It all began during a relaxing bath one night...

My last chick was leaving the nest, heading for university and while luxuriating in an undisturbed soak, I began to dream about doing some redecoration. My list of ideas grew. Everything was needed from new curtains in one room, new cushions in another to a full make-over in a third and more....

But the thought of trudging around hundreds of places, looking for a stylish design in the right colours, and ordering lots of samples, was taking the edge off my relaxation.

My mother has been an interior decorator for around 50 years (she’ll kill me when she reads that) and she confirmed that there was no easy solution.

So here was my epiphany:

My challenge: create a simple offering – beautiful designs on luxurious fabrics in bespoke colourways. To be delivered in a reasonable time frame with minimal waste.

The solution

The first decision was to choose digital printing – the technology is fantastic these days. The printers can produce an amazing level of detail with hundreds of colours. 

Pigment inks printed onto natural fibres have excellent light fast qualities which is so important for interiors, and the printers can produce an amazing level of detail. In terms of quantity, they can print as little as a single sample whereas the setup costs for traditional screen-printing techniques make such small quantities unviable. The inks used are environmentally friendly and very little water is used in the process (no need to wash out screens etc).

Finally, and, most importantly, they have good colour consistency as they are not reliant on hand mixed recipes.

The next decision was where to print? The UK was the obvious choice. Not only do they offer faster delivery, but they understand the expectation of top quality and the importance of reliability. They work with the luxury quality fabrics suited to interiors.

At this point there was a bit of technology that I needed to master and the blissful opportunity to start designing!

To give you some background on me, I have spent much of my working life in product development. It started in the fashion trade, working between Italian scarf printers and British high street retailers, developing seasonal ranges. We also worked on ranges of costume jewellery, umbrellas, and knitwear but the print was my favourite. Many years were spent developing Italian leather accessories including handbags and I was always tempted by the idea of bespoke linings but couldn’t find a cost effective and easy way to do them.

Many relaxing baths later...

I now have a 3 step solution to my problem (to find out more visit the Bespoke section and start with the introduction.

The range is growing, and the vision is to offer a huge variety of designs: everything from subtle coordinate prints to bold statement pieces, from classic florals to modern geometrics, as well as the unique and the unexpected.

Inspiration for these prints is just as varied: the natural world around me in Scotland or my favourite place, Tuscany in Italy; sometimes the thought comes from an exhibition or a history of art book or just a moment in daily life. Every design begins with a hand drawn motif or doodle.

Other ’hens’ will join me in my ‘Hen House’, broadening the design offering to help you decorate your retreat, your nest, your way.

I’d love to help you start your project. If
you’d like £15 to spend on samples or you’d simply like to keep in touch, do add your email to the signup form in the footer or the pop-up.

Love Heni