Boogle aka Lara – to say I am excited to have you and Izzi on the show today would be an understatement, so I am not even going to try and gloss the fact that I am jumping! Yes…jumping!!
Ladies thank you so much for joining both myself and the CCT readers on todays show I am so appreciative! So, for our CCT readers that don’t know both of you – can you start off by telling everyone a little bit about yourselves please and thank ya…
Both: Hello everyone! We are Izzi and Lara from IzziRainey which is a homeware and interior brand! We design and manufacture all of our products within Norfolk and the rest of the UK.
Loving the Norfolk roots! Ok, so you’ve both just finished uni! How does it feel to be in the working world?
Lara: Yeah, we both graduated from university this summer. Izzi went to Glasgow School of Art and studied printed textiles and I was at Hull doing Drama and Film (big difference to what I am now doing).
It feels fantastic to be in the working world! We are so excited about what the next few months have to bring for the brand and us.
I am so excited for you as you have accomplished so much already! So you’ve just launched the brand IzziRainey! Where did the brand develop?
Lara: Well, Izzi has been studying textiles for the last four years at Glasgow, so we decided to develop her final graduate collection of fabrics and turn them into homeware and interior products.
Izzi’s final collection from Glasgow was designed to be a lifestyle brand, so it seemed natural to continue this idea together back in our home county of Norfolk!
What a fantastic idea! How did the collaboration come about? Tell us more…
Both: Well, we have been great friends for the last 10 years having been at school with each other so we decided to team up and create IzziRainey. We have been talking about this for a while now so it is exciting that it is all up and running!
Both: IzziRainey is a homeware and interior brand based on a farm in the heart of Norfolk. We have a strong passion for British design and manufacturing, so the IzziRainey ethos is to keep all our manufacturing within the UK! Some of which is done by the IzziRainey team on the farm.
IzziRainey products embody a unique and modern design vision, the designs have a distinctly modern and edgy nature that mean they work just as well in a cool country house as they do in contemporary urban setting.
I have seen a few snaps of Lara on a sewing machine getting stuck in which is brilliant! Very impressed La! So Izzi…you do all of the designing! Where do you draw inspiration from?
Izzi: Having grown up on a farm I wanted to take inspiration from where I have spent all my life. My prints are a culmination of the unexpected colour found on the farm combined with the bold and tentural shapes taken from the agricultural environment. The family farm is now our base for the office and studio of IzziRainey. It is a rich, interactive and inspiring environment for our constantly evolving business.
So you live and work on the farm! That’s insane – How do you find that?
Both: We love it! We have converted The Old Dairy on the farm to become our studio and office, so we have a fantastic space to work in! The farm is a great place to be in terms of Izzi’s designs and it is also entertaining having the chickens walking in and out of the office!
That is hilarious! I have seen a few snaps of the office and it looks gorgeous! What a fab job you have done gals! AND your school friends who’re now working together! How amazing is that?! Is it all fun and games?
Both: It is great working together! We always say we don’t know how people go it alone. We do have a great laugh together but we do get a lot of work done don’t worry!
I completely agree! It’s always so much nicer being able to share moments with people even if it is tears of joy or sadness! More joy though please! BUT tell us…who is the bossy one?
Both: Both of us definitely have our moments (haha)
Lara why are you kicking Izzi under the table? Only joking haha! So how is it all going so far?
Both: It is going well, we are really enjoying it! We launched our website last week which was so exciting and we are now getting prepared for all the fairs that we are doing before Christmas.
The website looks amazing can I just say! It must have made everything feel so real! Where are you stocked ATM?
Both: We have just got our products into a fantastic homeware shop in Holt, Norfolk that is called Uniquely Eclectic. They sell a great mixture of British designers and some of the fantastic Scandinavian furniture that is so popular at the moment. We hope to be in more shops over the coming months.
That’s fantastic ladies congratulations! It is only the beginning which means lots more to come! Where would you love IzziRainey to be stocked?
Both: There are lots of shops that we would LOVE to see the IzziRainey brand in. There is a great little shop in London called SMUG where we would ideally love to have our products! Also, because Izzi has such a strong connection with Glasgow we would really like to stock some of our products in the Glasgow School of Art Shop. Then obviously the big dream is John Lewis! Fingers crossed one day it will happen!
I will be keeping my fingers, toes, eye balls and whatever else I can, crossed for you! What’s coming up for the brand? What do we have to look forward to?
Both: Well…we have some new smaller products coming out in the next few months which is really exciting so look out for those! Also, we are looking into producing ceramics with the IzziRainey prints on! We will be at lots of fairs over the next few months, including Handmade in Britain which takes place from the 13th November to the 17th November in Chelsea Town Hall so please do come along!
Wow ladies you have lots coming up! I will definitely be attending the Handmade in Britain event don’t you worry! I wouldn’t miss it for anything!! Why did you choose to go in to homeware?
Lara: Izzi’s graduate collection was designed to be a lifestyle brand! As she only had a year to create the ‘IzziRainey’ brand she only got as far as the homeware. But in the future we want to continue this idea of creating the ‘IzziRainey lifestlye’, so people are wearing IzziRainey and using IzziRainey within their homes.
I have to ask…would you ever consider children’s wear?
Yes, definitely! We would love to use our prints on children’s clothes!
That’s the answer I was looking for! Woaaaah…things just got even more exciting!! AND last but not least because it seems relevant – what’s your favourite animal?
Lara: Most definitely Highland Cows! Izzi’s Dad has highland cattle on the farm so we both love them!
Lara…what would Porscha the cat have to say if she could hear you now? (Haha)
Aww ladies it has been so nice having you on CCT today and hearing all about your exciting journey so far! I am so proud of you already and cannot wait for what the future will bring! I am already looking forward to the Handmade in Britain event in November! Tickets can be bought from the website at http://www.handmadeinbritain.co.uk/
Junior Style are very lucky to currently be holding a competition in conjuction with IzziRainey and to be in with a chance of winning a set of 3 of their super stylish Notebooks ENTER HERE
Fancy a wee bit of shopping? Why not check out the IzziRainey website and discover some fabulous designs! http://www.izzirainey.com/
Join me next week for lots more gossip, chinwagging and loving! Big hugs and kisses <3 Kate xox
