The seeds of The Pretty Rustic Company were sewn when I was only 8 years old, creating curtains for my dolls house. As I grew up, I made clothes and soft furnishings for myself and eventually for others. For 40 years I worked in soft furnishings and fabric shops, for a bespoke tailor and freelance for interior designers and tailors. The highlight of my sewing career was making coats for royals and
elaborate curtains for castles and stately homes. When my two children went off to university, I left the stitching behind to get a ‘proper’ job. But after 14 years of climbing the corporate ladder, I'm still happiest when I'm ‘creating.’
In 2010, my son announced he was getting married, and asked me to help. Before I knew it, I was back in the land of fabrics, needles and patterns - and I was loving every second of it! There were dresses and decorations galore to be made. The theme for the wedding was simple, 'shabby chic', natural fabrics, natural wood. In other words pretty but rustic. And so The Pretty Rustic Company was born. The wedding is over, but my work has only just begun. How I work
Most of the things I make are made from hessian, calico or printed cottons. I pick up fabrics as I see them, often buying beautiful, rustic fabrics without a clue as to what I’ll make with it. Then I come home and create something unique, bespoke and beautiful.
