Like many new
businesses, when we initially decided to go for it, we had big dreams combined
with little time and money. We worked with a friend in Scotland to design an
effective website to showcase our collection and we highlighted some ‘before
and after’ pictures of a sofa transformation to demonstrate the traditional
methods we use. But above all, we wanted to be genuinely different. We thought
long and hard about our ethos and values and made the decision to buy British
fabrics wherever possible, only use traditional and ethical upholstery methods (such
as our use of horsehair, rather than the typical foam) and we up-cycle as much
as we can from charity furniture stores.
Here's a monster sized Union Jack collage which we created a few years ago using old denim jeans, a bedspread and some red velvet actually from my own wedding dress. It's a bit like Marmite; you either love it or hate it!
We encourage
our customers to use luxury linens and indulgent velvets from British designers
and tweed weavers, a trend that is hitting the British clothing manufacture
industry too. Everyone is familiar with great British brands such as Mulberry,
Barbour, John Smedley and The Savile Row Company but there is a great British
revival on the High Street right now too. For instance, if you type
"Made in Britain" into the search bar on the Topshop site
you’ll see a new range of home-grown wardrobe essentials. The good old days
where Made In Britain is a badge of prestige and heritage are back and we’re
really excited about that. In fact, just today I bought myself a tiny little t-shirt (okay, who am I kidding?...) Anyway, can't wait to geek out in this hot-to-trot number:
Make it British is a fabulous source of information on
British-made brands and UK manufacturing. For more information about British
craftsmanship, visit http://makeitbritish.co.uk/
What's your favourite British brand?
No comments:
Post a Comment