Ernest Wright

Ernest Wright is a traditional scissors and shears manufacturer based in Sheffield, England, a city historically associated with cutlery and toolmaking. Established in 1902 by Ernest Wright Sr., the son of a local scissors-borer, the business developed within Sheffield’s specialist manufacturing culture and remained under Wright family management for five generations. Its products are associated with hand assembly, traditional finishing and the survival of specialist skills that have become increasingly uncommon in the British handmade-scissors trade. The company makes and markets scissors for several user groups rather than concentrating on a single industrial application. Its range includes kitchen scissors, embroidery scissors, tailoring and dressmaking shears, and other designs aimed at artisans, hobbyists and collectors. Among its recognizable products are the Turton kitchen scissors and stork-shaped embroidery scissors. The latter express the brand’s interest in functional objects with a strong visual and historical character. Ernest Wright has also produced scissors in collaboration with external designers and fashion companies, including a pair of Stork Scissors created with JW Anderson that entered the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. A defining feature of the brand is its continued use of traditional production language and workshop practices. Craftspeople at the company are known as “putters,” or “master-putter-togetherers,” terminology reflecting the specialized assembly work involved in making scissors. The company’s small Broad Lane workshop in Sheffield is central to its identity: rather than presenting the brand only as a finished-goods label, Ernest Wright emphasizes the place, people and techniques behind its products. The business faced a major crisis after Nick Wright, the family owner, died in 2018. The company entered receivership and was at risk of closure. It was subsequently acquired through the purchase of its assets by Paul Jacobs and Jan-Bart Fanoy, two businessmen who admired the firm, and several former employees were rehired. This transition ended direct family ownership while preserving the Ernest Wright name, workshop connection and core manufacturing skills. The company received renewed public attention through a Business Insider video documentary published in April 2020. The film highlighted the workshop and its endangered craft traditions and attracted millions of views. In October 2020, Ernest Wright received the inaugural President’s Award for Endangered Crafts from the Heritage Crafts Association, an award initiated by the then Prince of Wales. The recognition positioned the company within a broader effort to document and sustain vulnerable traditional crafts in the United Kingdom. In 2021, Ernest Wright announced that it had purchased its Broad Lane workshop premises from its former landlord. The company said the acquisition would enable renovations and the installation of historically significant machinery. Owning the premises gave the business greater control over the physical setting in which its products are made and supported its longer-term effort to retain traditional methods while maintaining a viable contemporary operation. Today, Ernest Wright is best understood as a heritage manufacturing brand rather than a mass-market scissors producer. Its appeal rests on Sheffield provenance, specialist workmanship, distinctive forms, repairable and collectible products, and the story of a small firm surviving an ownership crisis and the decline of a wider domestic industry. The brand serves practical users while also appealing to customers who value British production, craft continuity and the material history of tools.

Ernest Wright was established in Sheffield in 1902 by Ernest Wright Sr., whose family background was connected to the city’s scissors trade: he was the son of a local scissors-borer. The company emerged during a period when Sheffield supported a dense network of specialist metalworking and cutlery businesses. Scissors production depended on numerous skilled operations, including forging or shaping components, grinding, setting, fitting, sharpening and finishing. Ernest Wright’s identity subsequently became closely linked with the preservation of this kind of specialist workshop production. For approximately five generations, the Wright family ran the business. Across that period, the company maintained a focus on scissors and shears rather than becoming a broad consumer-goods conglomerate. Its products served domestic and professional purposes, including kitchen work, embroidery, tailoring and dressmaking. It also developed designs with a strong decorative or collectible appeal. The Stork Scissors, shaped in the form of a stork, are an example of how the company combined practical cutting functionality with an immediately recognizable silhouette. Ernest Wright also made Turton kitchen scissors and a range of shears for textile professionals and makers. The firm’s workshop culture remained an important part of its continuity. Workers involved in assembly were traditionally referred to as “putters,” with the more elaborate term “master-putter-togetherers” also used. Such terminology reflects the highly segmented and manual nature of traditional scissors manufacture. Ernest Wright retained these expressions and associated working methods even as the British handmade-scissors sector contracted and production in many parts of the industry became more mechanized or moved to lower-cost locations. The company’s family era ended in difficult circumstances in 2018, when owner Nick Wright died. Ernest Wright entered receivership and faced closure. The business was rescued when Paul Jacobs and Jan-Bart Fanoy, described as admirers of the firm, bought its assets. The new owners rehired several members of the workforce, preserving a degree of operational and craft continuity despite the change in ownership. This rescue became a central part of the modern Ernest Wright story: the company survived not simply as a historical name, but as a functioning workshop continuing to make scissors in Sheffield. The brand later gained significant attention beyond specialist craft circles. A short documentary about the firm released by Business Insider in April 2020 presented its workshop, products and traditional production methods to an international online audience. The video attracted more than six million views, helping make Ernest Wright an accessible example of endangered British manufacturing and demonstrating the potential of digital storytelling to broaden interest in heritage crafts. In October 2020, Ernest Wright received the Heritage Crafts Association’s inaugural President’s Award for Endangered Crafts. The award was initiated by the then Prince of Wales and recognized the company’s role in maintaining a vulnerable specialist craft. The recognition reinforced the brand’s positioning as a custodian of manufacturing knowledge as well as a maker of finished tools. In 2021, Ernest Wright announced the purchase of its Broad Lane workshop premises from its former landlord. The company stated that the premises would undergo renovation and that newly acquired historic machinery would be installed. The property purchase was strategically significant because it gave the business greater control over its production site and created a foundation for preserving the workshop environment associated with the brand. It also connected the company’s future with the physical geography of Sheffield rather than treating its heritage solely as a marketing theme. Ernest Wright has also participated in design-led collaborations. A pair of Stork Scissors made in collaboration with the fashion house JW Anderson is held in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This association illustrates the brand’s ability to operate across traditional craft, fashion and museum design contexts. In the present era, Ernest Wright remains a small heritage manufacturer whose products appeal to artisans, hobbyists, professional textile workers and collectors. Its continuing significance lies in the combination of Sheffield provenance, surviving workshop skills, distinctive product forms and an ownership-led rescue that kept a historic scissors maker in production.

