about us
Has the confusing world of DIY turned the dream of creating your own space into a nightmare? splat is here to help you out. With over 40 years’ experience, we’re all about making DIY and decorating simple and fun, while being sustainable and caring for our planet.
Our story
To find the origins of splat we must go back to 1981, when Anne and Geoff started making wax and French polish in their garage in North Yorkshire and sell it out of a Bedford van. Eight years later, their son Roger (aka Big Rog) left the agricultural sector to use his sales and business management skills to establish the family company throughout the UK. There was not much he couldn’t tell you about breeding pigs at that point, and he was ready to move on.
In 2006, Big Rog began to eye the paint market and thought a designer paint shop would work great in Thirsk… He wasn’t wrong! Around the same time, the family business reached the third generation, when Big Rog plucked his son Jamie from a fish stall in the local market. Jamie immediately found a new passion for paint, DIY and wood finishing – and at the end of each day he also smelt much fresher! After 10 years of continuous growth, Big Rog and Jamie decided to split off the industrial side of the business and sell it to their largest supplier, Jamie going along as manager.
But, as they say, you never know how much you love someone until they’re gone. After 4 years in the corporate world of coatings and commercial interiors, Jamie was still thinking about paint. During his time away, he realised that the world of DIY is an extremely confusing place, where finding the information or product you want can be almost impossible. There was the need for a fun, informative, simple, and sustainable way to approach DIY and decorating: the splat way.
Jamie returned to the fold in 2021 and, during one of the regular board meetings in Big Rog’s local real ale bar, splat was born. And it’s from there that it got its spirit: like the pub is the heart of a community, splat wants to bring together a community of DIY and decorating enthusiasts who care about the environment. From our base in Yorkshire, we intend to keep up the pub meetings and drink the creative ale to constantly improve your experience, bring you the best products and most importantly make decorating and DIY not only easy and fun, but also good for our planet!