MaD Chair was founded two years ago, when designer/producer Tracy Reed went into business with daughter Remy-Mae Reed. Tracy has a 15-year background in digital print design and prior to MaD Chair had been producing personalised items such as canvas prints, throws, and the like. Remy-Mae has a law degree as well as a talented penchant for design and marketing, teaching herself design software, she also built the company’s website. “She has turned into a master of all trades,” says Tracy.
MaD Chair was as much about timing as it is about commercial-savvy design talent. Tracy was becoming bored with the intense demands of her own on-demand bespoke print service. Her daughter too, not sure about whether to continue to pursue a legal career.
The impetus arose from the duo creating fabrics for themselves. “We wanted something a little bit different. We’re a little bit loud and nobody stocked what we liked, so we started producing our own designs on our old Epson printer. We realised that other people liked what we were doing,” says Tracy.
“My daughter and I decided to set up MaD Chair [MaD, an acronym for mother and daughter]. We began designing and printing fabrics for upcycle pieces, which went well, so we started producing new furniture. We’re in the process of opening an interiors shop where our products will take pride of place,” she says.
CMYUK – a trusted supplier
Tracy first became acquainted with CMYUK after creating some digital upholstery for its presence at a trade show. In return it printed bedroom textiles for Tracy, and so when it came to buying new equipment, CMYUK was the first port of call. The new Epson SureColor SC-F6300 represents an upgrade in production operation.
Tracy Reed, co-founder, MaD Chair
“Our older Epson model that we’d had for about eight years was a real workhorse and still working, however the blacks weren’t deep enough for us and we were changing the maintenance tank every couple of months. The new model doesn’t have these so should save us quite a substantial amount of money over the year, plus the speed of the new one will make a real difference,” says Tracy.
The SureColor SC-F6300 is designed to produce high quality printed textiles and promotional goods. This 4-colour printer has a minimum droplet size of 4 pl and prints at 720 x 1400 dpi. Easy user access and printhead maintenance minimise the need to call an engineer. Once delivered, businesses can get up and running very quickly as this printer doesn’t require any specialist tools or knowledge. It also boasts a low TOC thanks to improved user productivity and reduced downtime.
From virtual to physical
The installation of the new Epson printer coincides with the new store opening in Blackburn. Both of which will further drive the business into developing new products. With a real store window to dress, collections will become more structured and co-ordinated rather than the ad-hoc inspirations of the last two years. In the near future, MaD Chair will be exploring new production techniques such as thermoforming acrylic for tables and the like.
Says Tracy: “It’s an exciting time for us and our business is going from strength to strength. We’re both committed to pushing the brand into new creative avenues and it’ll be interesting to see where we land in another two years.”
