Hemp Fabric UK

About Us

 

Over the past year Hemp Fabric UK has expanded and in doing so we have regrettably had to leave our research base at Caddesdown Business Center in favour of a purpose made research and storage facility.

Our new unit has allowed us to hold in stock more fabric then before, but has also allowed is to purchase a spinning wheel and weaving loom to allow is to embark on research like hemp fabric production.

The new location is unfortunately not open to the public due to rent agreement and security. It is however situates in a beautiful area close to my own home surrounded once more by nature.
 
On the family front three of my wonderful children are now at school and the fourth will starts in January 2010. As they are getting older I am finding that I am able to travel further to attend shows, often with the two eldest children and I am beginning to get more day light hour available to work in.

The challenges at each developmental stage are different however we work around them well. As I once did my work while my children played on the beach or at a play park I now take work whilst watching them turn into budding gymnasts or what ever they choose to be? Thank you all for your understanding and support for the way I work, please enjoy this special journey with me and my family.

Who Are We ?

Hemp Fabric UK is run by me, Samantha Pickering. I am also a full time Mum to 4 children under 8.

I got into hemp by accident, thanks to my children and an existing business, Happy Nappy Days, which supplies cloth nappies. I had been looking to add a natural, environmentally friendly, absorbent and soft fabric to my product range – and hemp seemed to be the answer. As luck would have it I then discovered Hemp Fabric UK. I was very impressed with the business and the amazing potential of hemp so, on discovering that the people running the company couldn’t commit the time to developing it properly, I decided to buy it.

That was in February 2006. I am still thrilled to be working with such a versatile material and continue to learn about its properties, uses and applications.

Where Are We ?

Hemp Fabric UK is run from two locations in North Devon. Sometimes this can make things a little complicated but the best way to contact us is to call us is via email, on the home base number (01271 314812) or via text to our mobile (07896338346). We always try to return calls within the hour during office hours or first thing the next working day.

Home Office
Home base is exactly what is says. Looking after four children means that it’s often easier to work from home than the office. As a company we believe that’s it’s important to balance work and home and this makes it just that little bit easier. Also, there is plenty of dry, secure storage for our stock, which means we can keep it in perfect condition before dispatch.

Hemp Fabric UK
Kavella
Bishops Tawton
Barnstaple
Devon
EX32 0AP
T: 01271 314812
F: 01271 314812

Research Base
This office is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays of most weeks. It is here that we get to do our research work in to hemp fabric as well as the fun part of running the business: meeting clients, marketing ourselves and catching up with colleagues. The office is at the Incubation North Devon (IND) site, Caddsdown Business Park, Bideford. It is a great site with impressive environmental credentials and a lot of invaluable business support on site. We also have our own Pipistrelle bat colony and a resident barn Owl.

Hemp Fabric UK Research
Office 2
The Barns
Farm Road
Caddsdown Business Park
Bideford
Devon
EX39 3BT
T: 01237 426425

How Do We Do Business / Buying From Us

Our business in predominantly internet based. We can take orders online, by telephone, or via order forms. Whilst we don’t have a shop we are always happy to show you a selection of our fabrics at our Research Base. Just call to arrange an appointment.

If you prefer to see our fabrics ain a retail environment then you can see them at the Earth Store at Somerset College of Art and Technology in Taunton, and at Hemp in Avalon in Glastonbury, although we cannot guarantee they have all fabrics in stock.

We attend shows and conferences through out the year. The dates and places can be found on the News page of our website.

As a mother to 4 children under 8, there are times that work and home life clash. However, we always do our best to make sure that orders are completed on time and will always contact our customers to let them know if there is an unavoidable delay on their order.

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 9am till 5pm

School Holidays
We operate a limited telephone contact service during all school holidays, so we ask our customers to leave a message on our main number. We still continue to take orders over the internet, reply to emails and cut and dispatch orders.

OUR PROMISE:

  • To always get you the best price we can for the fabrics you want
  • To deliver fabrics to you as soon as we can possibly arrange it
  • Keep you informed as to any relevant updates on your fabric order (ie shipping details etc).
  • To search for fabrics outside of our stock range to meet your requirements
  • To answers all your queries as completely as possible, and if we do not have the answers, then to find out and get back to you as soon as possible
  • To reply to all calls and emails as promptly as possible

DISCOUNTS:

Student Discount
Students qualify for a 5% discount. To qualify we must ask all students to contact us so we can verify their student status and process their discount. Student discount may not be used in conjunction with any other offer (i.e. the swatch pack refund). 
Swatch Pack Discount
Swatch pack cost £10. This will be refunded in full when you place an order for a minimum of £50 worth of fabric within 30 days.

