The tropical textile design that started it all...

Palms galore in our very first print design inspired by family travels.

It all started with a chair - yes a chair. Not just any chair though, oh no... An antique solid walnut hand carved family heirloom that had been forgotten for decades...

Many of you may not know this, but this is not my first rodeo as a young entrepreneur. Back in February 2018, I had unexpectedly had to close down my first business and was just getting back on my feet, figuring out what my next steps would be. I was casually toying with the idea of starting another company, creating beautiful pieces with my own textile designs on them.

My mum was taking a term of upholstery classes and was excitedly renovating all the antique chairs that had been passed down my family for generations. Sensing I needed a bit of encouragement, she asked me if I wanted to do a project with her. ⁠

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There was this particular chair that belonged to her own mother - an intricate solid walnut design with a tall back in dire need of some TLC. Mum thought it would be a lovely project to have three generations of the Vibert family brought together in one piece of furniture, and asked me to create a unique and personal fabric design she could use to re-upholster it.⁠

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We have been lucky enough to travel to some incredible places together. We brainstormed some ideas and decided to take inspiration from a once in a lifetime trip to the Solomon Islands and the island of Uepi we took way back in 2006. We particularly remembered the light shimmering off the palms trees that lined the ocean shores as the sun set and the colours that reflected in the ocean, so I wanted to capture that effect and those memories within the design.

I came up with what was to become our Arecace design in the coffee colourway. I carefully curated the colours to work with her seaside home and the dark wood of the chair. We got it printed and she spent the next term bringing our stunning antique chair back to life.

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Before this point, the eurozone crisis had made it increasingly hard to make ends meets as a print designer. This, combined with fast fashion drowning out any creativity and risk taking in the industry, had made me temporarily fall out of love with textiles. This project completely sparked my creativity and was the start of the opulent and tropical collection we have today.

Head over to our instagram to see my mum in action helping out at one of our market pop-ups!

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