In the studio with Anna Platts
Our Made well Made here ranges is a result of a nationwide search, for the finest craftspeople in the British Isles, to feature at our home and garden store throughout the seasons. We are delighted to introduce you to illustrator Anna Platts, who designs pretty homewares which include kitchen textiles, lampshades, and cushions.
Tell us a little bit about your studio/workspace. Where is it located?
We converted a lean-to attached to our kitchen into an office space for me – it’s small but perfectly formed and more importantly, it has a door to shut against the chaos either or both of my young sons might be creating in the rest of the house! It also has a high ceiling and wonderful light…
How long have you been there? What is the view from the window?
We have been here since 2013 and although the only window is an internal one, I can gaze up at the sky through the skylight or out of the back door to the garden which frames a Tree Peony – not very impressive at this time of year but covered in yellow blooms in the early Summer…
Describe a typical day in the studio…
Once I have got my boys to school, I might go for a long run over the hills around Exeter to clear my head then it’s a large cafetiere of coffee whilst I get down to work on whatever brief I am currently working on or dealing with some other aspect of my homewares business…
What sounds would we expect to experience when visiting your studio? Music? Radio? Podcasts?
All of the above! It totally depends what mood I’m in but I do listen to a lot of Podcasts as well as radio and if I’m in the mood for music, BBC Sounds have some great mixes – I’m particularly into Classical Focus at the moment.
Organised, or organised chaos?
Very organised! As a mum of two young sons whose husband works away at sea for long stints, I have to be to juggle business and motherhood!
When do you work best?
To be honest it’s whenever I can fit it in around my boys but I probably work best when my morning has panned out as outlined in my answer to the third question! Once I’ve got them in bed though, I quite like popping back in my studio with a coffee (or glass of wine!) to attend to any bits that really need my attention.
What’s the most used item in your studio?
I would have to say my Fine Liner pens which I use to do most of my very detailed Toile de Jouy briefs, closely followed by my favourite HB 2&4 soft pencils!
What are you working on right now?
I’m just finishing off one very complicated and detailed Toile brief with an Arabian theme for a client in Saudi, soon to be followed by more Toiles for a client in the US. I also have more bespoke ranges in the pipeline, in a similar vein to the design created for Long Barn so watch this space!
Do you like to invite visitors?
It’s so small I don’t have room! But sometimes my sons (particularly my eldest who is 7) will pop in to see what I am up to…
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Keep going!
” I absolutely loved working on the collaboration with Long Barn. They had a strong vision of the colours and floral design she wanted and we worked seamlessly to create the beautiful design “
