MATT KELLY
Born in Wolverhampton and raised in a small South Staffordshire village, Plæy Workshop founder Matt Kelly had a Swallow & Amazons childhood, minus the lashings of lemonade. “There was plenty of den building, playing out and all that good stuff,” he said. Architecture was the plan, but A-level Maths had other ideas. “It was too hard! So I swapped it for A-level Art halfway through, and never looked back.”
Dropping the Pythagoras was a decision that changed everything – and besides, who likes maths anyway? Matt went on to do a foundation course in Art & Design, which meant he was able to "meet ace, like-minded people, doing creative stuff. Then onto Sheffield Hallam University, where I studied Fine Art. I had the best time.”
With a degree in the bag, his first proper job took him up to Edinburgh, where he scored a position as manager at the prestigious Fruitmarket Gallery. “I loved it there,” he said. “It was such a great introduction to working in the arts.” Several years later he joined The Hepworth Wakefield, a time he describes as very happy years. After a steady stretch in galleries, he started tinkering with off-cuts of plywood and valchromat in the evenings. The side quest was about to take over.
“Plæy started in my spare room. I was messing around, making little prototypes. My friends at Colours May Vary in Leeds offered me their exhibition space, so I filled it with my early ideas. Unknown to me, COS were opening a store in Leeds, and their global visual merchandising team happened to walk in that day. They saw my stuff and emailed me with a commission. It was complete luck – but it gave me the nudge to go for it. I thought, I’ll jump in with both feet. If it doesn’t work out, I can always go back to the gallery world. Eight years later, Plæy is thriving and I’ve not looked back.”
Unlike a lot of design-led furniture and homewares brands, Plæy wasn’t born in London. Matt never feels geography has held him back. “I can’t really compare, because I’ve never lived there,” he admitted. “But Yorkshire has been a brilliant place to build this. I’ve worked as far south as Tate St Ives, as far north as the Isle of Skye, and loads of places in between. There’s plenty of work here.”
The Plæy Workshop sits in Salts Mill, Saltaire – a UNESCO World Heritage site that was once home to one of the UK’s biggest textile operations. Built in 1853 by Sir Titus Salt (manufacturer, politician and philanthropist, for anyone who wasn’t listening in history lessons). Matt explained proudly, “He built the mill and the whole village for his workers. Then in the 1980s, Jonathan Silver brought it back to life with David Hockney’s work, a bookshop and café. I live in the village and always thought there must be a corner of the mill I could use.”
Luckily, he found a space in one of the old weaving sheds. It's large and light-filled. Showing us around he explained how, “I painted all the walls white and the floor grey, so it feels more like a gallery or a design studio, rather than a dusty old workshop. I love that I’m close to loads of David Hockney’s works. Similar to my previous career in art galleries, I like that I still have that daily access to inspiring art. Matt describes his approach to furniture design as intentionally naïve. “I didn’t study it, and I think that helps. Every project starts with a beginner’s mind. I’m not looking at history or trends – I approach it from a practical or
artistic point of view, an exercise in problem-solving. The solution usually comes through the making process. Clients choose Plæy because they like what I do. There’s trust. Briefs are open and that gives me the freedom to play and try things out.”
Every new delivery to the workshop still feels like Christmas. “When a stack of materials arrives, I get this buzz. It’s overwhelming – all that potential, sitting there waiting! Plæy is proudly analogue, but Matt’s not daft. He never pretends he’s anti-digital. “Running a business means spreadsheets and emails. But the balance is good. Analogue always wins. Using my hands every day, working with wood. That’s the amazing bit.” Plæy’s latest product, the Phone Home, came from that mindset. “It’s a place to put your phone away so you can focus. We’d been thinking about it for ages, prototyping with off-cuts. It felt right for 2025.”
As for what motivates him, he looks sideways rather than upwards. “The work of friends and peers inspires me the most. Not necessarily furniture makers – artists, musicians, designers, photographers. Seeing good people doing good things. I feel very lucky that I get to do this every day.”
