Fine English Company

The Classicist: UK's Elite Meet & Greet at High Net Worth Event

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings, Events, Charity, Men's Style, The Classicist, Wealth, Architecture & Design

Some of the UK's wealthiest citizens met up recently at Cotswold Airport in the heart of bucolic Gloucestershire to rub elbows while eyeballing the latest in supercars and private jets. The ultra-exclusive Elite 2010 event was organized by Aeronautics Ltd. and the Fine English Company, dedicated to the best in bespoke British luxury. 200 high net worth VIPs were in attendance at the occasion hosted by British Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy. The event benefited Fly2Help, a charity dedicated to helping those who have suffered disaster, difficulty or tragedy by allowing them to experience the fun and love of flying. We got an inside look at the proceedings thanks to Fine English Co. founder Benedict Wormald.

Aeronautics Ltd. are the UK Sales Representative for Hawker Beechcraft and specialize in the sales, acquisition, management and charter brokerage of private jets. Other participating organizations at Elite 2010 included Aston Martin Racing, the famed British marque's motorsports division; Coutts, the legendary private bankers to the Queen of England and the British Royal Family as well as famed figures from the Duke of Wellington, Charles Dickens and Lord Nelson to The Beatles; Von Essen Hotels, the private collection of individual country house hotels in the UK and France which includes the famous Cliveden, once home to an Earl, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor; London's The Nth Degree Club Concierge, whose services include event management, private dining, exclusive chef's tables at top London restaurants and personal shopping; PremiAir Aviation; and Affinity Marketing Group.

Gallery: Elite 2010 UK

Tags: Aston Martin, aviation, Benedict Wormald, bespoke, BMW, British Royal Family, charity, Cliveden, England, events, Ferrari 458 Italia, Fine English Company, Fly2Help, furniture, Gloucestershire, Hawker Beechcraft, helicopter, London, Porsche, private jets, Queen of England, Spitfire, UK, Von Essen Hotels, wealth

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The $35,000 Zebra Safari Chair from Fine English Company

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Architecture & Design

The Fine English Company, dedicated to the best in bespoke British luxury, has unveiled the newest addition to its collection of luxe furniture, luggage and lifestyle accessories reminiscent of Britain's colonial past with a contemporary flair. The company's new $35,000 zebra safari chair (above) took two years to complete and was a personal mission of the firm's founder, former financial consultant Benedict Wormald. It will be produced in a limited edition of only 10 pieces which are bound to appreciate in value; two of them have already been spoken for. The chair is called the "Percival" after the great British hunter and safari leader Philip Hope Percival, whose famous clients included Baron Rothschild, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, Ernest Hemingway and Gary Cooper.

Wormald and his team spent several months sourcing materials and locating and commissioning the finest artisans in the world to see the project to fruition. The completely handmade, hand-stitched chair is finished in full aniline brown distressed leather from Scotland and trophy grade Burchell's zebra skin. It features unrivaled, exquisitely hand-carved black walnut ball and claw feet, a beechwood frame, horsehair stuffing and a canvas interlining. Wormald calls it "the absolute pinnacle of English Handmade furniture," noting, "there is absolutely nothing to touch this product."

[via JustLuxe]

Gallery: Fine English Co. Zebra Safari Chair

Tags: Benedict Wormald, bespoke, British style, Ernest Hemingway, exotic animals, Fine English Company, furniture, handmade, luggage, safari, Scotland, UK, zebra

EXCLUSIVE: Fine English Company Founder Benedict Wormald's Ten Essential Luxuries

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Cigars, Luxury Cars & Autos, Writing Instruments, Men's Style, 10 Luxuries

Click above to see Benedict Wormald's 10 Essential Luxuries

The Fine English Company is a recently launched line of luxurious furniture, luggage and lifestyle accessories reminiscent of Britain's colonial past with a contemporary flair, founded by former financial consultant Benedict Wormald. The company was born out of a desire to trade in his City lifestyle in London and turn a lifelong passion for classic British design and antiquities into a business. The Fine English Company's products combine traditional craftsmanship with detailing of exotic animal skins, rare and native woods and veneers to create a range of collectible and desirable objects betokening the best of bespoke British luxury. "I am a great devotee of simplicity and pared down restraint in luxuries," Wormald tells Luxist, "simple items that are executed very well. Luxury to me is not necessarily about adornment or precious materials for vastly inflated prices. I demand a very tactile and aesthetic element from the things I deem to be 'above par'. There is a very definite trend for this that we are seeing in bespoke commissions where people are making much more considered purchases and investing in the construction and execution of the item and not just materials."

