As a family run business making furniture in the heart of Hampshire, with husband Gary and daughter Charlotte, Anna has followed in her father's footsteps, turning houses into homes with their bespoke British furniture.
How it all began
It all began in 1981 with Anna's parents, John and Eileen Valenzia, who we can proudly say are the foundations of The Dormy House. When John retired from the army, they were keen to start their own business, pursuing their passion for making furniture. Little did they know he would be stood on chip boards making round tables from his garage, while Eileen took orders from the living room.
The Dormy House was born - named after the home they lived in. In an attempt to spread the word, small ads were placed in homes and interiors magazines. Surprisingly, the simple slot-together table soon became a phenomenon and it was apparent that their small-scale, at-home business was not going to keep up with the remarkable volume of orders.
As the company expanded, so did the premises, moving between a couple of small industrial units. At 73 my parents retired and relocated to Malta, so Anna and her brother Mark took on the family business. However, with our new modular range and plans to take it to new heights we soon realised that we didn’t have the capacity to facilitate this.
The big move
In 2013, we bought a derelict building in Walworth Business Park in Andover - all that was left to do was make it fit for purpose. With enough room for a factory, offices and showroom under one roof, we had a lot of work to do to transform it. After salvaging the old steel work and a big clean up, we started to see its potential and appreciate the space we had. The asbestos roof was removed, and buildings were knocked down to make a yard, the mezzanine floors and office walls were constructed, and Spring 2014 saw the move of The Dormy House to a newly refurbished factory in Andover, which is where we remain today.
The extensive space in which we still work has meant that we have been able to grow our very popular modular product ranges and offer a very efficient service and expert 1:1 advice for our customers, all while showing off our British furniture in a spacious showroom, making shopping a real pleasure.
Fresh new Dormy
Now Anna, Gary and Charlotte run the business, and our ethos is still very much the same – we love what we do, designing and producing furniture and developing ideas into practical yet stylish home interior solutions.
Autumn 2020 marked a new chapter for us, and September saw the launch of our fresh new branding. With beautiful photography, a new logo and new product names, we developed capsule collections to help our customers achieve a cohesive look – don’t worry, your much-loved products and colours are still there, just with fresh new names. We were also delighted to see a brand-new brochure land on doorsteps, showcasing what we have to offer.
Moving forward
We have seen our business grow organically more than ever, but now with the team at Lolly Agency and Chicken Shed Studios on board, exciting things are coming for The Dormy House. We will be sure to keep you all updated along the way!
Come behind the scenes with us here:
