{"id":2262,"date":"2019-02-08T12:03:17","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T12:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/stamford\/?p=363"},"modified":"2019-02-08T12:03:17","modified_gmt":"2019-02-08T12:03:17","slug":"local-homewares-lifestyle-designer-sophie-allport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/business\/local-homewares-lifestyle-designer-sophie-allport\/02-2019","title":{"rendered":"Local Homewares & Lifestyle Designer Sophie Allport…"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sophie’s Sheep range.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An exclusive interview with Sophie Allport, the mum who really understands why quality matters in the kitchen…<\/h3>\n

You have a favourite tea towel, right? Everyone has a favourite tea towel. I certainly have a favourite tea towel. It\u2019s a Sophie Allport one, from the Stamford based designer\u2019s Pheasant Collection.<\/p>\n

Not just because it\u2019s a great looking product. Nor because it\u2019s commensurate with the look and feel of the countryside in this part of the world. Rather, it\u2019s a favourite of mine because it\u2019s such a high quality product. Our kitchen is routinely a place where cookware, utensils and linens come to die. And yet, despite the best efforts of the present Mrs Davis to stain, shred, immolate and extirpate this fine example of kitchen linenhood, still it soldiers on.<\/p>\n

Like a 45cm x 65cm Royal Marine – or an SAS soldier hewn from 100% cotton – it survives culinary disaster after boil wash after near miss with a gas hob and comes back for more every time, retaining its colour, its absorbency and remaining free of holes, frays and other battle scars.<\/p>\n

Sophie herself insists on quality, and it\u2019s not surprising given that her expectations are the same as ours; a product that will survive family life. Each year Sophie launches about ten new ranges – five for spring\/summer, five for autumn\/winter – give or take a range or two. So, when we were invited for a preview of the designer\u2019s spring 2019 designs we couldn\u2019t resist a look… especially as this year will offer some exciting new developments for the Bourne business, which moved into new premises around a year ago.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re an international business, but still very much based in the area?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. I was raised in Potterhanworth – a little village in Lincolnshire – and attended Lincoln Minster School before moving to pursue a Graphic Art & Design degree at Leeds Metropolitan University. I left in 1994 and moved to London where I met my husband Chris.<\/p>\n

And you began your career as a freelance illustrator?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

I loved to paint and would take on the odd commission to fund my way through university. I even sat on pavements in central London sketching and selling the odd piece to tourists. That was in-between trying to get my work in front of illustrative agents and publishing companies. I had a friend who worked at the Country Living Show and in 1996, she asked me to be a demonstrator. I produced a few cards to sell at the show and it all began from there.<\/p>\n

Eventually they were selling before I\u2019d even produced them, and I was picking up work in advertising. One of my most memorable early commissions was for Harrods and they used my illustrations in their window displays. Working from the spare room of my London home I began producing a few mug and card designs of my own, as well as for royalties.<\/p>\n

But it was a family tragedy that was the turning point?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2004 my father suffered a stroke. We\u2019re a close family and it felt like our world came tumbling down. My brother Jem and I were devastated. It acted as a catalyst to set up our family business and Sophie Allport Limited was born.<\/p>\n

That was when was Sophie Allport was founded?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, in 2007. And then the world… just… exploded! I\u2019m still the creative element behind the business and Jem is happy to be behind the scenes but honestly, he\u2019s terrific and I can\u2019t sing his praises enough.\u00a0His role in the finances, logistics, sales and distribution of our ranges enables me to just concentrate on what I love… creating beautiful products.<\/p>\n

How difficult is it to grow the business?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

The popularity of our ranges has helped to grow the business naturally and steadily. What has been more of a challenge, though, is to keep the family feel of the business intact, to remain true to our core values. And also, to produce volume without sacrificing quality.\u00a0It wouldn\u2019t sit comfortably with us, for example, if we produced products featuring animal motifs without enfranchising ourselves in the protection of the natural world.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we\u2019re exploring alternatives to leather for our new bags and pet products, and why ranges like our Cheetah and Elephant collections – inspired by our childhood holiday to Africa – include a donation to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) with each sale. Likewise, our Woodland collection was produced in collaboration with the National Trust with financial support to help them to support their ongoing conservation projects.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re mindful of recycling too, and that it\u2019s better for the environment and for our customers to make products which are made to last, rather than being designed as disposable items.<\/p>\n

