We started in 2011 out of a first-floor unit on Vyse Street with three benches and a DPD account. Twelve years on, the benches moved to a larger workshop, the DPD account got a dedicated collection, and the team grew. The shape of the work did not change: one builder per unit, from first screw to boot, and nobody ships a machine they would not run at home.
We sold on eBay for most of that period because eBay put us in front of buyers. It also put us next to shops that drop-ship from Shenzhen, skip the burn-in, and photograph a generic tower instead of the one they’re sending. Our returns rate was a third of theirs. Our reviews were different. Our margin was compressed by the same fees that subsidised them. Building our own storefront was the next honest step.
What we build
Gaming towers are the biggest slice, but it’s not most of the work. The rest is what gets bracketed as "other": silent workstations for audio engineers, multi-GPU rigs for small render farms, locked-down fleets for accountancy practices, projector and AV gear for schools and churches, refurbished laptops for buyers who want repairability over thinness. The shop floor has a water-loop bench and a screwdriver-only bench, and they get roughly equal traffic.
“No one sees the twenty-four-hour soak test. That’s the point. They see a machine that still works in year five.”— Alfie Ashworth, BLD-004
How we’re set up
Twenty-two builders, each with a tier and a track record. Every machine carries the builder’s code on the birth certificate in the box, and their profile page is public. If one of our builders has a bad month, the numbers show it and they get pulled off the queue. This isn’t generous to them; it’s fair to you.
Where we are
The workshop is in the Jewellery Quarter, five minutes’ walk from Jewellery Quarter station. Collection is possible by appointment; we are not open for walk-in browsing, but most people who ask to see the bench get a tour of where their unit will actually be built. The trade counter for schools, procurement, and print-and-sign outfits is a separate door.