• 2021

  Broad Lane workshop acquired

  [1]Ernest Wright (scissors maker)en.wikipedia.org

  The company announced the purchase of its workshop premises and plans for renovation and the installation of historic machinery.

• 2020

  Business Insider documentary released

  [1]Ernest Wright (scissors maker)en.wikipedia.org

  A short documentary introduced Ernest Wright’s Sheffield workshop and traditional methods to a large online audience.

• 2020

  Heritage Crafts Association award

  [1]Ernest Wright (scissors maker)en.wikipedia.org

  Ernest Wright won the inaugural President’s Award for Endangered Crafts.

• 2018

  Receivership and ownership transition

  [1]Ernest Wright (scissors maker)en.wikipedia.org

  After Nick Wright’s death, the business entered receivership before Paul Jacobs and Jan-Bart Fanoy acquired its assets and rehired several staff members.

• 1902

  Company founded in Sheffield

  [1]Ernest Wright (scissors maker)en.wikipedia.org

  Ernest Wright Sr. established the scissors-making business in Sheffield, drawing on a local family connection to the trade.

A heritage Sheffield maker positioned around traditional hand assembly, specialist craft skills, British manufacturing provenance and distinctive scissors for practical, professional and collectible use.

• Kitchen scissors

  Turton kitchen scissors

  A kitchen-scissors line associated with Ernest Wright’s traditional Sheffield production. It represents the company’s practical domestic offering while retaining the brand’s emphasis on workshop manufacture and hand-finished character.

• Embroidery scissors

  Stork Scissors

  Decorative embroidery scissors designed with a stork-shaped form. The product serves needlework users but also has strong appeal for collectors and design-conscious buyers. A collaborative pair made with JW Anderson is held in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s permanent collection.

• Textile shears

  Tailoring and dressmaking shears

  Large shears intended for tailoring, dressmaking and related textile work. These products connect Ernest Wright with professional and serious hobbyist users who require cutting tools suited to fabric and garment-making tasks.

• 2020Business Insider workshop documentary

  International

  Business Insider published a short video documentary about Ernest Wright in April 2020, focusing on the Sheffield workshop, traditional production methods and the endangered status of the craft.

  Outcome. The documentary attracted more than six million views and substantially increased the brand’s international visibility.

  Source

• 2021

  Purchase the Broad Lane workshop premisesStrategy

  Background

  The workshop was central to Ernest Wright’s identity and production continuity, while ownership of the premises could provide greater operational security.

  Action taken

  The company purchased the workshop premises from its former landlord and announced renovation work and the installation of historic machinery.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition strengthened the company’s control over its Sheffield manufacturing base and supported the preservation of its traditional production environment.

  Source

• 2018

  Acquire the company’s assets after receivershipM&A

  Background

  The death of owner Nick Wright left the historic family business in receivership and at risk of closure.

  Action taken

  Paul Jacobs and Jan-Bart Fanoy purchased the company’s assets and rehired several staff members.

  Aftermath

  The Ernest Wright name and Sheffield workshop operation continued under new ownership, ending the period of direct Wright family control.

  Source

1. 1Ernest Wright (scissors maker)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Ernest Wright official websiteernestwright.co.uk