Bespoke fibreglass mouldings, made exactly to your drawing
Design, tooling, manufacture, finishing and fitting, for designers, architects, brands and production runs. Start with a free feasibility check and a straight answer on what it will cost.
- Can it be moulded? You will know before you spend anything
- A ballpark cost that includes the tooling
- Nothing is made until you have signed off the drawing
No obligation. Takes a minute.
Over 20 years making pieces for Burberry, the V&A, Matter Made, Kemps Architectural Lighting and Combermere Abbey.
Get a free feasibility check
Tell Mike what you need made. You will get a straight answer on whether it can be moulded, a ballpark cost including tooling, and a timeline.
One place, from your drawing to the finished piece
Design, tooling, manufacture, finishing and fitting, without handing your project from one supplier to the next.
Made to the millimetre
Patterns and tooling are made to the nearest millimetre from your signed-off drawing, so the piece that arrives is the piece you drew.
Any colour, any finish
The full range of RAL and BS colours. Matt, semi-gloss, high gloss, metallic, or a textured surface that reads as brick, stone, wood or brushed steel.
Light where you want it
Translucent fibreglass that carries light beautifully. Lit benches, shades and panels for lighting designers who want a form that cannot be made any other way.
Lighter and tougher than the original
A high strength-to-weight ratio and high resistance to weathering. Architectural details that would be too heavy in stone or too costly in metal.
You own the moulds
Once tooled, the moulds are yours. Repeat runs and re-orders are straightforward, and nothing is made from them without your permission.
Delivered, and fitted if you need it
Delivery across the UK, on-site fitting where the job calls for it, and pieces have been shipped as far as the USA.
No obligation. Your details go to Mike and nobody else.
Twenty years of the tricky work other moulders turn down
Fibreglass First has spent more than 20 years making the pieces that do not come off a shelf: translucent forms for lighting designers, architectural details for listed buildings, one-off furniture, retail installations and museum exhibits.
The work is designer-led. You bring the concept and the drawing. Mike brings 20 years of knowing what fibreglass can and cannot do, and tells you which it is before any money changes hands.
“I talk straight. I don't tell lies and I'm not a Yes man. I'll tell you what can and can't be done.” Mike Merrall, Fibreglass First
Work made for
In their words
“With the Combermere Abbey restoration project we had a challenge of finding a lightweight solution for reinstating some key architectural aspects of the renovated building. Fibreglass First came up with a superb looking, pragmatic solution. Throughout the process, nothing has been too much trouble and we have been extremely pleased with the final product.”
Peter Beckett Combermere Abbey Project Manager“The fiberglass light shades were a hit!! Many showrooms are interested in ordering a complete set and some private clients have also expressed interest. Thank you Mike, expect another order real soon :)”
Jess Fugler Matter Made, New York“I wanted to reach out to you today to thank you for all of your support with Burberry over the past couple of months, your products have been incredibly well received by everyone, from our head of VM to our Chief Creative Officer.”
Jo Savage Senior Manager Commercial Procurement, Burberry UK“Fibreglass First has really come through for us in terms of both speed and quality of manufacture of the lit benches we required. Nothing was too much trouble and dealing with Mike and his team was a pleasure, many thanks again for a job well done.”
Jon Abrey Kemps Architectural Lighting“Dear Fibreglass First, thank you all for all you have done in both fabricating and fitting the fibreglass chimney, which is exactly as I had planned it.”
R.A. Morris-Eyton Calvington Manor“The 3 completed pieces arrived in perfect condition and on time. Thank you so much Fibreglass First for your wonderful work!”
Damian Fopp Designer“Great communication. Good Price. Excellent quality. Passionate and knowledgable. Nice company to work with and they enjoy the unusual.”
Mark Pyrah, Google reviewNo obligation. Your details go to Mike and nobody else.
The cost nobody tells you about until you ring
Every moulded fibreglass piece starts with a pattern and a mould. The pattern is a full-size replica of your finished piece. The mould, or tool, is taken from the pattern, and every piece you order is made from it. Neither exists until you commission them, and they are a cost in their own right before a single piece is made.
Most people find this out on the phone. They have a £500 piece in mind and are not expecting the tooling to cost several times that. Temporary tooling for a simple shape can start from around £200. Permanent tooling for a complex piece runs to thousands. It depends entirely on the piece, which is why there is no price list.
On a production run the picture changes completely. The tooling cost is spread across every piece you make from it, and as a rule of thumb it starts to pay for itself on a run of more than ten. That is the work Fibreglass First is built for: a run for a brand, a designer's collection, a set of lit pieces for showrooms, an architectural detail repeated along a building.
One-offs, straight
One-off pieces are welcome when they are worth it. A single piece of furniture worth £15,000 has been made here. A single £500 item with £4,000 of tooling behind it usually is not, and you will be told so in the first conversation rather than after you have spent your time on it.
Not sure which yours is?
That is what the free feasibility check is for. Describe the piece and roughly how many you need, and you will get a straight answer on whether it stacks up.
Get my free feasibility checkNo obligation. No sales pitch.
What happens, in order
First contact
You describe the piece. You get a free feasibility check: can it be moulded, a ballpark cost including tooling, and a realistic timeline.
Drawings
A drawing is essential. Patterns are made to the nearest millimetre, so the drawing is what everything is built to. If you have a sketch or a photo, you will be told what needs drawing up.
Budget agreed, drawing signed off
Nothing is made without your signed-off drawing. It is the reference for every stage that follows.
Deposit and pattern
Pattern production begins: a full-size replica of your finished piece.
Tooling
The mould is taken from the pattern. Every piece you order is made from it.
Manufacture and finishing
Your pieces are laid up, released from the mould, trimmed, fitted with any peripheral components, then polished or matted down and checked.
Final payment, delivery, fitting
Delivered anywhere in the UK, and fitted on site if the job needs it.
Typical lead time from order to delivery is six to eight weeks, depending on the piece.
The things people ask before they commit
What is a pattern?
A full-size replica of your finished piece, made from your drawing. The mould is taken from it.
Why do I need a mould?
Fibreglass takes its shape from the mould it is laid into. Without one there is nothing to lay up against. Every moulded piece, one or a thousand, comes out of a mould.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the piece, the size, the finish and how many you need. That is exactly what the free feasibility check is for. You will get a ballpark figure, including the tooling, before you commit to anything.
Can you work from a sketch or a photograph?
Yes, as a starting point. To make the pattern, a proper drawing is needed, and nothing is made until you have signed it off.
How long does it take?
Six to eight weeks from order to delivery is typical. Complex pieces can take longer.
Do you deliver? Do you fit?
Both. Delivery anywhere in the UK, on-site fitting where it is needed, and pieces have been shipped overseas.
What if I only want one?
Ask. If the piece justifies the tooling, it is welcome. If it does not, you will be told plainly in the first conversation.
Find out if it can be made, and what it would cost
- A free feasibility check on your drawing or idea
- A ballpark cost that includes the tooling, so there are no surprises later
- A realistic timeline
- Nothing made until you have signed off the drawing
- Delivery across the UK, fitting if you need it
Prefer to talk? Call 01829 262628 or email info@fibreglassfirst.co.uk.
No obligation. No sales pitch. Your details go to Mike and nobody else.