bluebellgray: flowers to the people
bluebellgray: flowers to the people
bluebellgray has gone from the kitchen table to big time homewares brand in a very short space of time. Abby Trow caught up with Fi Douglas, artist, designer, company founder and lover of flowers to find out how she’s coping with success and why her designs have struck such a chord
Fi Douglas trained as an artist and textile designer at the illustrious Glasgow School of Art. She paints floral and abstract designs and describes her style as modern. bluebellgray.com
‘I had the idea of transferring my watercolours to fabric which I could have it made up into cushions to sell,’ she explains. ‘I wanted to make cushions where the fabric looked like a painting.’ And it’s been that way ever since because all bluebellgray’s collections start life as a Fi Douglas watercolour painting.
‘I’m not one for small tight designs, I like my flowers to be large and painterly.'
It’s not hyperbole to say bluebellgray has become an international brand, selling in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as in the UK through John Lewis, other retailers, its own website and showroom, opened last year in Glasgow. ‘Yes, it’s all very exciting,’ says Fi, who thinks she owes a lot of the company’s success to being taken on by Brits’ favourite department store in 2011.
But just being in John Lewis isn’t, of course, a guarantee of retail stardom. You need skill, authenticity and an understanding of what your customers want. Skill and authenticity are very much at the heart of bluebellgray. Fi loves to paint flowers and is very skilled at painting them - she studies them closely so she can capture their essence and likeness in her own unique style.
‘Well I do think we make things that people like to look at - that said our customers are mostly women. But everyone loves flowers because they’re very beautiful and uplifting,’ says Fi. ‘Flowers have always been present in art and have that universal appeal.’
If you think statement walls have had their day, well Fi begs to differ. She’s a fan and points out that a stunning wallpaper can work like a piece of art - and it’ll be much cheaper than an oil painting!
bluebellgray’s colour palette is also very pretty and gentle and easy to incorporate into modern or more traditional homes. ‘I like pastel shades and I do love pink - I don’t know why it gets such as bad press - and I like colours to have that slight.. how can I put it... edge of dirtiness to them to knock them back a bit. I do have occasional pops of neon but really primary colours are not really my thing,’ says Fi.
Fi says environmental considerations are important to her and the company. She grew up in Fort William in the Scottish Highlands and has that inherent love of nature that comes from growing up in it. So it’s perhaps not surprising to find that her favourite fabric is linen, it being one of the most sustainable fibres. ‘I love the way linen takes dye, the way it drapes and it wears so well. It’s eco-friendly and breathable and is generally fantastic.
‘And what’s important to me is to make products that last. When you buy one of our wool rugs, for example, with a bit of care it should last you a lifetime.’ Manufacturing locally is important, so cushions and fabrics are made in the UK, while rugs are digitally-printed in the Netherlands.