Clarissa Hulse has emerged as one of the leading lights of the British textile world. Inspired by nature and colour, she produces beautiful accessories for the home. Miranda Jessop meets her
I was very artistic as a child, endlessly colouring in with felt tips and creating what I now know were textile designs although I didn’t realise it at the time. It was the obvious path for me to study for a degree in textiles.
My career as a designer took off by chance. I had just started renting an artist’s studio in London and wasn’t sure what to make for my first open weekend. I decided to throw together some scarves and, as luck would have it, a Liberty buyer came along and placed an order. Before I knew it, I was making scarves for Liberty which then led to orders with Barneys in New York and it just went from there.
After about ten years, I started to get fed up with fashion and the way that a particular look is either ‘in’ or ‘out’ so I experimented and made some cushions. I discovered that each cushion was like a little picture and I could really express myself artistically. They were immediately picked up by Heal’s, The Conran Shop and Selfridges.
I soon realised that interiors was where I wanted to be and, as well as cushions, I now produce bedding, fabric, wallpaper, towels, lampshades and kitchen textiles. I will be launching a ceramics collection this summer which I am very excited about and I am also working on a collection of gardening accessories.
I like to work in a way that is quite free which is why I love screen printing so much. It is such an old fashioned process; not many studios use it anymore and I think it makes my work completely unique.
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All my work is inspired by nature. I love to travel and there is nothing more amazing than finding incredible plants in interesting locations.
Every single design starts with a photograph. I am always taking pictures as anyone who follows me on Instagram will know. On a recent trip to Grenada in the Caribbean, I found 40 varieties of fern, which I photographed and used over and over again in my designs.
I absolutely adore colour; ever since I was given my first pack of Caran d’Ache pencils, which I would obsessively arrange in rainbow order. I enjoy putting bright colours together in a way that pushes boundaries but is still aesthetically pleasing.
My studio is in Highbury and I have an amazing team of six working with me. The studio has a shopfront so customers can see the latest collections. We have recently started selling the cloths that cover the print table as individual art pieces and they are proving very popular.I call them my ‘happy accidents’.
I feel so lucky in what I do; I go from the seed of an idea to an actual product in a shop and that is incredibly gratifying.
Nearby Stockists
- Tudor Williams, 53-59 High Street, New Malden
- Bentalls, Wood Street, Kingston
- Elys, 16 St Georges Road, Wimbledon
- Morleys, 103-111 Mitcham Road, Tooting
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