Built on a refusal to settle for the bland or mass-produced, HOLMWOOD LUXE was created to bring richness, texture, and unapologetic colour into everyday spaces -crafting slow-made art and objects designed to be loved, used, and passed down.

Heritage, Roots & The Journey

The Historian’s Eye

My journey began not in a modern design school, but in the archives. Trained in my twenties and thirties as a social historian, I have always been captivated by the everyday objects of the past - the incidental interiors in historic paintings, the weave of centuries-old textiles, and the simple but effective joinery of vintage furniture.

There is a widespread misconception that historical homes and wardrobes were drab and muddy. In truth, from the Middle Ages onward, the past was vibrant and alive with colour! With HOLMWOOD LUXE, my goal is to create modern objects with that same permanence, character, and integrity… pieces crafted by hand to carry their own stories and pass those legacies forward into the future.

A Mind for History, Hands for Craft

While I loved the intellectual rigour of history, my hands always itched to make. As a neurodivergent collector of ‘hobbies', I spent decades gathering materials, mastering traditional techniques, and building a repertoire of skills. Five years ago, I finally stepped away from the purely academic and settled fully into a lifestyle of daily creation.

On any given day in the studio, I might be covered in paint, splattered with printing ink, or dusted in stray threads and fluffy fibres - and that is exactly how I like it. I work in natural creative cycles: some weeks, block printing takes complete priority; other weeks, I feel a pull toward textile work or hand-binding. Each process feeds into the next, creating a rich cross-fertilisation of ideas across mediums.

Inside the Sanctuary

The magic happens in my home studio: a space I am continually refining into a dark, cocooning sanctuary filled with painted vintage furniture and deep, inspirational tones.

When I’m in full creative flow, time simply disappears. The mess gets messier, the ideas take shape, and raw natural materials are transformed into unique, enduring treasures designed to bring warmth and beauty into your own space.

Artistic Process & Tactile Detail

Art & Serendipity

There is an immensely satisfying joy in going for a walk in my local area, finding inspiration in a wild plant along the path, and translating its organic form into the textured surface of a lino print.

The true creative challenge lies in taking a three-dimensional, multitonal living form and distilling it into a graphic, two-dimensional composition. Through layering different carved blocks or shifting the placement and ink colours of a single block, no two prints are ever identical. You never quite know what magic will appear on the paper until the block is lifted.

With gelli prints and squeegee painting, I surrender entirely to serendipity and the nature of the medium. The materials have a mind of their own, and my role is to respond to them in real time. The results are unpredictable, fresh, and full of surprising fluid compositions that could never be planned in advance.

Motifs of Natural History

Natural history motifs - botanicals, ammonites, and local fauna - weave their way through my collections in endless guises. Sometimes they appear as direct graphic studies; other times as bold, folk-art representations; and occasionally, the physical plant itself is impressed directly into the plate to record its exact texture.

Ammonites, in particular, are a recurring obsession. There is something endlessly captivating about their tight mathematical spiral and bumpy, fossilised surface.

Heritage Binding & Material Honesty

Books should be built to be used, filled, and kept for a lifetime. I employ several distinct styles of heritage bookbinding, matching each technique to the purpose of the volume:

  • Scribology Journals: Hand-crafted leather travellers' notebooks built on an elastic system, making them infinitely refillable companions for daily life.

  • Artisanal Sketchbooks & Journals: Crafted using traditional binding methods: from exposed Coptic stitching that allows books to lay completely flat, to refined, leather-bound, kettle-stitched volumes.

While mass-produced, off-the-shelf journals rely on synthetic faux leathers (polyurethane) that tear and degrade within months, my bindings use genuine leather, 100% cotton, acid-free cartridge paper, and custom endpapers—often hand-printed in the studio—ensuring they age gracefully and gather a rich personal patina over time.

Transformation over Upcycling: Solid Wood & Statement Furniture

I do not do shabby chic ‘upcycling'. My painted furniture and keepsake boxes are built on the foundation of solid wood, classic vintage pieces with outdated finishes.

Starting with solid pine or vintage hardwoods (never thin, flimsy plywood), each piece undergoes a complete transformation. Using premium chalk paints, custom hand-painted motifs, plush fabric linings, and antiqued hardware, they are elevated from forgotten relics into bold, structural statement pieces designed to last another lifetime.

Aesthetic Philosophy

Unapologetic Colour

My signature palette could never be described as neutral! I naturally gravitate to saturated colours with incredible depth and beauty - peacock teals, fruity pinks and plums, warm golds and mustards, rich burgundies, and forest greens. These are shades that bring an element of richness and luxury to every object, offering warmth and robustness in a world fixated on boring beiges, greys, and magnolias.

To me, deep colour is the antithesis of playing it small and safe. These are colours that take up space. They are visible, they have personality, and they are entirely unapologetic for all of it.

Presence & Tactility

While colour sets the mood, how an object feels in your hand is equally vital. I’m not particularly interested in flat surfaces. An item needs to feel inviting, warm, friendly, and tactile.

Again, it all comes back to presence. Some objects are designed to fade quietly into the background, but here you will find those which are designed to be held, used and enjoyed daily.

Maximalist Intent

To me, maximalism is not about clutter; it is about living life intentionally, joyfully, and in a way that brings warmth to the soul and interest to the eye. It is nourishing, nurturing, and cocooning.

I want you to buy the pieces you fall head-over-heels in love with - and to keep falling in love with them, year after year. I want you to smile every time you catch a glimpse of them across a room, feeling elevated above life's daily trials and tribulations, even just for a moment.

Beige has its place in the world… but not here.

The Collector & Brand Mission

For Those Who Appreciate Depth

HOLMWOOD LUXE is created for the thoughtful collector who views their space as a personal sanctuary… someone who seeks richness, tactile depth, and objects with a soul.

…A collector who is drawn to full-bodied, saturated colours that wrap around a room like a fine, velvety red wine. Who craves the rich luxury of real texture: the soft, cosy nap of a plush velvet fabric, the grounded weight of solid wood, or the natural patina of genuine leather that gathers its own tales as it ages. Who values the patience, skill, and human touch behind handmade art - embracing the tiny quirks and unique character that mass production can never replicate.

Unboxing Everyday Delights

When a parcel arrives from our studio, I want the experience to be a moment of genuine ceremony. From the moment you untie the packaging, there should be a rising buzz of anticipation, quickly followed by pure delight as you handle a piece that was made slowly, intentionally, and strictly for you. These are not seasonal items meant to be hidden away; they are designed to become your new favourite possessions, bringing you back to admire them again and again.

Slow Art for a Fast-Paced World

In a dizzyingly fast-paced world driven by consumerism, our living spaces have become cluttered with piles of disposable, mass-produced “stuff" that drains our energy and minds.

I believe it is time to strip back to the things that genuinely bring joy, intention, and tactile pleasure into daily life. I honour slow craftsmanship, heritage and experimental techniques, and materials that grow more beautiful with time.