The Fox in the Attic

From My Studio Within My Slightly Wonky House On The South Coast Of England, Within Sight Of The Sea, I Spend Most Of My Days Running My Own Little Business, Called The Fox In The Attic. I Share My Home With My Daughters Penelope And Beatrix, My Musician Husband, And A Very Naughty Mackerel Tabby Kitten Called Keats.

The Fox In The Attic Started With Handmade, Embroidered Soft Toys Back In 2011. I Wanted To Find Something I Could Do That Would Grow And Enable Me To Work For Myself, And That Hopefully In The Future, When We Had Children, I Could Do From Home. I Dipped My Toe In By Experimenting With What I Could Make At Home That People Would Respond To. After A Very Short Crash Course In Sewing And Embroidery, Which I Found I Took To Quite Instinctively, I Started Making Soft Toys For Babies And Children, With Colourful Patterns And Designs – A Theme That Has Stuck Right Through Down To Today.

Part Of The Reason For Moving From London To East Sussex In 2013, Was To Help Enable Me To Have A Proper Go At Making The Fox In The Attic My One And Only Full Time Business. So Using My Acquired Skills Over The Years In Graphic Design, Illustration And Painting, I Began Producing Watercolours That I’d Turn Into Designs On Rattles, Cushions, Prints And Cards. With My Business Quietly Ticking Over, I Decided To Take A Big Leap In 2017 By Finding A Company Overseas To Print My Watercolour Illustrations On To Muslins For Mums And Babies. This Proved To Be A Massive Success, And Since Then Year On Year My Business Has Grown To Where My Muslin Ranges Are My Biggest Sellers. In 2019 I Did My Very First Trade Show, And I Am Very Proud That My Products Are Now Sold In Lovely Shops All Over The World.

Although People Often Think I Employ A Lot Of People, I Am In Fact A One Woman Band. I Come Up With The Ideas, Paint The Illustrations, Design The Patterns, And Photograph My Products For Promotion And For My Website Myself. I Deal With All Customer Queries And Customer Service, I Hand-Pack All My Orders, And My Lovely Husband Is My Post-Boy!

The Creative Ideas That End Up Being On My Muslins Have Roughly Followed A Thematic Pattern That Began In Childhood, From A Natural Love Of Everything That Was Around Me Growing Up In South Africa – Flowers, Insects, Birds, The River, Animals…Pretty Much Everything! Coming Up With Ideas Is Almost Definitely My Favourite Part Of The Process, And So Far Lines And Themes Have Included Space, English Woodlands, Tropical Flora And Fauna, African Safari, Sea Life, River Life, Farmyard, And Towns. I’ve Also Produced A Range Of Items Based On And Inspired By Biscuits And Classic Ice Creams, Which Proved Very Popular – Especially As Prints, And Even Wooden Baby Teethers. Mythical Beasts Such As Unicorns Manage To Find Their Way In Alongside Real Animals, Complimenting The Overarching Theme Of Colour And Fun That Pervades All My Work, Helping To Appeal To Mothers And Children Alike.

My Inspirations And Curiosity Are Fired By Travelling. Some Of My Top Destinations Are Sicily (Where I Was Married), The Greek Islands (Where We Honeymooned), The Landscapes And Food Of Cornwall, The Culture And Buzz Of Paris, And The Art And Atmosphere Of Amsterdam. I Am Usually Always Planning My Next Trip Or Holiday, And Find Doing So Equal Parts Stimulating And Relaxing. Artists I Love And Whose Style Creeps In To My Ideas Include Frida Khalo, Vincent Van Gogh And The Inimitable Beatrix Potter. Stately Homes Across Britain Provide Endless Sources Of Wonder And Creative Reference Points For My Work, From Illustrated Manuscripts, To Medieval And Tudor Tapestries, To The Now Ubiquitous Yet Indispensable Arts & Crafts Movement Spear-Headed By William Morris. Victorian Botanical Illustrations, Old Postcards, Museums, Antique Jewellery And Flea-Markets Are All Places That Also Help To Feed My Ideas.

I’m So Happy To Be Making My Life On My Own Terms As A Woman, A Small Business Owner And A Mum. The Challenges Are Just As Great As The Rewards And Satisfaction, And As Long As It Stays That Way I Know I’ll Be Happy.