Holbrook Sofa Co

The Holbrook Sofa Company Ltd manufactures its own range of sofas and chairs that are handmade in its workshop in Brooke in South Norfolk by its skilled team of craftspeople who have a combination of over 125 years’ experience in furniture manufacturing. They are built to last using beech and birch hardwood frames.

Having run a successful upholstery business, MY Sofa Covers, since 2017, managing director Norwich-born Oliver Bond and the staff decided that the next logical step was to open its first retail premises in the Royal Arcade Norwich.

Holbrook’s sofas and chairs come with tailored, removable loose covers in fabrics chosen by its customers. This means that they can be removed from the furniture to be washed or dry cleaned, keeping the sofa looking newer for longer. And, if customers want to revamp the look of their sofa, they can order a whole new set of sofa covers from the company in a fabric of their choice, without the upheaval and expense of having to purchase a new sofa.

Oliver said, “We regard our furniture as an investment that will last our customers for many years, but at the same time can be refreshed with new covers to give them a new lease of life and a new look. We see our customers as those that want to move away from mass-produced, throwaway furniture, which is not only bad for the environment but can ultimately cost more in the long run. Our sofas are completely handmade, from the frame build to cutting the fabric and sewing and piping the covers. It is all done by hand by our team of highly skilled and experienced furniture makers. We offer a wide range of fabrics and other options and all our products are manufactured specifically to our customers’ orders from high quality, responsibly-sourced and sustainable materials.

“We knew we wanted a retail space to showcase our sofas properly. Our sofas are large purchase items so we needed a place that customers could visit to try out the products in person before committing to a purchase.

“Having grown up in Norwich I vividly remember the Royal Arcade fondly from my childhood, and my favourite thing was to visit Langley’s toy shop. When we saw there was a unit available in the Royal Arcade we knew instantly that it was the perfect fit for our business. The unit is just the right size to showcase our range of furniture and having a presence in the Arcade brings so many other benefits such as its city centre location, high footfall and enduring popularity. Plus, the building itself is so beautiful; it matches the craftsmanship of our furniture nicely. We hope that being in the Royal Arcade will attract customers that want to invest in well-made, long-lasting furniture that’s manufactured here in Norfolk.”