Meet the Makers - A to O

Meaning 'friend of the people', AARVEN was founded in 2013 by Amy Fleuriot Reade, an artist and designer, and Bee Friedmann, an avid adventurer with a passion for
rural handicrafts inspired by her upbringing in South Africa. AARVEN is passionate about the preservation of traditional crafts to support sustainable livelihoods for our global family of artisans. Their contemporary home and lifestyle collections are handmade in collaboration
with over 30 artisan groups across Africa and in India.

The art/design team of Jackie Piper & Victoria Whitbread have a shared love of colour & material exploration. Discovering an old colour dictionary in an Oxfam shop began a journey to re-establish this long forgotten brand from the 1930’s. Aiming to be the go-to brand for colour in the home for interior accessories as well as championing eco, sustainable & Fair Trade products within their collections.

Button & Squirt’s Amazing Animals range has been created to teach kids about the amazing animals they share the planet with so they can learn about them, fall in love and want to protect them for the future. The collection includes ranges about everything from bugs to sharks. Designed and illustrated by a home educating mum of two, inspired by their love of nature and passion for learning through play. The range is manufactured in the UK using eco-friendly materials.

Clara and Macy is a small family run business who design charming and creative products for children and their families.
Set up by Laura in 2012 whilst working as a puppet maker in animation. It is very much a family business made by Laura’s own family. Clara and Macy use ethically sourced materials, are environmentally responsible, and their
four-person team carefully hand makes all of your orders in their little
studio in Altrincham, Cheshire.

Copper Bee love the freedom of creativity; playing with colour and texture, shape and function.
Inspiration comes from all around and it is so rewarding to create jewellery that represents this - whether a necklace enamelled with the colours of wildflowers, a pair of earrings with the irregular shapes of a splash of paint,
or a piece from which you reminded of the colours of a sunset, piece of art or
place.

Dr Zigs bubbles is a family business designed and made in North Wales. The idea to make a super highly engineered Bubble Solution came from their own toddler’s love of playing with bubbles.

Their bubble mix is plant and bee-friendly, vegan, phosphate-free, and biodegradable in sunlight, so completely safe to use, and friendly for the planet. Their
bubble wands are made from sustainably sourced wood and cotton all packaged up in reused and recyclable packaging.

Eat the Moon is founded by self-taught illustrator Fifi Khudhairi, based in South East London. Their designs are full of humour with a nod to the surreal.

Their illustration style is hand-drawn, contemporary, and free-spirited. Drawing on escapist themes and cultural trends to create designs that tell a story through whimsical figures, beautiful illustrations, and fantastical scenes.

Each of their cards include an extra illustration on the inside of the card, making them an extra special treat to receive.

Cotton Clara is for a new generation of makers and crafters who are looking for away to relax, unwind and de-stress. They believe craft is therapy which is why all of their kits are easy to start and complete.

From embroidery, to jewellery making & papercrafts, their kits are designed to be to be accessible to young and old. Detailed and easy to understand instructions guide the user step by step through the process of finishing their craft. Making the process enjoyable and one they will want to repeat again and again!

All produced in their UK studio in Leicestershire, in a building that was a former art college. Everything is packaged with great care and attention, and they also include postcards of lots of the kits for displaying next to the packaging.

Emily is an independent publisher of greetings cards and paper goods. From her studio in Bristol, she uses hand cut and digital collage to create playful and unique illustrations. These are then professionally printed on FSC approved or recycled paper stock, here in the UK.

An ever-expanding range for all occasions to help you bring humour, colour and joy to your friends, family and loved ones.

Emily aim's for her products to have as little impact on the environment as possible. This includes only using recycled or FSC approved stocks and sourcing envelopes made from100% recycled material.

Founder Jen, noticed the way her baby daughter Etta was mesmerised by the monochrome jumper she was
wearing whilst feeding her. It gave her the lightbulb idea to create a range of muslins and other sensory essentials using scientific research in partnership with the University of Sussex.

The range focuses on the colours infants can see, the scales within each pattern and the placement and space between each shape, to support and develop babies' visual and cognitive development.

Proudly Etta Loves have BCorp status.

Designed in the UK and ethically produced in Nepal, Felt so good specialise in handcrafted, eco-friendly, biodegradable characters and decorations that are bursting with personality and unlike anything else on the market!

The underlying ethos of Felt so good is to practice and promote the importance of fair trade and sustainability. Every product purchased enables their team of artisans in Nepal to live an independent life with access to safe, secure employment at a fair rate of pay. Every product has been handcrafted using traditional needle felting techniques from natural, sustainable and biodegradable products - absolutely no plastic here!

Florence is a visual and ceramic artist based in East London, and the founder of Florence Mytum Ceramics. 

Florence studied Fine Art at Wimbledon College of Art before completing an MA at the Slade School of Fine Art in 2018, and embarking on a career as a sculpture and installation artist.

In 2020 Florence Mytum Ceramics was launched. Florence's work celebrates colour, texture and form which is explored through a focus on materiality. Each piece is individually handmade from stoneware clay in Florence's East London studio, and decorated with bold colours and tactile surfaces using bright, handcrafted glazes.

Florence's pieces bridge the gap between decorative, sculptural and functional ceramics. By employing ergonomic form and saturated colour, my pieces aim to ignite the senses and bring joy to the viewer.

