Talk to SYN

Every message to this page is read by somebody in the workshop, not sorted into a queue. Tell us what you are trying to put in a room and we will tell you honestly whether we make it, what it costs and how long it takes — including when the answer is that another workshop is a better fit.

Three ways in

All three arrive the same way — the chat at the bottom right of any page, or the form below. What differs is who reads it, how long they take, and what they can do about it.

General enquiries

Answered within two working days

Anything that does not fit the other two columns: a piece you are considering, a finish question, an order already in production, a delivery to arrange, or a mark on a piece that needs somebody to look at it.

Projects & trade

A first answer in two working days, a costed response in five

Designers, hotels, developers and specifiers. Send the room, the drawing or the brief — a project enquiry is named to one person here and stays with them from the first drawing to the last crate off the lorry.

The trade programme

Press

Answered within three working days

Images, credits, interview requests and visits to the workshop. There is a folder of high-resolution photography and a list of what is available to photograph, and we would rather send it than be asked twice.

Send a message

The form reaches the same people as the chat, and you will get a specific answer rather than a holding reply.

If your message is about an order — a delivery, a change, a mark on a piece — put the number here and it reaches the right file instead of a general inbox.

We use what you send here to answer you, and for nothing else — there is no list to join and no marketing attached to it.

What we do with the details above is set out in the privacy notice. If you would rather not use a form, the chat in the bottom-right corner reaches the same people.

A timber crate and palletised cartons inside an open shipping container at night, seen from a loading dock
The workshop. Everything we make leaves through this door, in a crate built a few metres from it.Photograph — SYN

The workshop

No. 207 Pingshan Jintian Road, Tiantou Community, Shijie Subdistrict, Pingshan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

Opening hours
Monday to Friday, 09:00 – 17:30 UTC+8, excluding public holidays.
Response times
Two working days for anything we can answer from the desk. Anything that needs a photograph looked at — a mark, a joint, a delivery — takes up to five, because it goes to the person who made the piece.

Before you write

How do I find out where my order is?

Open the chat with your order number and we will tell you where the piece actually is — in production, in the curing rack, in the finishing bench, crated, on the water, or held at customs. You hear from us without having to ask as well, but the answer is available at any point in between, and it is a real answer rather than a status label.

Can I change a dimension on a piece I have already ordered?

Often, but the window closes early and exactly where it closes depends on the piece. Before production starts, a change to a dimension, finish or delivery address is usually free. Once the shell has been cast or the top has been cut, a change is not a change, it is a second piece — a Liquid shell is cast against a mould built for one size, and the wenge comes off a stack matched for that order. Ask as soon as you know: an awkward message early is much cheaper than the same message once the piece is on the bench.

Can I see a sample of the material before I order?

Yes — and on the Lucent range we would urge it. Cast crystal and the hand-worked Liquid surface both read differently at different hours of the day and under different light, which is not something a screen can tell you; the piece in your room at six in the evening is the one you are buying. Sample blocks are chargeable, and the charge is credited against the order that follows them.