How large is Sophie Allport as a company?\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

In October 2017 we had to move from our old premises where eight small individual warehouses were causing a real logistical headache. We moved to a former brewery in Bourne which provided 35,000sq ft of consolidated space.<\/p>\n

We moved just before Christmas which was a real nightmare at the busiest time of year for us, but it was necessary to ensure we could work efficiently. We\u2019ve 60 members of staff now, with six creatives in our design studio and over 40 ranges. Each range has between 70 and 120 different products – so there are about 3,000 different lines across the company.<\/p>\n

We have over 1,300 stockists which makes us proud, but not as proud as the knowledge that we\u2019re retaining our family culture in the company. We host a Tuesday morning meeting for the whole company and everyone is included. That\u2019s because no department works in isolation, everyone is enfranchised; we\u2019re a complete team.<\/p>\n

But despite the company\u2019s growth, you still design in the same way?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes! I have to ensure my time is well-spent, but I timetable in opportunities for me to go home and sit in front of the wood burner with the dogs at my feet and a mug of coffee. That\u2019s still the way our ranges are designed. I\u2008love the process; it\u2019s like the cream on top of the milk in an already really enjoyable role.<\/p>\n

I bring my designs in and they gradually evolve into a finished piece created in pen and watercolours which are digitised onto the computer and composited. The whiteware – our mugs and so on – are then hand-finished in Stoke-on-Trent which is fiddly but gives them a quality finish.<\/p>\n

Have you tried your hand at that?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yes… it was so difficult, it takes real skill to get the finished product perfect. I\u2019ve tonnes of respect for the steady hands who can produce perfect products over and over again, I was all fingers and thumbs!<\/p>\n

Is hand-finishing necessary for quality?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Definitely. Many products are mass-produced now, and it would be easy to scrimp on things like materials, but I\u2019m a mum and a wife myself, so I know how well a mug has to be made in order to stand up to breakfast each morning; to endless dishwasher cycles and the\u00a0occasional knock or tumble.<\/p>\n

Likewise, the quality of our cottons and laminated oilcloths and our canvas bags are such that they\u2019re designed to be used first and to look great thereafter.<\/p>\n

What are your newest products?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Brand new and in shops by the end of February, we\u2019re launching a range of dog toys, leads and beds. We\u2019ve two labradors – a black lab called Mabel and a fox red lab called Florrie – who have tested them to the point that other products would have been destroyed.<\/p>\n

Again, we\u2019re still a small enough company that the dogs or children you see in our images are members of our family or those of our friends. We love our dogs. They\u2019re a part of the family, so we\u2019ve made sure that our dog leads will last a lifetime, with a neoprene-like rubber on the inside of the collars to ensure they\u2019re as comfortable as possible too.<\/p>\n

What other ranges are you launching this spring?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve five adorable new collections. My favourite is Peony. They\u2019re easily my favourite flowers and I really miss gardening throughout the winter months, so it was a bit of a treat to myself to remind myself of spring and to produce a range with voluminous floral motifs and magnificent swirls of pink and white.<\/p>\n

Dragonfly is a collection on a dark blue background. I think we\u2019re moving away from beiges and taupe backgrounds and back towards\u00a0 some strong colours, so I\u2008really like the collection\u2019s deep dramatic backgrounds. There\u2019s also a unicorn collection which is designed for little girls who love rainbows and pretty things!<\/p>\n

The two final ranges we\u2019re really looking forward to launching, though, are Speedy Dogs (whippets, greyhounds and lurchers) – and Spaniels (springers, cocker spaniels and King Charles spaniels).<\/p>\n

