About us

It was 1972 when Jim Dickens, my grandfather suggested that I should train to become an upholsterer. My apprenticeship began when I was 15 years old and lasted seven years with a local home furnishing company. For the five years following that, I gained further advanced qualifications which found me teaching upholstery in my early twenties.

However, upholstery is a lonely business; by my mid-twenties I was ready to spread my wings and see the world. I stepped sideways into the world of selling textiles professionally for an international company.

I travelled extensively over those intervening years: bartering for rare, textile documents from the souks of Marrakech; negotiating for days with specialist textile dealers in Istanbul; scouring the streets of Turkish villages searching for interesting carpets and rugs, and sourcing richly embroidered bed covers from India. I was finding and collating old historical pieces and building an archive of patterns.

That archive is a treasure trove: our talented design team continues to be inspired by these pieces today, often updating historical designs for a fresh and original take on today’s interiors.

Our reputation is woven into these classic designs and with our partners of interior designers, leading furniture makers, talented textile designers and professional colourists, we are building a luxury British textile brand both at home and overseas.

We hope you enjoy looking around our website and look forward to seeing you this year.

With best wishes from Jim Dickens.