All our wares are currently sourced from lovely small-scale suppliers in the UK, and blankets from the US. We always order only what we need, so that that no products are ever wasted. We only source products from other countries if we cannot find suppliers in the UK, as long as they meet out standards of production and sustainability.

When it comes to words such as Sustainable design, eco friendly, ethically made etc…These are words that now flood the marketplace, and sometimes have vague credibility or meaning. The fear is that it is used as an empty marketing ploy, which is good for awareness but does nothing to promote real change.

Here is what Sustainability means to founder Aase Hopstock

Production

In terms of production sustainability means sourcing it as locally as possible so that you have an awareness of both working conditions, health and safety, waste management and other environmental factors, as well as reducing emissions from shipping. Sustainability is also about work force and craft, about people and skills.

Materials And Suppliers

It is important that I know where the fabrics we use are produced, and to keep pushing the suppliers to offer more recycled and unbleached options, as well as fibres such as hemp and bamboo. All our packaging is unbleached, recycled and recyclable, likewise for our shipping materials, which are recyclable or biodegradable. All waste, which is as little as possible, from the studio and design process is recycled.

Permanence

All our products are meant to be permanent, so nothing is ever ‘last season’ and therefore suddenly disposable. They are meant to bring you joy today, tomorrow, forever. Which is why we don’t offer new designs or products every few months, and why our products are in the premium bracket. Buy less, buy better. And if something breaks or becomes worn we urge you to contact us for help with repairs, because we believe that mending is vital, not just for our products but for all areas of our lives – do not toss something away simply because it is chipped or cracked, make an effort to mend or upcycle it instead.

Giving Back

Lastly, I am very conscious that any brand involved in production has an impact on society and the environment, and I would like that impact to be as positive and gentle as possible. I want to be able to support some of the habitats I take creative inspiration from, which is why 10% of all sales from our Tropicana collection are donated to the Rainforest Trust, supporting Amazon rainforest regeneration projects.

 

HOW & WHERE OUR PRODUCTS ARE MADE

 

Fine Bone China: Designed and Decorated in the UK

All our fine bone china is decorated, gilded and fired in Stoke on Trent, also called The Potteries, an area with a long history of fine china and pottery production, dating back to the 17th century.

Our illustrated prints are made into decals, which are coloured films placed on the finest Chinese whiteware, by a screen printing process. Each decal is then carefully cut out from its sheet, placed in water to make it malleable, then carefully applied to each item by expert hands. The ware is then fired to both develop and set the pigment colours in the print (many of these are made from ground minerals as well as gold), and finally each item is carefully gilded by an extremely steady hand. No gold is wasted, and even the cloths used to clean the gilding brushes are sent back for recycling to extract any reusable gold. Our packaging is also made in the UK, ensuring a product with a local as possible supply chain. Currently our whiteware is sourced from a reputable supplier in China and we are actively looking into options closer to home.

Organic Kitchen Textiles: Designed and Made in the UK

Our range of organic cotton tea towels and napkins are printed and sewn in-house at a fabulous textile print company in the town of Leek. The expert hands at this facility digitally print our artwork on organic cotton sateen and half-panama fabrics sourced from an excellent mill in Pakistan that has won numerous local and international awards for quality/health/safety/environment/social responsibility. All inks used are eco-friendly.

Blankets / Throws

Our jaquard weave blankets/throws/wall hangings are made from recycled cotton in North Carolina in the USA, at a company that specialises in only jaquard weave. All their cotton is recycled, and all cotton fiber waste from scraps to redundant products or samples are recycled back into yarns used for new blankets.

Wallpaper

All our wallpaper is made in the UK with a company dedicated to sustainability. All their inks are classed as water-based, which means they are non-toxic and very low in VOC’s (volatile organic compounds), and all their paper and non-woven substrates are sourced from FSC^® certified forests. They even source their energy from renewable sources.