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Meet Mat Dusting, Owner of New Store M-24

M-24 opened in Gardner Street in December and has already attracted lots of attention, thanks to their ingenious use of turning tired truck tarpaulins into stylish and strong bags.

To find out more about this brilliant Brighton independent business, we spoke to the man behind the brand; Mat Dusting.

Hi Mat! When and how did you start M-24?

I had just finished university when I decided to start my own company. Working for a large corporate during a placement gave me the belief and drive to carve my own route in life.

I started the company in 2012 aged 24. The Name M-24 is a combination of my name and founding age but most people associate it with UK motorways, which is where all our materials come from.

My background is product design. I‘ve always loved making stuff from a young age and found great satisfaction-seeing ideas in my head come to life. M-24 was born from the concept that some used materials are better than new ones when applied to a different need. Lorry tarpaulins are primarily designed to be lightweight, waterproof, flexible and incredibly strong. Unfortunately most of them are only needed for 5-10 years before they end up in the bin.

Each of your products is completely individual, can you tell us more about them?

We design and manufacture bags made from reclaimed truck tarpaulins. All of our products are packed full of character and boast battle scars from the materials’ previous life strapped to the side of a lorry. Every bag we produce is 100% unique in appearance because of the huge variety of tarps we salvage. This insanely strong material is perfectly designed for us to transform into urban bags and we end up with a far more interesting range of products than the majority of bag brands on the high street.

In three words, I’d describe our products as unique, durable and sustainable.

Why did you decide to open in Brighton?

Good question! We’ve been running the online business for 4 years before making the decision to open our first store. We spent about 6 months analysing where would be the best place for us to set-up shop. In short it came down to 4 key points; we have a strong online following in Brighton, Brighton is a bustling city that is busy for most of the year, it’s full of character with a good mix of independent shops and there’s a strong sense of community and a focus towards sustainability – we thought we’d fit in nicely!

Which products are your bestsellers?

Our bestsellers tend to vary depending on the time of year and online to in-store. Overall our roll-top backpacks are very popular and our wash bags tend to perform very well. I think this is because they’re both very functional products. We’re releasing new products all the time so we will see if they can hold onto the top spot for 2017.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

In a word: creating. I don’t just mean creating new products but everything. Creating more UK jobs, creating exciting pop-up spaces, creating interesting news content, even creating small management systems to help us grow. I get a huge buzz from seeing ideas come to life.

Do you have any exciting news to share?

We’ve got some really cool new backpacks coming soon! But more importantly I’d like to mention that M-24 is looking to collaborate with other companies around Brighton. If anyone would like to collaborate, please get in touch!

And finally, why should people pop into M-24?

Our shop is full of interesting designs, colours, and friendly staff. We’re mega passionate about changing people’s perception of used materials by designing great products and are always eager to share that enthusiasm with anyone who will listen!. See you soon!

Find M-24 at:

Address: 15 Gardner Street
Website: http://www.m-24.co.uk/
Opening Times: 10am – 5pm Mon – Sun