How often do you stop to consider where the napkin on your lap, the blanket at the end of your bed, or the cushion behind your back has come from, how it was made, and by who? When it comes to the food we put onto our plates, increasingly we’re asking questions about provenance and quality, but for some reason this curiosity doesn’t always extend to the other things we buy and fill our homes with. The tide though, is starting to turn…
You guys will know by now that I’m a sucker for gorgeous homewares – and I think you are too. I’m always looking for objects and furnishings that – to go all Marie Kondo on you for a mo – ‘spark joy’. Which is why, when Emily Mathieson from Aerende got in touch to ask me to collaborate, I was thrilled to get on board. Aerende is a social enterprise and homewares brand with an important and ingenious point of difference – all of the products are fully traceable and made in the UK by people facing social challenges, who can’t access conventional employment. So not only do they look gorgeous and help create a beautiful and happy space in your home, your purchasing them provides support, opportunities, and a sense of community to the skilled people who are making them. If that’s not a good excuse for some retail therapy I don’t know what is!
After the work I’ve done with Fairtrade and Organic in relation to food, extending this approach to furnishings seems totally obvious. Increasingly, as consumers, I think we’re demanding to know what impact our consumer choices and purchasing power is having, and I applaud Emily for creating a brand that not only is putting out products of exceptional quality, but that is doing so in a way that is making a real difference to the makers who are creating them.
This was my first time trying my hand at designing any soft furnishing, and we agreed that we wanted to start small, with a limited-edition range of just a few lovely pieces. Emily and I spent many months meeting for coffee and poring over fabrics and Pinterest boards, finally whittling down our selection to the products you see here.
Given my experience as a food and props stylist, it made sense to start with some table textiles, so we created some beautiful linen napkins – grey and dusky pink, and two gorgeous table runners, one in an inky blue and the other a textured grey herringbone. After sketching out some initial thoughts and selecting the linens – we opted for some really lovely Lithuanian linen in the end, we passed this over to the brilliant refugee sewing group in Hertfordshire who took the designs and ran with them, creating one runner with a distinctive frayed edge, and beautifully hemmed pieces.
They were sewn at home by refugee women who have been rehoused in the UK and are receiving support from the Refugee Council (see Aerende’s Makers page for more details). These guys also made out cushions – I was keen to do some cushions (one can never have enough cushions, am I right?) and still being totally in love with my green velvet sofa we took that as the inspiration for a pink and green cushion, giving the pink one some cute little cream tassels. We sourced the gorgeous soft velvet from Ebay, upcycling some old velvet curtains.
I was also keen to create a cream and grey-flecked blanket for the collection, and couldn’t have asked for a more accomplished maker for the job than Ashleigh Slater, who uses a special double weave method. He is a master weaver specialising in tartan who has had his looms adapted to accommodate his wheelchair. I’m so pleased with the final blanket, it’s made with beautiful Scottish wool and has a really soft, tactile texture, perfect for throwing over chairs and picnicking.
