Our Story
Slate House have been manufacturing and supplying 100% Welsh made products for well over a decade. We pride ourselves on bringing only authentic, handmade Welsh and British products to the UK high-street and online market. Having supplied products to some of the most demanding and influential customers in the world, such as Red Bull, NATO, NFU Mutual, Bafta Cymru, RBS, The Welsh FA and even Her Majesty the Queen, Slate House has the confidence and drive to keep putting Wales on the map.
Sustainable Lifestyle & Gifts Made & Designed In The UK
It all started in 2007 with director and creator Kevin Thomas after purchasing a laser engraving machine and utilising two bedrooms at home as a workshop to handcraft Welsh slate products. After developing a range of beautiful home and giftware, Kevin started attending markets and shows on the weekend in Hay-on-Wye, Abergavenny and Monmouth, whilst still working as a full-time manufacturing engineer.
After committing to the business full time in 2009, the next step was to build two sheds in his garden to house the workshop. This gave Kevin the ability to keep up with the high demand for his products, begin posting products out all across the country, and invest in the machinery needed to handcraft Welsh slate house signs.
With the expansion of Kevin’s manufacturing facilities, he was finally able to take on his first employee and open his first full-time stall in Neath Market.
By 2010, Slate House had refined their manufacturing processes to the level that enabled them to begin selling their Welsh slate products to other high street retailers. To be able to reach a bigger market, they began to attend some of the biggest trade shows in the UK, including the NEC in Birmingham and the Olympia stadium in London.
In the next two years, Slate House outgrew their workshop in Kevin’s garden and the little market stall in Neath and so Slate House moved into their first commercial premises- a 100 square metre workshop in the Crynant industrial estate, near Neath. This new expansion made it possible for Slate House to take on more employees and develop two brand new product ranges- 100% natural soap and handmade soy wax candles. They also opened their first high-street store in Neath and became stockists of other Welsh-made products, including Welsh woollen blankets, handmade ceramics and more.
After the success of their first store and their growing visibility on the high street, Slate House carried on expanding and by 2016 they had opened their bigger, second store in Swansea, expanded their workshop by another 100 square metres and employed more staff.
In 2019, Slate House reopened in Neath town centre, specialising in our new product ranges, sublimation printing and trophies.
In 2020, Slate House now had 10 employees, working in both the Swansea and Neath stores and their 200 square metre workshop. With an impressive range of machinery, including 3 laser machines, a large masonry bridge cutter and a high-powered sandblaster, they were able to supply their product ranges to over 120 stores across the UK. These include a wide range of Welsh slate items, various home fragrance products, natural soaps and a large selection of printed homewares, designed by our in-house team.
New Premises
2021 sees continuous growth in sales, workforce and premises. On March 8th our Slate House workforce moved from Crynant, Neath and opened the doors to larger premises in Llansamlet, Swansea to accommodate our ever-growing customer needs. We have a retail store which is open 10-4 Monday to Friday. The workshop is just over 900 square metres in total and is home to all of our manufacturing operations from laser engraving & home comforts to memorials and gifts. It is also home to our customer service team, management and support staff.
Owner and Creator of Slate House, Kevin Thomas said “This is an exciting time for us, and our new home in Swansea Enterprise Park in Llansamlet is testimony to our hard-working and expanding team and also the trust we have built with our huge customer base since we began in 2007. It allows us to provide more products for our customers”.