Designer Caroline Gardner is a longstanding favourite with the Good Housekeeping team. From her early greetings cards and stationery to her more recent (and impressive) collections of home fragrances, cushions and home accessories, we’re big fans.
So it’s no surprise we’re super excited about the launch of not just one, but two brand new Caroline Gardner shops! Here’s the designer herself to tell you all about them:
1. Tell us a little bit about your first London stores…
The shops have been an idea ‘coming’ for several years, and are a key part of an overall expansion strategy for our business. We now produce and wholesale quite an eclectic array of products, from fine bone china to home fragrance and a new gardening accessories range as well as stationery and stationery accessories, and we really wanted to be able to showcase the collection in a single space.
To this ‘core’ Caroline Gardner assortment, we’ve added an exclusive collection of limited edition products designed specifically for the shops, and we are really proud of them! This includes gorgeous silk scarves, linen-mix cushions and a beautiful collection of leather bags. It’s a bit of a cliché these days, but I just wanted to create a space full of the things I really love, displayed in an imaginative way.
It also gives us a place where we can test new products and perhaps, most importantly, engage directly with the people who buy our designs and who are not shy about telling us what they do and don’t like (!). In many ways, the concept is the type of local, old-fashioned independent shop that everyone covets – a place where we can talk to our customers and they can talk to us.
2. What new designs have you got lined up for Summer 2015?
The beauty of having a hugely professional but tightly-knit design team is that we’re small enough to act quickly. We can and do have basic design plans, but we still manage to squeeze in great things when we see the opportunity. We have some really exciting things coming along over the next few months, particularly in the accessories area, which we hope people will love.
Our new linen-mix cushions feature some wonderful Summery designs, including painterly florals and bold colour blocking, plus new ceramics and kitchen textiles and accessories in our ‘Chroma’ range of bold, colourful geometric shapes.
3. Where do you go for design inspiration?
I genuinely get inspiration from anything and everything! It can be the colour combinations on the side of a dirty tuk-tuk in Sri Lanka on a family holiday, or seeing the leaden skies above Richmond Park while walking our dog! Often, it’s the small things that can spark the imagination the most…
4. Have you noticed any emerging home trends for this year?
I think people lead such busy lives that there is a trend toward products that express some sort of comforting sentiment or connect in some way with the environment – often in a way that is unexpected or quirky. I believe quality is an enduring trend we can all relate to. Although the economy on the high street is improving, the downturn of the last few years has made a lasting impression, and good quality at an affordable price is our mantra.
Home accessories featuring or incorporating metal have become a big theme over the past 6 months, and we can see this continuing. We’re just launching a range of stationery that has been embossed with copper foils, which looks fabulous and echoes this trend. Colour blocking continues to be big – across home accessories, including some of the cushions in our new collection, and new stationery accessories like notebooks.
5. What advice would you give to aspiring designers?
Be original. Take inspiration from the world around you rather than competitors, and be consistent. If you can innovate in a consistent way, your ideas will succeed and stand the test of time. Above all, keep to your principles and be determined.
Caroline’s new London stores are on 182 Kings Road and 17 Marylebone High Street, and you can of course still see her collections online at carolinegardner.com.
Like this? You’ll love:
Good Housekeeping interviews Olly Tress, founder of Oliver Bonas
Emma Bridgewater launches bedding collection
More home decorating ideas and home accessories