Growbars are easy to grow, exciting seed collections, nestled in fertile coir bars, carefully created and packaged by their small team in South London.

Growbar is 100% eco-friendly and completely plastic free. Our packaging can be widely recycled or home composted and coir is a sustainable alternative to peat that’s made with coconut fibres.

Sakina is a French-Moroccan artist based in London. Sakina’s work tells stories on how she sees the world, in a cheerful and motivational tone. Focusing on womanhood, growth,
wellbeing, and nature. She believes in bringing people together through love and positive values.

All her designs are printed in England on recycled paper and the packaging is fully compostable.

INZHO was founded in 2019
by Lucy; a beauty therapist and aromatherapist by trade with a massive candle obsession! Every product is made by hand (including the candle wicks) in small batches in Surrey.

Once the candle making part was learnt, I began
working in collaboration with a local company to help me find a unique concept that linked in with therapeutic benefits of the essential oils. With lots of
research and deep thought, we discovered the HOZHO concept. HOZHO is a complex
wellness philosophy from the Navajo (Native American) culture which revolves around balance, harmony and beauty for mind, body and soul for all living things.

From the North Coast of Cornwall,  founded by Pix Ashworth the land&water collection has its roots at the family’s hotel Watergate Bay.

In collaboration with a leading apothecarist and perfumer,
the land&water collection uses natural essential oils and actives to evoke the therapeutic benefits of time in the elements, recreating the fresh skin invigoration we feel on the shoreline.

Sustainability is at the heart of land&water with their
factory running on a bio-fuel system. 90% of their packaging is made in the British Isles, including their 100% post-consumer recycled bottles (from prevented ocean plastic). Their beautiful candles are made at a wind-powered farm in Cornwall.

After leaving Art School in the 70’s with a BA in Graphics
and Illustration, Joy became a Book designer and worked freelance for many years combining it with Book Illustration. She wrote and illustrated 2 children’s books after her son was born.

Treatment for breast cancer 2002 caused a change in Joy’s career and gave her time to acquire 2 dachshund puppies. Having intended to bring home only one – Archie and Doug came into their lives and London Pooch began active production of greeting cards inspired by their iconic long shape and wilful personalities included in my redrawing of famous paintings. Dachshunds and Art. Perfect harmony.

Having previously only worked with pencil and paint and galley type it has been
an amazing learning curve to explore the delights of digital illustration. 2020 was indeed an eventful year for Joy and included the publication of her book A Dog’s Guide to Art published by Pavilion. It includes many of my Dachshund artworks.

Joy continues her quest to find perfect subjects for these design classic dogs to sneak into and enhance a well loved painting or sculpture both ancient and modern.

Madame Treacle's studio is a converted hayloft in the heart of the East Sussex countryside, within the South Downs National Park.  

Established in 2012, the designs take inspiration from a variety of vintage sources and fuse this with the vibrancy of contemporary culture. Each has a distinct individual style that embrace an array of art and design influences.

 Sustainability and the environment is very important to Madame Treacle, so they only use FSC certified card stock & envelope materials, biodegradable sleeves.

Mel is a designer and maker. From her London studio, She make a range of happy handmade lights in a rainbow of colours.

Nothing gives Mel more joy, than using traditional crafts techniques to create truly individual items that she hopes will be destined for family heirlooms. Ditch the plastic and let’s celebrate the people, places and times that make us most happy. Whether you are commemorating a new arrival, decorating a child’s room, gifting for a special occasion or just want a light to lift your everyday.

My January Baby is a small collection of handmade plastic-free, planet friendly, reusable products. Products include face wipes, baby wipes, soap pouches, eye masks and more. All of their products are handmade by Helen and team in small batches from a their studio in Kent.

Helen started the business back in 2018 and it has evolved over the years but has always been driven by the aim of reducing plastic waste and unnecessary single-use items. However, they believe that sustainable items should also be a joy to use and brighten your home, which is why they design all their products to be beautiful, reusable alternatives to the disposable items that we’ve all used for so long.

Emma and James, both born in 1973, conceived the workshop in 2003 whilst sat at their kitchen table by the seaside in Brighton.

Inspired by a shared love of cool design and typography. James is constantly busy devising new and ingenious ways to manufacture environmentally friendly, fully recyclable high end stationery pieces from the 1973 workshop.

Emma is the creative force behind Nineteen Seventy Three not only designing new collections but also trawling through visual multimedia platforms, exhibitions and travel, fashion & lifestyle magazines, finding inspiration and spotting new talent. With the likes of Anthony Burrill, Bureau Alice, Carolyn Suzuki, Emma Cooter Draws and Darling Clementine to name a few of their talented brands on offer, as well as their in house 1973 designs. They have something for every taste.

Not at all jack is a wife and husband team that designs and sells quirky greetings cards (featuring a disproportionate amount of cats) and contemporary scene prints. 

It began many years ago following a bet where husband (Mark) decided to try to design and sell more Christmas cards than wife (Beks). This as you can see is not a typical family dynamic and a rather strange competition...suffice to say that Mark did not out sell Beks, but as a consequence of this Not at all jack was born.

ola was founded by Katy in the Spring of 2013. ola is now based in a sunny studio in Bristol. Everyday goods that celebrate pattern and simplicity. Her small team spends their time printing, finishing and perfecting their products. They work on a handful of special projects each year and have collaborated with some of the institutions which originally inspired them, including The Eames office and The Royal Opera House.