Biography

My work is influenced by the skill of the crafts people with whom I work every day, the wealth of local natural resources, from Bath stone to willow, and all the remarkable people I've been lucky enough to meet.

My first inspiration was my Grandparent's Arts and Crafts house by the sea, where my Grandmother made everything. The red and blue floral linen she printed as a student hangs at my window today.

Then there was the generosity of Bernard and Laura Ashley who took me under their wing, sent me to Paris, Italy and New York, and made it possible for me to learn more about the decoration of houses from the traditional firms of Colefax and Fowler, and Charles Hammond in Sloane Street.

Later, while working as a researcher at Charleston Farmhouse in Sussex, I was enchanted by the brilliant, exuberant home of the painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, where decoration was something that everyone could do.

I live in Somerset with my daughters Rose, Helena and Margaret and our dog Plum, and work as a stylist and designer.