By Sarah Walker
6 October 2025
Oak flooring specialist now offers high-end interior design service for residential and commercial properties
A flourishing wood flooring business has branched out to offer commercial and residential interior design services – and is inviting people to a special event at its Stockton warehouse to celebrate all it has achieved on Teesside over the last five years.
Wood Connexions, formed by husband-and-wife team Steph and James Zielke, now offers unique pieces of furniture and Persian rugs amongst other one-of-a-kind items – with an emphasis on high quality natural materials.
Originally a flooring manufacturer based in Poland, the couple set up a distribution arm and moved back to Teesside – and are now proud to offer “all things bespoke interior design!”
“We specialise in really high-end oak flooring and one-off pieces of furniture that are hand-crafted and highly curated, having been hand-picked by us,” Steph says.
“Our unique pieces of oak furniture are made with at least 75% natural products and all the interiors we provide are different and unique and reflect our passion for what we do.”
Having initially started out providing high quality flooring for homeowners looking to bring a touch of luxury to their residence, Wood Connexions branched out to offer interior design support to hotel chains and other commercial properties.
“We offer the perfect blend of high-quality furniture, flooring and soft furnishings – and we’re now ready to take our offering to the world!” says ambitious Steph.
“We started nearly 20 years ago, after me and my husband ended up living in Poland, taking over a manufacturing plant.
“When we took over that business, we became victims of our own success and opened up to the American market.”
Through the flooring side of the business, James and Steph created a well-respected, internationally renowned profile, which has stood them in good stead for opening the business up to new markets.
The couple decided they wanted to come back to Teesside, after diversifying the business over two decades – including navigating the effects of the Covid pandemic.
“There have been a lot of changes over the years and Covid was difficult because the cost of freight to America, so we developed channels into the UK market,” Steph said.
“We pride ourselves on our experience and the fact we have invested in innovative machinery over the years.”
Steph says the fact the business was already well-known for high quality wood flooring led naturally into the interior design of entire commercial and residential projects, offering things like Persian rugs and dining tables crafted from oak tree pieces.
“We are now just as well known for our highly curated, unique pieces of furniture featuring reclaimed wood,” says Steph.
“We have gone from an industrial business to looking at the finer, what I would call more exciting side of things!
“When you put our whole collection together in your home or commercial property under our guidance you create something that is bespoke and unique to you – because you can’t get the same piece again anywhere else.”
James and Steph pride themselves on the trusted relationships they have built up with their longstanding clients – and they are excited about the prospect of taking on “entire projects” for a wide range of new customers.
They are also proud to be growing their business on Teesside.
“I’m a Teesside girl born and bred and passionate about the region,” says Steph.
“Living abroad for all those years and having a young family during that time meant I missed out on having family around day to day like my Mam and my three sisters.
“We made a lot of progress with the business after returning to Teesside in 2019 up until 2020, evolving the brand and making it suitable for the online world.
“But success for me is about surrounding yourself with people who help you become a better person and challenge you, so we are very happy to be home, with the team of 10 we have here, who have all played their part in helping us to grow.”
Steph adds she feels “blessed” by the fact her business still wants to make her get up every day and do what she loves.
“We work so hard and when you take on new challenges and start seeing things come together, see the rewards of that coming to fruition, it’s a really nice place to be,” she says.
“We are keen to share it with the people who helped build it – that’s the most important thing for us and the event we are planning.”
James and Steph are hosting a celebration event from 5pm on Friday 17th October at the Wood Connexions showroom, 26 Orde Wingate Way, Stockton, TS19 0GA.
They are looking forward to welcoming staff and friends as well as interior designers, installers, builders, joiners, architects, property developers, contractors and homeowners with an interest in craft and furniture.
For more information, visit https://woodconnexions.co.uk/
Press Release issued by SASS media Ltd on behalf of Wood Connexions.
To arrange an interview or for alternative pictures, please contact Sarah Walker on 07896 894538.
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