Lane Crawford: What’s the philosophy behind the brand?

Frieda Gormley: We launched House of Hackney because we felt there was a gap in the market for a homeware brand with a point of difference. The inspiration was very much rooted in traditional British design, so for us it was really important that the brand would be made in England, and that’s become a big part of the brand’s DNA. As a backlash against anything disposable and throwaway, our furniture is built to last a lifetime so the quality is really important to us.

LC: The brand is famous for its bold prints. Where does the inspiration come from?

FG: A running theme throughout the collections is nature, the idea of bringing the outdoors in, and we’ve become synonymous with leaves, florals and animal prints. The original aesthetic was quite Victorian, but since then there have been influences from Art Deco and Art Nouveau, 1930s Hollywood to the Regency period. The brand has a distinctive look, but it’s always evolving.

“A running theme throughout the collections is nature, the idea of bringing the outdoors in.”

LC: House of Hackney is one of a long line of idiosyncratic London brands. To what extent does the city inform your designs?

FG: Hugely. It is the biggest source of inspiration, especially Hackney – which is a really interesting place to be at the moment. It has a Victorian past and since the late 1990s has been the destination for a high concentration of British designers, creating an internationally renowned creative hub. The wonderful characters that inhabit the area very much inform our inspiration and our designs.

How would you define Hackney style?

FG: It’s very much ‘anything goes’. Hackney is a real melting pot of cultures, of different types of people. With that British eccentricity permeating through it, it’s a place where you can’t help but get inspired by the street style.

Why do you think people should be bold in their home-design choices?

FG: I think it’s about being surrounded by beauty, but it’s very much up to each individual person. People should furnish their home to the tune of what they’re comfortable with – but it’s always nice to have some excitement in your interiors.

“Hackney is a real melting pot – it’s a place to get inspired by the street style.”