava, Design Industry
Daniel has more than twenty years of professional experience in the design industry and has been employed in key roles within the departments of marketing, PR, sales and board of directors in well-known international high-end furniture manufacturers.
He currently works as an independent advisor assisting top companies and designers grow their brand and business. Trustee, Host, Speaker, and Content Creator, Daniel is Design Patron of the Design Museum, Affiliate Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and Ambassador of the London School of Architecture.
Daniel is a firm supporter of meaningful and purposeful enterprises, responsible manufacturing and sustainable innovation.
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Angus Gibson, Business Development
Angus started his career in music and technology organising Juliana’s Discotheques and events around the UK, and later founding Gibson Music, a pioneering audio-visual company working for leading interior designers and architects. After joining the board of a 200-year-old building restoration company in 2004, Angus was introduced to the notion that using sustainable products in the building industry is a more responsible way forward.
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Guillaume Giraud, PR
Guillaume is a London born, Amsterdam based communications & PR consultant with over 15 years of agency and in-house experience. A strategic thinker with a genuine passion for design, culture and all things sustainable, Guillaume possesses strong relationships with a worldly network of journalists, industry opinion leaders and tastemakers. He holds dual French and Italian citizenship and is perfectly trilingual in French, Italian and English. Guillaume was educated in both Paris and London and has worked in global international cities such as London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Istanbul.
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Isabel Serval, Brand & Copy
Isabel works with Goldfinger to develop their brand narrative: who we want to be and where we want to go as a social enterprise. She distilled a brand strategy and tone of voice and created copy for the website. She works as a copy, content design and brand strategy consultant with digital and creative agencies and tech companies on brands such as Wedgewood, Heathrow, NatWest, Nissan, gov.uk and others.
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Rohit Ahuja, Finance Advisor
Rohit is a Chartered Accountant from India with over 11 years of post-qualification global work experience primarily with accounting consulting firms such as EY and KPMG. Rohit has expertise in complex accounting matters and financial reporting. He has worked as an external auditor and an internal auditor in the past, and has also been engaged in different roles with many social enterprises and NGOs in India.
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Charlotte Williams, Senior Business Development Advisor
Charlotte has 12 years of experience working for John Lewis in a variety of consultative roles focused on improving commercial performance, customer experience and strategic planning. She recently completed the Business Sustainability Management course through Cambridge University, sparking an interest in the circular economy and supporting her desire to shift her career into the sustainability sector. At Goldfinger, Charlotte hopes to understand how a social enterprise and sustainable business operates and most importantly, support Goldfinger's growth.
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Camilla Hammar, Strategic Advisor
Camilla is a senior level professional with more than 20 years of experience in Marketing, PR, and Communication for international luxury brands like Veuve Clicquot Champagne, Shanghai Tang, and retail brands like IKEA. After 15 years with IKEA, where she went from heading the global IKEA catalogue, to leading the 60 people strong marketing team for IKEA China, to joining the global Group Communication management team to lead all business communication, including sustainability, Camilla decided to take a sabbatical year to “level-up” and is excited to help Goldfinger on its journey.
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