All Jim Lawrence metalware is made in the finishes that we feel suit them best. From traditional antiqued metal effects, to bold contemporary paint colours, our products are available in a fantastic variety of handcrafted finishes to perfectly suit your home’s style. These colours are created by painting the items in a powder coating process that bonds to the surface electromagnetically to create a smooth, hard-wearing surface that is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
It takes a lot of skill and practice to make sure the colour is sprayed evenly over the surface to produce a uniform tone and colour, and we thought you might like to see a glimpse of the talented team behind the products you take home.
Responsible for running our painting department is team lead Carrie Drake. We caught up with her in the workshop to ask a few questions…
First of all, who makes up the team?
We have a small group of skilled craftsmen who are able to work across different sections of the Jim Lawrence foundry depending on where they are needed most. There’s Gary, Karl, Marcel, Wally and Tim.
What does a typical day look like?Most of us start early at 7 or 7.30am so we can get prepped for the day. We sort out the paint shop tasks ready for our daily meeting at 9am when we decide on the products been painted that day and chase up any products that have been held up in the workshop.
The paint line is generally in full operation between 10am to 12noon with us doing the majority of spray painting then. The afternoon is then spent quality checking the days’ paint jobs, doing any wet spray painting, cleaning down the equipment and prepping for the next day. Most of the team head home by 3.30pm but I stay later to experiment with new colours and finishes that we may be considering for
new products.
You get to work with paint all day, do you have an artistic background?Art was always my favourite lesson at school, and I did a degree in model making and effects, so yes I love working with my hands. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else! After uni I worked in the film industry making sets and props for films and advertising.
I worked on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and The Favourite with Olivia Coleman among a lot of others, but after a good few years I found the long hours, commuting and intense deadlines exhausting. I moved back home to Suffolk to look for a change of direction and found
Jim Lawrence. 
What do you love most about your job?
I enjoy the calmness of having a routine, of being able to plan my day as I like and of the freedom I get working with the design team to experiment with new colours, finishes and products. I also love wet painting our old gold and old ivory products in particular, as it is a very ‘painterly’ process that involves building up layers of paint and hand touching the embossed details to make them stand out.
What is the most challenging product to work with?Products with a
slate grey finish and/or gloss white interiors are the is the most difficult to paint because they are a gloss finish which is really unforgiving and shows up any kind of mark. They are also incredibly static so draw any specks of dust to them. The paint room has to be spotless before we start painting, and no one is allowed in or out, or else you get dust or pieces of fluff stuck to them!
What is your favourite product?It has to be the
Sussex wall and
pendant lights as they are such a beautiful pieces. They really are works of art. They are incredibly tactile, so are wonderful to handle and take the old gold finish so well. The black seeps into all the nooks and crannies so when you overpaint them with the gold it looks amazing, it really shows off the leaves and sheaves of wheat.
How do you enjoy being part of the Jim Lawrence family?
I love the fact that we’re a small company where everyone knows one another and are very approachable. We work hard but are calm and relaxed. People are always respectful of the skills you have and are open to ideas and, unlike the film industry, which was always chaotic, I enjoy having a routine and the freedom to get creative.
Don’t forget to tag us in your own imagery on
Instagram and
Facebook – we love seeing our products in their new homes. You can also follow us on
X (former Twitter) and
Pinterest and to learn more about our painted finishes and what might best suit your home style, visit our
Product Finishes guide.
Browse the
Jim Lawrence website to see all our handcrafted and finished lighting and homeware.