Holbeach engineer features on Scrap Kings television show
One man’s trash is another’s treasure – and the saying couldn’t be truer for designer Mark Wilkinson whose work is being showcased on the new series of Scrap Kings.
He features in two episodes of the new Quest series, which hit screens on Tuesday (October 8), including one where he makes a stunning desk out of an old aeroplane wing.
Mark, of Holbeach, who studied car design at Coventry University, had always wanted to start his own business re-purposing items that would otherwise be scrapped and launched Bear Industries a year ago.
He takes pieces including car, motorcycle and boat parts and uses them to create beautiful and functional items like engineered lamps, tables and dovecotes, which he sells at collector and car fairs as well as online. He also takes on bespoke commissions.
“I love making things and I’d always had the idea to do something like this, but life kept getting in the way,” says Mark, who works as an engineer alongside his brother Rob.
“I got chatting to Caradoc Glaisier, the owner of Astley House Antiques, in Moreton in Marsh, last year and he really gave me the push I needed to just go for it.
“I’ve always collected old stuff and with some pieces I can instantly see what they can be transformed into, while others will hang around for a while before the ideas start to come.”
Mark, who plays saxophone for Sounds Force Five, was further encouraged by bandmate Colin Ward, of Live Promotions, who contacted the producers of Scrap Kings, suggesting they feature him.
Before he knew it, he was signed up and has since started selling his pieces in a Cotswolds gallery and attending events including Stoneleigh Car Show, with the hope to do more next year.
“I’m really grateful to Colin for opening the door to the TV show for me. The main focus of what I do is reusing things that are destined for the scrap heap. I'm really keen to raise awareness of the need to reuse and repurpose things to create beautiful items that hopefully people will love to have in their home,” adds Mark.
“There are lots of nice things I would like to have, but they are expensive, so my girlfriend Victoria and I have this saying ‘if you want it – you make it’ and that’s what we do.
“I’m fortunate and lucky enough to have the facilities and ability to be able to make things.
“But it’s not just a case of sticking a lightbulb on something, I apply my engineering skills to it and it’s great to see how the old and the new work together.
“I’m finding my work seems to trigger people’s intrigue, it makes them think about what it is and makes them question it, which I really like.”
* Scrap Kings is on Quest every Tuesday at 8pm. To find out more about Mark and his work visit www.bear-industries.co.uk
