Kev and Sal (The Whites) established Hasslefree Miniatures with Kev as a sole trader back in early 2004 when their youngest daughter Megan was only 5 months old. ‘Kev’ is Kevin James White, an established sculptor of over 20 years within the miniatures industry who has worked for pretty much every big name in the Fantasy and Sci-Fi miniature world. What HF has become is the result of Kev's love for sculpting and Sal's OCD for organising things. ‘Sal’ is Sally White, Kev's wife, also known online as ‘Mrs H’ and ‘Libertee’. Kev and Sal have 4, very active, children!
In 2012, Sal's ongoing battle with ME and it's side effects were taking a toll on her working hours and Dameon was brought in to help out, later joined by his wife Jenn. By 2013 helping out had grown to running the day-to-day tasks associated with the business while Sal took a step back from the grind and a step sideways to more creative HF pursuits. Dameon has been in the industry for 20 years himself, on the retail and game design side, and is known online (and amusingly at trade shows) by his business name 'Artemis Black'. This, coincidentally, means he and his wife Jennifer are known as 'The Blacks' :D.
Our main HF office is currently in Ripley, Derbyshire which is where Dameon and Jenn work. Kev works out of the home office, also in Derbyshire. We produce some products in-house but use contract white metal and resin casters to support our ranges.
What you see now is the culmination of a lot of hard work not just by Kev and Sal over the years but also from the many friends who supported and helped them. HF's first presence online was down to Inge Jensen (Jenova) who hosted us on her site for a year until Tony Stapells (www.Stapells.com) built the first proper e-commerce site, and now we have this one which we hope will help us to move to the next level and allow Kev to spend more time sculpting and Sal to spend more time recuperating and creating.
What we do
We primarily manufacture 30mm fantasy and sci-fi figures. We work to a ‘true’ 30mm scale and not a ‘heroic’ scale which means that approximately a 5'10" tall man (average height) would be 30mm to top of his head. As Kev sculpts in correct proportions as opposed to any heroic style of proportion this means that our miniatures can vary in 'heightt but stil match each other in 'scale', which is by far the most important part of matching miniature ranges. .
Our figures are highly detailed and suitable for painting, collecting or gaming. We supply castings in both white metal and resin with resin figures being marked as such on the website.
We have quite a simple philosophy and that is to provide fast and efficient service (sometimes even with a smile!). We're all quite old fashioned and feel that there is nothing wrong with courtesy and remembering that it is the customer that is important. Basically our customers enable Kev to have fun making toy soldiers and working for himself has made him happier than working for a large company. Over the years our customer service record has proven to be consistently one of the best in the industry and we're more than happy for anyone to ask around and check!.
When we do it
Since 2013 and the addition of Dameon and Jenn to the team we have been operating on a full-time basis (they even work some weekends!) and the office is now manned every day. This has allowed us to grow as a company to start including other items and for Sal to find the time to add to our unique range of modelling accessories.
Barring illness or holiday, e-mail accounts are monitored daily (Monday through Friday, weekends are just a bonus!) and we aim to answer all mail as speedily as possible, however sometimes things happen beyond our control or mistakes sneak through our armour so if you are waiting for a response after 48 hours please feel free to re-send your e-mail, neither Dameon nor the internet are always as infallible as we are commonly led to believe ;)
Where we are
Our office/workshop premises is based at 19 Moseley Street, Ripley, Derbshire. DE5 3DA.
Telephone number: +44 (0) 1773 742768
We do not operate a walk-in shop and are not set up for just ‘popping in’. If, however, you are in the area and want to collect something to save on postage then drop us an e-mail or give us a ring and we can let you know if there is a good time to do so.
Why we do what we do
Although Kev does still do some freelance work, the vast majority of his sculpting is now for HF. He is able to make what he wants (within reason of course…) how he wants to make it and not worry about trying to fill someone else's design brief. This makes him very happy. The joy of watching his face when he shows off new models (think small child with a Lego creation at a playgroup and you get the idea!) makes the long years of late nights and long days worth it for Sal.
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