About
Five Create is committed to prioritising sustainability in all the ways we conduct business to promote an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economic system for people and the planet.
We’re a passionate, award winning team driven by our mission to improve people’s lives by designing and producing industry-changing consumer electronics. We utilise circular design strategies, new sustainable materials and our own unique design methodology.
Bringing together passionate designers with solid marketing and business acumen, Five Create designs and distributes original innovative products that remove environmentally damaging products from the earth and replaces them with friendlier alternatives.
Having spent many years in the design industry, we've seen hundreds of products marketed as ‘sustainable’ that fall short of the promises they make. This is why we founded FIVE and committed ourselves to the circular design process. This approach removes many conventional material options, so we find natural alternatives. We have to be inventive and rigorous in our choices and supply chain, but we enjoy rising to that challenge. And we excel at it. Proudly carbon neutral and a certified B-corp, we are setting new standards in sustainable design and manufacturing.
Our Story
Five Create began with two of our five directors, James and Sean, who worked in product design in the automotive and aerospace sectors. Both were regularly seeing companies and clients talk about sustainability, but the ideas were rarely fruitful and long lasting, and served better as a greenwashing attempt that anything else. They were coming up with interesting green concepts, but the products seldom got to the manufacturing stage. In part, this was due to the fear around lack of investment and continuity for sustainable product.
James and Sean didn’t have this fear, and joined forces with the other Five Create directors, Ryan, Laurra, and Mike, to create a business that could take their sustainable ideas further than a prototype and prove that consumers were interested in visually stunning products with a renewable focus.
As a small company, Five knew that they couldn’t jump right in with industry changing concepts and needed to start small. Researching various avenues that focused on their sustainable ideals, air purification was identified as an area with potential. As a pretty niche industry at the time, the processes across other brands were fairly consistent which led to plenty of room for innovation. Generally plastic heavy, and producing long-term pollutants in the form of disposable filters, sustainability wasn’t anywhere near the air purifiers on the market, and the team behind Five wanted to change that.
Investors weren’t always on the same page, so Five created a premium tool brand with a focus on longevity and multifunctionality. The success of this brand meant we were able to raise the initial funds to focus on our high innovation, but high risk, sustainable research and development.
After months of designing, prototyping, and developing, Briiv was born. Raising a million pounds through crowdfunding sites Kickstarter and Indiegogo, Briiv won design awards, sustainability awards, and the company even became B Corp certified. This gave the team an excellent platform to build on their circular mission, and with new developments in the works we are getting ever closer to our goal of being the leading green technology brand, creating products that benefit people and the planet.
The Founders
Managing Director
James Whitfield
With a number of successful companies under his belt already, and design credits for blue chip companies and start-ups alike, James’ wide range of experience in not only design but management and delivery of design gives him a track record that underpins his passion and tenacity for the work he does.
Design Director
Sean Sykes
With backgrounds in both product design and engineering, Sean has brought his expertise from both worlds to shape and craft a wide variety of consumer goods. From the large mechanical machines used in the canning industry to the minute 3D printed details of fashion, Sean’s breadth of knowledge of processes, materials and their applications has helped Five forge new paths for design innovation and delivery.
Production Director
Ryan Ward
Overseeing logistics, Ryan has overseen the successful delivery of tens of thousands of orders and numerous crowdfunding campaigns. From the UK to Japan, Australia, North America & Africa, Ryan has a wealth of experience in getting products to clients wherever in the world they may be.
Marketing Director
Laurra Davis
Founder of her own marketing agency, Laurra guides brands towards successful communications. Developing brands from the ground up here at Five, Laurra has shaped and delivered the mechanisms by which Five communicate with their clients and provides consistent branding, collateral and communication across Five’s brands.
Commercial Director
Mike Davis
Mike has guided and built a successful marketing agency alongside Laurra for the best part of a decade. His dedication to the betterment of our environment and his vision for Five, of helping every person it possibly can, serves as a powerful driver for delivery of good product, good service and good values.