Ernest Wright (scissors maker)

Ernest Wright is a traditional scissors manufacturer in Sheffield, England.[1] The firm was established in 1902 by Ernest Wright Sr., the son of a local scissors-borer.[2]

Ernest Wright
Founded1902 (1902)
FounderErnest Wright Sr.
HeadquartersSheffield, England,
United Kingdom

Scissors and shears made by Ernest Wright are marketed to artisans, hobbyists and collectors. The brand's range includes Turton kitchen scissors, stork-shaped embroidery scissors, and shears for tailors and dressmakers. The scissors are manufactured at a small workshop on Broad Lane, Sheffield.[3]

Five generations of the Wright family ran the business until 2018, when owner Nick Wright died in tragic circumstances.[4] The company went into receivership, but was saved from closure when two businessmen and admirers of the firm, Paul Jacobs and Jan-Bart Fanoy, purchased the assets of the company and rehired several of its staff.[5]

A short video documentary about the firm was published on YouTube by Business Insider in April 2020, and has since been viewed over 6.3 million times.[6] In October 2020, Ernest Wright won the Heritage Crafts Association's inaugural President's Award for Endangered Crafts, which was initiated by HRH The Prince of Wales.[7] The following year, Ernest Wright announced that it had purchased its workshop premises on Broad Lane, Sheffield, from its former landlord, and that the workshop would now undergo renovations and have newly acquired historic machinery installed.[8]

Ernest Wright has retained the use of traditional crafting methods and arcane technolect, despite a general decline in the UK handmade scissors trade.[9] The firm's craftspeople are known as ‘putters’, or ‘master-putter-togetherers’.[10]

References
  1. "Handmade scissors since 1902 Sheffield England". Ernest Wright. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  2. Tweedale, Geoffrey (2010). Tweedale's Directory of Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers 1740-2013 (2nd ed.). Sheffield: Geoffrey Tweedale. pp. 699–700.
  3. "Ernest Wright". Ernest Wright. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  4. "Sheffield scissor firm boss died after suffering years of stress". www.thestar.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  5. "Joy as investors relaunch historic Sheffield scissor firm". www.thestar.co.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  6. Floyd, Charlie. "Why Ernest Wright scissors are so expensive". Business Insider. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  7. "The Heritage Crafts Awards » Ernest Wright – scissor makers". awards.heritagecrafts.org.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  8. "Restorations - Sheffield scissor firm buys building to secure its future as flats go up around it". www.thestar.co.uk. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  9. "Last craftsmen fight to save their trades". 29 March 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  10. "The Putter and the art of putting together scissors". The Kid Should See This. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2021.


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