Stanley PowerLock Compact Keychain tape measure, 3 feet, $6 at Amazon
“We probably have 10 measuring tapes at home because we have one in each room, one in the car, and one in the handbag,” Hardman says. “This is my go-to for the handbag.”
Hardman may not be the one designing or making the furniture at her company, but a tape measure always seems to come in handy.
“For me, a measuring tape is so important because I'm constantly talking to customers about custom products, and they are trying to imagine different rooms,” says Hardman. “I try to start measuring and imagining actual dimensions. It's one thing to draw something on paper or your laptop, but it's another thing to actually feel the distance, like what distance you would put between chairs.
“The other thing is we are constantly designing and developing new products,” Hardman adds. “We often end up going somewhere in the city and saying, ‘Oh, look at that product. How about we measure it and see what the depth is to compare it to our product?’ We do the same thing at design fairs, different shops, and sometimes even with very random items. We'll measure them just because they feel nice, and we want to check the shape.”
Inspiration can strike at any time, but with this tape measure handily on her keychain, Hardman is ready for anything. “Sometimes, even in the middle of the street, we'll start talking about a new design,” she explains. “I'll say, ‘Maybe we should go wide on this,’ and Liam [Hardman] will say, ‘No, we should go narrower,’ and we just take out the measuring tape and start thinking about it.”
