Bert and May – Their History

2022 is the ninth anniversary of the beginning of Bert & May, but our roots stretch to a bit more… In celebration of the new launch on our News page We’d like to introduce the story behind our brand, and review the finds we reclaimed that sparked the whole thing.

While we’re proudly situated in York however, it’s not the only place to be. Bert & May tale began at Spain in 2004. Then the company’s founder Lee Thornley relocated from London to Andalusia where he purchased a field, and started the laborious process of developing a hotel with a unique design on the field.

In the course of building in the early stages, he began to source and working with recycled components for the first times and instantly fell in love: “I explored and hunted and eventually made friends with people who worked at the salvage yards. There I found my inspiration” he says.

Lee began creating unique pieces using his found objects doors that were once used as tables and headboards, and terracotta tiles, which were previously employed between the beams of an older home, were sanded before being laid out to form the terrace of the hotel.

The tiles, with their subtle faded colour and relaxing, calming design – proved to be an important turning point. they were the way the Bert & May design story began: “The patina and colours are absolutely amazing,” says Lee. “They were stunningly faded look that could completely transform an area.”

The idea of sharing the style to a wider audience, Lee established his own website and began selling the tiles on the internet. To say that the process was a love-in-the-making is an understatement “Starting out of the garage of my home in Yorkshire was an extremely lonely and challenging period,” he recalls. “Doing everything by yourself, starting with finding and buying the tiles, uploading them onto a site for sale, then lastly, cleaning them up in the Yorkshire sun before removing the tiles was a long distance.”

The work was resulted in his salvaged finds attracting attention since the beginning. “We never had websites,, but the company was founded by myself along with a friend who sold the tiles at antiques shows,” Lee says. Lee. “On my first visit to Battersea Antiques Fair, I was able to meet Jemima Khan and a different customer bid on some stunning antique tiles in pink. The tiles in pink are one of our most popular items and I must be grateful to Jemima Khan for this.”

At this point, the demand increased and increased, resulting in the growing company taking on a brand new beginning in the year 2010 when Lee came across Juanma the owner of a family-owned Andalusian tile-making company that previously specialized in the production of hand-crafted encaustic tiles using traditional hand-crafted techniques. They decided that to make the business consisted of creating their own designs inspired by vintage and the family-owned factory was reopened and production started.

Lee and Juanma developed and designed an assortment of encaustic tiles inspired by antiques employing techniques handed through generations of Juanma’s family and the company relaunched as Bert & May in September 2013.

The tiles were a huge success, and new collections stores, projects, and collections were launched, as did several partnerships and collaborations with inspiring design firms.

One of the first was in partnership with Soho House, and it’s an ongoing partnership that we’re pleased with. “I have always been awed by what Soho House does and it is truly a joy for us to have our goods in all their properties,” says Lee, who says the brand has inspired him to go big in his own business: “Soho House was one of my first customers. it was clear that I was on to something when they requested 170m2 of an old tile. I had only 23 real tiles and it really motivated me to start the manufacturing facility,” he says.

We’ve definitely come a long distance from the time Bert & May began, but despite the massive launches, collaborations, and growing reach basic values and the authentic look are the core of everything we do. And we continue to find the process of sourcing exquisite, rare, and beautiful tiles just as exciting as they have ever been.

Every single one of them has a unique story to relate because of the imperfections and marks created by the passage of time and an individuality which is impossible to duplicate. They inspire us to this day and that’s why we’ll always have reclaimed unique pieces available for purchase and not only to remain in line with our brand’s DNA and values, but because we truly appreciate them.

We’ve also remained rooted in northern England which is an crucial aspect of what we’re about. “I enjoy the fact that we’re a leading design company and are based in York,” says Lee. “We have a beautiful Chelsea studio, but the heart of the design company is Yorkshire.

“I am very straight and straightforward and so is my team – they are known as spades. Never letting our roots go unnoticed and enjoying the process of creating new designs for our lovely customers is what we’re about. The fact that it is possible even in northern Europe makes me satisfied.”