Are you inundated with suggestions for new subjects to paint?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely. We receive so many requests and pictures of people\u2019s pets. I can\u2019t just create collections with animals I\u2019ve no connection to though. Spaniels was inspired by a neighbour\u2019s King Charles puppy I used to walk as a girl. We didn\u2019t have dogs when we were young and I doted on this puppy.<\/p>\n

Do you design for a particular market?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Never. I\u2008don\u2019t paint to satisfy a market, I only ever use what I like as a barometer and gauge the team\u2019s opinion. I\u2019ve gained experience only through listening and improving, and you gain a gut feel for what will work not just in general terms but within each range as well.\u00a0Certain ranges suit certain products too, so we\u2019re anticipating the pet products line will be really popular in our two new dog-themed ranges.<\/p>\n

Are you expanding the number of products within each range?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

For the first time we\u2019re launching a range of hand washes and hand lotions, which will be sold exclusively through Waitrose, from our own website and in our Stamford shop.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also started to produce our own jumpers with simple motifs on the back and bags in a manmade leather substitute with blocks of bolder colour like mustard yellow and coral. Our most popular products are mugs, tea towels, oven gloves and aprons, but we\u2019ve diversified a great deal with each range we\u2019ve produced.<\/p>\n

Which ranges are the most popular?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

It changes from season to season, but we created Bees 10 years ago and that has remained a best seller. Hare and Flamingo are very popular, but in the winter months Highland Stag and Pheasant are really popular too.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s another new arrival this month?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Hopefully. We\u2019ve created a beautiful range to celebrate the birth of the Duke & Duchess of Sussex\u2019s first child. It\u2019s a lovely design with teddies and little footprints! The birth of a royal baby is always something the whole country can celebrate.<\/p>\n

Which of your own products couldn\u2019t you live without?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t fall asleep without wearing an eye mask! They\u2019re a bit Marmite – you either love them or hate them, but as someone who can only sleep in total darkness it\u2019s a comfort thing; very much my must-have product!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also delighted to be putting our pet ranges to the test and even I\u2019ve been surprised by just how much rough treatment they\u2019ll stand up to. Mable is renowned as a destroyer of dog toys, yet our new ones stand up well, with a squeak built into them plus a rope through them too so your dogs can play tug-of-war with each other.<\/p>\n

What other changes will you be making in 2019?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Having moved to our new premises last year we finally have the warehousing space and office space we need for the scale of business we\u2019ve reached.\u00a0But the other reason for relocating was to create a new showroom here to show off as many products as possible both for our retail but also our trade customers.<\/p>\n

Presumably you\u2019re a keen cook too?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

I do love cooking but nothing too elaborate. I\u2019m a wife and mum to boys who are all rugby and cricket mad, so Sunday roasts are a family ritual. We have a lot of casseroles and stews in the winter too.\u00a0Warm puddings are a must, too. My signature puds or desserts are a chocolate bread \u2018n\u2019 butter pudding and when it\u2019s warmer, Nutella tiramisu, which the whole family adores.<\/p>\n

Everyone knows your name, but do you still have a bit of anonymity in this part of the world?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My name is better known than my face. I was amused on a trip to Stamford once when I took my purse out of my bag and a lady commented how nice it was. I politely acknowledged the compliment and blushed with pride inside because she obviously didn\u2019t know that I was the designer!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m quite glad to remain anonymous though. I think I\u2019d find it rather disconcerting if I was recognised everywhere I went, and the reward for me isn\u2019t celebrity, it\u2019s simply the fact that so many people love our products and designs, and enjoying having them in their home and using them every day.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Based in Bourne with a retail boutique on High Street, Stamford, Sophie Allport is a designer of products for the home and for families. Her new ranges are Peony, Dragonfly, Unicorn, Speedy Dogs and Spaniels which will appear in store, at retailers and on www.sophieallport.com as Pride goes to press. For product information call 01780 751044.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bedspread from Sophie’s Woof range.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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