Could you tell us a little bit more about yourself and what made you start the business? 

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Hi, I am Petronella Hall, married at 19 to my soul mate, we have 2 children both now at uni. I had careers in fashion both design and retail until I had my family. Once they were at school I was fortunate to begin an illustration degree at UCA in Maidstone - I loved it, planning to write and illustrate children’s book. 

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While there I fell in love with printing and printed my bedroom curtain fabric in my lunch break. I graduated and went to work for a graphic design agency - everything was done on a computer - it just wasn’t me, I missed the mess the physical mark making where accidents can turn into interesting designs and I yearned for the tactile feel of the fabrics. A friend saw my curtain fabric and suggested I design interior fabrics - and so it began.

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I met with Stephen Lewis of Lewis and Wood and he said to put it on wallpaper - so we did! The best bit of advice I was given.

I still draw or paint my designs by hand, scanning them in to digitalise them. I have the attention span of gnat which means I love to try new things and experiment. I have play days to experiment, one day I made a giant rabbit in sticks in a local field, another time we poured water and iron filings on fabrics and left them in the garden for a couple of weeks just to see what effects we would get.

 

It’s really important for me to have this time as the pressure of the business can squash my creativity.   I now also design for one of the big four commercial wallpaper companies creating their digital designs. I feel so fortunate - to be doing my dream job - I’d encourage anyone to never give up on a dream. 

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What inspires your work? 

 

Observation - I’m not a great listener, but I look, inspiration is all around me, most often outside, even in a traffic queue I noticed the landscape colours fragmented as I looked through metal pylons as I drove past. Colour - I love colour, the tertiary colours, hues,  blue that’s nearly mauve or

Brown that’s been bleached almost white by the sun, weathered colours have a beautiful softness they're so hard to recreate.

 

 
What is the most important thing for you in your business?

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If you get stuck for colour combinations or it’s just not working for you, go back to nature - she never gets it wrong. 

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Based In: Aylesford, England, United Kingdom

Product Range: Artisan Wallpaper & Cushions 

Website: petronellahall.com

Instagram: @petronella_hall_fabrics