Eco Business Policy

We are always trying to do everything we can to reduce the impact our business makes on the environment. None of us are perfect and we’re not claiming to be eco-saints, but we do all we can.

  • All our imports travel by road or sea to avoid air travel.
  • All blend fabrics are blended with organic cotton
  • All suppliers either have ISO certification or are currently working to this or other equivalent standards. We will be applying for Soil Association Accreditation once our suppliers have been fully certified
  • We always try to combine meetings so we travel less and waste less time
  • We use our local post office daily, which helps to ensure their survival
  • Packaging is either re-used or biodegradable. We ask that you do the same
  • All orders are bound with hemp twine
  • We try to encourage our customers to make group orders where possible
  • We try to communicate as much as we can electronically. Where we need to use paper we only use recycled stock.

 

Do you think we could do better? Then please let us know by dropping us a line at info@hempfabric.co.uk

Research Work

Our funding has now finished for the waterproofing work we were doing with Plymouth University. The main out comes from the research showed us hat hemp fibres will take most commercially made waterproofing methods well. Examples being Nickwax, Teflon, Barbour Coat wax etc.

We were beginning to look into developing a more natural form of waterproofing using things like Lanolin or using natural bonding agents and a layer of a soya based polyester material called…. However a lock of time, money and advice from chemists prevented us from completing this.

We felt that results of the waterproofing test would be even better if we had used different weaves then those originally tested, therefore we have started a self funded spinning and weaving project to work on this.

Man made waterproofing methods/ commercial waterproofing methods work well but did need to be reapplied at regular intervals to ensue good resistance levels. We did note that this was common with many fabrics not just hemp.

As always we would love to adopt a friendly chemist to help us better understand what is happening on a molecular level.

Future Work 2010 – Yes you have guessed right we are aiming to produce our own batch of UK made hemp fabrics. These will initially be made in very small batches and we hope to have some ready by the end of 2010. We have also started growing various Dye plants to get a better understanding of the complexities of how natural dyes work and hope to share that information with you as and when time and work allow.

Order Processing Times

We aim to process all orders within 48 hours of receipt of your order on work days. If there is likely to be a delay we will let you know. If a fabric is out of stock

Postal Charges

Postage charges are based on weight and the total will depend on the overall weight of your order. Various delivery service options are offered in order to get the fabric to you at the price and method that is best for you.

Time from dispatch to delivery:-

We aim to get all orders dispatched as soon as possible. Once they are ready the will be sent out on your designated delivery method. Standard times for this are shown below:-

2nd Class Delivery – 3 to 5 days from dispatch to service.UK times only
1st Class Delivery – 1 to 3 days from dispatch to service. UK times only
Special Delivery – Before 1pm the next day (after dispatch to service) UK only
Courier 24hr – Before 5.30pm the next day (after dispatch to service) UK times only
Courier 48hr – Before 5.30pm two days after dispatch to service. UK times only
International Small Packet Rate – This varies depending on which country you are in.

24 hour Delivery Notes

Please be aware that our 24hour delivery services are guaranteed from the time that your order has been processed and packed NOT 24 hours from the time that you originally ordered the fabric. We aim to process orders as quickly as possible but due to our busy work schedule we cannot guarantee 24hour delivery from the time of ordering.

Should you have an order that MUST be with you the very next day please do the following and we will try our best:-

  • Call the office on (01271) 314812 with your order
  • Or email us at info@hempfabric.co.uk  subject – TIMED Order.
  • If you email us please also text 07896338346 to say an order has been sent.


24 hours order cut off times:-

24hour Courier Delivery.  – 9am. The parcel will be with you by 5.30pm the next day.
24 hour Special Delivery – 10.30am. The parcel will be with you before 1pm the next day though this is only available for orders under 2KG in weight.

Minimum Order Quantities.

Our website is designed to take orders from 1 meter in length to 100’s of meters. It is not however designed to handle part meter orders. From time to time we may list fat quarters of fabric in our specials and clearance section but these are limited and are often only available following a craft show. The measurement of these fabrics is one quarter of the original 1 meter measurement of this fabric and is particularly aimed at craft project designers and patchwork makers.

If you are doing a specific piece of work where only a set measurement is required please email us and if we can help we will try though this is not always possible. Email info@hempfabric.co.uk and please put in the subject box : Fabric Order Different Measurement and we will get back to you as soon as possible to let you know if we can help.

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