2025 was a tough year for many reasons, very tough personally because of the loss of our baby daughter Belle. Grief has a way of reshaping time, energy, and priorities, and that inevitably filtered into the working year as well.
My belief is that our energy and attitude pays a huge part in how the future is shaped, maybe it is my fault that 2025 wasn’t as busy as the previous two, or maybe it was just how the year unfolded, either way I’m not going to sweat on it; It belongs to the past now.
It was a slow start to the year, finishing off manufacture for a project in Great Yarmouth which wasn’t all that taxing and then onto some Reception Desks for Ellen Badger Hospital, quite a labour intense project which kept us occupied for a while. During this time my mind was on the development of designs for a large project at Warwick Hospital. The Hospital was having a new building being built and as part of it they were going to have a new pharmacy, and we had been asked to produce all the furniture. This was a big job for little old me, a lot of time spent drawing, sourcing materials and fittings whilst trying to make everything work and fit within the budget.
During this period of reduced output, albeit largely forced upon us, we chose to invest in our workshop facilities. This included the installation of a brand-new, state-of-the-art extraction system and the addition of a wide belt sander, with the extraction system commissioned in late March. This investment not only enhances the quality of our work but, crucially, helps protect the health and wellbeing of our workforce.
The following few months are somewhat of a blur for me, but the guys were kept fairly busy in the workshop producing hospital furniture such as nurse bases and desks, a couple of small care home projects and some domestic items. I was working closely with a good client on developing designs for an entrance building on a project in Gloucester. Thanks to Mr Trumps tariffs this company had to make significant savings and cuts to make everything work, this meant scrapping a huge project which would have made our 2025 much more successful… Instead of a 3 storey building filled with meeting room furniture, grand entrance lobbies and breakout spaces the company opted for a Portakabin type design with minimal fitted furniture. However, I’ve always said it, we can work to any budget… At the meeting I suggested that I take the designs away and…. I really hate this phrase….. “Value engineer it” It really makes my skin crawl…. Just cut the corporate bull and say make it cheaper…..
Anyway… I designed it in such a way that made it a lot cheaper, which won us the project and kept the guys busy for a few weeks while I ironed out final details on the Pharmacy project.
With everything submitted and approved, I then awaited access to the building to carry out site measurements, an essential step when dealing with bespoke, fitted furniture. This is particularly important when services such as power, data, and water are involved; I need to see exactly where they enter the space and how the other trades intend to route and connect them.
It’s also vital to assess the fabric of the building to ensure suitable fixings can be achieved. While on site, I can confirm that actual dimensions match the drawings… they very rarely do. Access is another major consideration. There’s no point building a desk if it can’t physically be brought into the building. Armed with all of this information, I can then produce final, fully coordinated working drawings.
While I was away in the Lake District, back at HQ Danny received a call with an urgent enquiry. A Midlands hospital required a specialist desk within a five-week timeframe. We were just coming to the end of another project, which meant we were in a position to mobilise quickly once costs were agreed.
With the help of Ideal Surfaces we met our commitments on this one, completing the huge awkward and heavy desk as planned, although delays elsewhere on site meant our efforts were, to some extent, in vain. Even so, it was good to secure the project and see it through to completion as this will likely lead to further desks in the same hospital.
After this, things began to pick up. We secured a couple of orders for two care homes and were able to get work underway on both, albeit in a slightly unorthodox way which is proving somewhat problematic. During this period, I also secured a significant project with Deeley Construction for Care UK, a scheme that will carry us well into 2026 and ensure a busy year ahead. Things were finally beginning to look up. We also picked up an additional order for a smaller care home in Liverpool with our good friends at HomeSmiths Ltd which was more welcomed good news.
On the run up to Christmas we were hit by a cyber-attack, For no reason my Microsoft account was used to spam thousands of people, and in the process emails and files were deleted, this is causing me issues on a day to day basis and I am unlikely to recover fully as some items are lost forever… Thankfully, we caught it early and the real hero of the moment Simon Goodman from Beyond Beige flew in and saved the day, cutting these people off and implementing security measures to protect us.
All in all, it was a difficult end to an already tough year, and I was glad to draw a line under it and step away over the festive period.
Looking ahead, 2026 is shaping up to be a promising one. With three large projects already secured and several more close to proceeding, I’m entering the new year with a renewed sense of focus and a different attitude. Loss has a way of sharpening perspective; it reminds you that life is short, far too short to be unhappy or to operate solely to other people’s agendas.
At John F. White Ltd, we’ve worked hard to build a strong client base made up of creative, kind, and respectful people, and those are the relationships I intend to prioritise moving forward. While 2025 also brought instances where our time and goodwill were not always respected, that experience has been noted. In 2026, we will be more selective, more vigilant, and more protective of the standards we expect on both sides.
Lastly, I’d like to thank my team for their patience, understanding, and support over the past few months. It hasn’t been an easy year, and their continued professionalism and commitment to myself and the company have made a real difference.
Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read my ramblings. I look forward to working with the many wonderful people and businesses we value in 2026.
Have a great weekend
Adam
