Meet the Team

Gary Jenks

Production Manager

Making beds by hand since 1975

The man who checks every single bed before it leaves.

Gary left school at 15 and walked straight into a workshop. Nearly five decades later, he's still there — still making beds by hand, still holding every piece of work to the same standard he set himself on day one.

Over his career, Gary built a reputation as one of the most trusted quality inspectors in the UK bed industry, working with some of the country's biggest manufacturers. Those years gave him an unmatched understanding of how beds are made well — and exactly how the industry cuts corners when nobody is looking.

“I went to inspect a facility in Manchester once and found they were stuffing mattresses with old newspaper. Newspaper. The beds were going out to customers who thought they'd bought a proper mattress. I didn't stay long after that.”

— Gary Jenks

At The Honest Bed Company, Gary oversees everything that happens in the workshop. He trains our makers, sets the standards, and personally inspects every single bed before it leaves the building. His eye for detail is — according to those who work alongside him — something you really don't want pointed in the wrong direction.

Gary was involved from the very beginning because the founding principles of this company are the only way he's ever been willing to work. Transparent materials. Honest pricing. No hidden anything.

“Every bed that goes out with our name on it has to be something I'd put in my own home. That's the test. If I wouldn't sleep in it, it doesn't go.”

Customer Service & Deliveries

The person who makes sure your bed actually arrives.

Tina is the voice at the end of the phone and the name on your delivery confirmation. She handles customer enquiries, schedules deliveries, and — in her own words — “organises the chaos” that comes with getting handmade beds from a workshop in Britain to front doors across the country.

Before joining us, Tina took a career break to raise her two sons — both of whom are now, as she puts it, “strapping young lads” who occasionally turn up to help out when needed. Prior to that, she spent years in customer service for one of the UK's largest furniture retailers, building the kind of experience that no training programme can replicate.

She knows what good service looks like because she's spent a long time on both sides of it. She's warm, unflappable, and genuinely invested in making sure every order goes smoothly.

“If there's ever a problem — and sometimes there is, because that's life — I want people to know there's a real person here who will sort it out. No automated responses. No ticket numbers. Just a phone call.”

— Tina

She'll tell you she's camera shy. The photo tells a different story.

Tina

Customer Service & Delivery Scheduling

Alfie

Apprentice Maker

Learning the craft. The right way.

Better at making beds than making tea. Thankfully.

Alfie joined us while completing his apprenticeship, and we're very glad he did — even if his first contribution to the team was handing the boss a cup of tea with salt in it instead of sugar. By accident, he insists.

Gary took Alfie under his wing almost immediately, helped along — it has to be said — by the discovery that they both support York City FC. Whether that counts as a formal part of the hiring process, we couldn't possibly comment.

What is beyond question is that Alfie is good. He came in curious, worked hard, and absorbed everything Gary could teach him. He now turns out work that — on a good day — has Gary nodding rather than raising an eyebrow. Anyone who knows Gary will understand what an achievement that is.

“Having young people come in and learn this properly — not shortcuts, not flat-pack thinking, but the actual craft — that matters to all of us. Alfie gets it. He really does.”

— Gary Jenks, Production Manager

The skills that go into every bed we make — the joinery, the finishing, the eye for detail that Gary has spent fifty years developing — take real time to learn. Alfie is putting in that time, and we're genuinely proud to be part of it.

The tea has improved as well. Marginally.

Delivery Crew · Also Known As Double Trouble

The last people to touch your bed before you do.

If you're expecting a couple of blokes who grunt, shove things through the door and disappear — Jake and Leeroy are going to surprise you.

Jake spent 18 years in the British Army. He'll carry your new bed up three flights of stairs without breaking a sweat, and he'll do it with a level of courtesy that'll catch you off guard. He has one small request: if you could have custard creams in the house, he'd consider it a personal favour. He's mentioned it. More than once.

Leeroy coaches under-10s rugby at the weekend, which tells you everything you need to know about his patience, his reliability, and his ability to manage complete chaos with a calm smile. He brings all three to every delivery.

“We've been doing this together long enough that we know exactly what the other one's thinking. Which is mostly how the pranks keep working.”

— Leeroy

Together they're known — affectionately, by the entire team — as Double Trouble. They prank each other constantly, they've worked together for years, and they both hold full DBS clearance. Although, as Tina will quietly tell you, it's possible they just haven't been caught yet.

When your bed arrives, these are the two you'll meet. Polite, careful, and genuinely good company. Your bed — and your home — are in safe hands.

🍪

Jake's official request: custard creams on delivery day. He asked us to put this in writing. So here it is, in writing.

Jake and Leeroy — Delivery Crew at The Honest Bed Company

Jake & Leeroy

Delivery Crew · “Double Trouble”

The man who checks every single bed before it leaves.

The person who makes sure your bed actually arrives.

Better at making beds than making tea. Thankfully.

The last people to touch your bed before you do.

More of our team coming soon

Ready to meet the rest of the team in person?