British furniture brand Heal's is to begin offering its customers the option to create their own furniture from scratch, working alongside designer Matthew Elton.

The company's new Tendeter Workshop allows customers to create bespoke furniture pieces and will operate from the east London workshop of designer Matthew Elton.

"The goal is to counteract flat-pack, off-the-shelf culture with a tailored service to help the customer with every stage of the design process, from sourcing materials to redesign and the finishing touches of their project," said Heal's.

Working alongside Elton, clients can realise whatever project they wish, ranging from a single coffee table to a complete retail space fit-out.

"We work diligently to understand the brief and budget we are working within," said Elton. "We must understand not only the design but the full project objective."

The partnership with Elton makes Heal's the latest company to offer its customers more flexibility when purchasing furniture and design items.

Philippe Starck's TOG brand, which offers users customisable products, launched in April 2014. 

"It is a huge success," the French designer told Dezeen in an interview following the launch. "It's very interesting to see that people appreciate the model, the low price. It's fun, it's joyful. They love the proposal."

Fellow design brand Hem then rolled out its Design Your Own service in 2015, allowing clients to order customised items such as shelving, tables and chairs; however, the brand has since discontinued the service.

The original Heal's firm was established in 1810 by John Harris Heal and his son. In 1818 the business moved to Tottenham Court Road, London and expanded into bedding, bedstead and furniture manufacture.

It was run as a family business until 1983, but the business has subsequently had a number of different owners.