From a workshop on an industrial estate in Fulham, to a stunning new showroom in Kensington, it appears things are going exactly to plan for textile design house Violet & George.
‘It is a particularly exciting time for us,’ admits brand creator and head designer, Nicky Mudie, who began the company in 2009 after feeling a lack of creativity in the textile industry. Fast forward three years and Nicky’s ambition has been realised with the brand fast becoming known for its luxurious, unique and often quirky soft furnishings and interior design service.
Here Nicky tells West London Living about her design inspirations, furnishing for winter and reveals the touching memories behind the brand’s name.
When did your interest in textile design begin?
My passion for textiles started young, making my own clothes as a teenager and studying for a degree in textile design. While at university in Leeds, I dressed nightclub interiors using fabric sourced from local markets and draped clubs to create drastically different environments for various promoters. I then made the move into working as an interior designer, but found myself always drawn to the softer side of things.
Violet & George was [eventually] launched at Decorex in 2009, where our innovative and elaborately designed lampshades and curtains drew lots of attention.
What’s the story behind the brand’s name?
Violet and George were my grandparents. Violet was a passionate seamstress, an eccentric character and a huge inspiration to her grandchildren. George was a pilot in the Second World War and when not in the air, was impeccably dressed in the best suits Saville Row could offer. Both had a passion for tailoring, for glamour and for interior design and growing up around their style influenced me greatly as well as being obsessed with all the trinkets and treasures found in Granny’s sewing box and our sewing afternoons together.
What are your biggest design inspirations?
For us fashion and interiors are never far removed from each other and we are constantly inspired by the catwalk. This season we have used a lot of suede, wool, linen and lace fabrics in a palette of purples, oranges and blacks which were abundant in collections such as Prada, Gucci and Christopher Kane. We like to push the boundaries of soft furnishing and look to tailoring to use upholstery fabrics in new and interesting ways. Aside from the catwalk, we look to different design eras and our creations vary from theatrical and opulent to simple and elegant. We have been going through a phase of being inspired by Victorian decadence but as the mood shifts, so will our designs.
Do you think soft furnishings are the most important part of a room’s design?
As an interior designer I am trained to view the bigger picture, so it is important that the architectural bones of a room are strong, but the soft furnishings are crucial in transforming a house into a home, personalising the space and making it comfortable and pleasurable.
Now that we have fully entered the winter season, do you think we should change the interior decoration or design of our homes to reflect the time of year?
Not entirely, but certainly we expect different things from our surroundings seasonally. In the winter months we want to snuggle inside into warm, wool throws and soft, textured cushions and in the summer months we want natural fabrics, cottons and linens that your bare skin can breathe against. An inexpensive solution for this is changing your soft furnishings, your cushions, throws and rugs.
Are there any other textile designers you love?
Yes there is loads of amazing young textile talent around – particularly in printed, woven and textured textiles. Textile designers such as Imogen Heath, 009 textiles, Ayme Fitzgerald, Jude Cassidy and Janey Whitehorn are setting up their own small boutique design studios and we showcase some of these in our showroom.