Wormald is very passionate about exquisitely made goods and those that are true to the term bespoke, which is increasingly taken in vain. "If you choose to go bespoke from an early age, the lifetime cost is more than borne out in comparison to a larger number of machine made and mass produced brand led products," he notes. "I only wish someone had told me that aged 18! I have Savile Row suits that are as good now at 15 years old as they were new and a good pair of bespoke shoes, a made-to-measure shirt and a bespoke suit will feel more comfortable than any other choice all day and every day - suits only irritate if they don't fit properly and a good suit and shoes will help your posture and the way you comport yourself." Wormald points out that "bespoke need not necessarily be expensive. The power is coming back to the customer to demand something different, something unique to treasure for generations." In the gallery are images of his essential luxuries; continued below you'll find his fulsome explanations about what makes them a must.

Gallery: Fine English Company Founder Benedict Wormald's 10 Luxuries

Tags: Aston Martin, Benedict Wormald, bespoke, Fine English Company, Holland Holland, JaegerLeCoultre, Kilgour, London, Savile Row, Turnbull Asser, UK, Vertu

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The Classicist: Bespoke British Luxury from the Fine English Company

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Cigars, Decor, Art, Sports, Men's Style, The Classicist

The Fine English Company is a recently launched line of luxurious furniture, luggage and lifestyle accessories reminiscent of Britain's colonial past with a contemporary flair. Founded by former financial consultant Benedict Wormald, the company was born out of a desire to trade in his city lifestyle in London and turn a lifelong passion for classic British design and antiquities into a business. The Fine English Company's products combine traditional craftsmanship with its detailing of exotic animal skins, rare and native woods and veneers to create a range of collectible and desirable objects betokening the best of bespoke British luxury,

With 15 years of experience sourcing unusual items and commissioning bespoke products, Benedict worked tirelessly to create the Fine English Company's first collection, a selection of which is now available at Holland & Holland, the famous London gunmaker established in 1835 and holder of the Royal Warrant. The core range includes steamer trunks finished with exquisite detailing and exotic zebra and giraffe skins, for £2,750 - £5,750. Larger furniture pieces include traditional leather armchairs, sofas and footstools, and club-style fireplace fenders upholstered in tweed, zebra and giraffe skin giving them a contemporary flair.

Fine English also has range of smaller items for sporting gentlemen including traditional handmade slippers with leather soles in a range of animal skins, bold tweed, and for the pocket pirate, a skull and crossbones. Also available are a number of iconic humidors for the busy plutocrat with rich wood finishes such as ebony, macassar and walnut, some decorated with the skull and bones (£2,500) or iconic Union Jack. Also a collection of stunning bespoke pocket knives featuring William Morris acanthus engraving, 18k pink gold with gold lipped pearl details, Damascus steel blades and ivory from the woolly mammoth, rivaling creations from the world's finest gun and watch makers.

Gallery: The Fine English Company

A well-curated collection of fine antiques is also on offer, drawn from military, architecture, automotive, aeronautical and sporting pursuits and restored to perfection. Of course the company offers a complete bespoke service as well; if you can conceive of it, Wormald promises to make it happen - he claims to have never turned down any client's request. From unique taxidermy - one recent example being the finest Van Ingen Tiger to be seen in Europe - to whole games rooms, gun rooms, dramatic architectural statement pieces and even a mahogany WC seat with the skull and bones motif, Fine English will furnish it to your requirements.

Tags: antiques, bespoke, exotic animals, ExoticAnimals, Fine English Company, FineEnglishCompany, furniture, Holland Holland, HollandHolland, humidor, hunting, London, luggage, Royal Warrant, RoyalWarrant, shotgun, sporting, trunk, UK, zebra