Mark founded Mark Samuel Trading (MST) in 2009 after spending over 30 years with Delbanco Meyer and Co. (DMC).
Mark began his career with DMC in 1979 and spent several years studying the world of bristles, fine hairs and brush manufacturers, working in hair and bristle preparation factories in Germany and in fine art brush manufacturing factories in England, France and Germany.
DMC was founded in England in 1936 by Kurt Delbanco and Henry Meyer, both of whom had been bristle merchants in Germany.
Under the leadership of Mark Samuel’s father, Herbert Samuel, DMC began to grow, becoming one of the world’s leading suppliers of raw materials to the brush and paintbrush industry.
Mark spent several years developing fine bristles for fine art and cosmetic brushes, and in 2000 he became head of that division at DMC.
DMC also successfully expanded into the home textiles sector, and in 2009 the various divisions were sold, leaving Mark in charge of the fine bristles division.
In 2009, Mark founded MST in England with three employees, Jean O’Brien, Maggie Gannon (R.I.P.) and Mark himself and he founded a manufacturing company in China, the Tianjin Phoenix Brush Materials in partnership with Mr Liang Jingzheng.
Phoenix started with 40 employees, many of whom had previously worked for Delbanco Meyer in China, gaining extensive experience in processing fine bristles for fine art and cosmetic brushes. In 2013, Mark’s son, James, began his journey within this wonderful world of the brush industry.