Sunbury Design

Sunbury Design is the trading name of Lewis and Co (Fabrics) Ltd, which the company dates to 1947. Its roots are in the old East End of London, supplying the local re-upholstery trade with fabrics and trimmings from Sunbury Workshops on Swanfield Street in E2, then Old Street, then Andrews Road in Hackney in the 1970s.

Today it specialises in flame-retardant performance fabrics, made to meet the fire and performance requirements of a given setting without needing a separate after-treatment. Its fabrics and leathers are used through the hospitality industry, in luxury hotels, cruise ships, conference facilities, restaurants and bars. It buys from mills rather than weaving itself, and says it has built those mill relationships over sixty years.

The head office and showroom are at Sunbury House on Lovet Road in Harlow, which makes it one of the two fabric houses on this roster based in Essex, with a second UK site at Washington in Tyne and Wear.

An inherently flame-retardant cloth is worth a great deal on contract work. It means the fire certificate does not depend on a treatment that a later clean can strip out, which is the question a building's insurer eventually asks.