Well hello everyone, how are you? Thank you for joining my FIRST EVER BLOG POST! Firstly - shout out to @fayecornhill for pushing me to jump from my comfort zone and start my own blog. I thought, since this is my first one I would tell you a little about me and how I became an award winning wedding stationer.
This is me Freya - graphic designer, small business owner, mum, wife, nappy changer, dribble catcher, imagination maker & everything in between! I sometimes forget about 'me' in the craziness that is life with 2 creative self employed parents and 2 tiny humans to raise, so I will endeavour to focus for enough time to sum ‘me’ up.
Art & design have always been a part of me, my grandparents on both sides were creative, my granny a renowned illustrator, my great grandfather an editor for Penguin books, my grandad a carpenter, my mum a crafter and textile extraordinaire, father an amazing ceramicist and my husband Steve is an incredibly skilled cabinet maker so I like to think it runs through my blood to be creative in some way or another. Imagine the Pictionary games!
From country roots...
I grew up in a small village outside Bath in Wiltshire, where I made some life long friends building treehouses and den's in the woods, and mud pies in the garden. Thinking about it now my love of stationery started from an early age when I used to create 'membership packs' for my besties at primary school which were made up of goodie bags containing membership cards with secret logos, coded notes, special gifts and exciting goodies. The arguments it would cause if you 'weren't in the club!' were rife. The love of creating 'suites' of stationery is still strong, seeing how everything comes together to create a feeling of excitement upon opening, and I guess this shows an easy progression into creating bespoke wedding stationery suites.
Education & Work...
I have a 1st class degree in product & furniture design but transferred these skills after a mesmerising induction into the minute details of graphic design by the then head of graphics at my first job in Richmond, London... almost 19 years ago!! I was transfixed by the way he moved text / lines / details a mere millimetre sometimes and the whole layout would simply sing... I was hooked (it also seemed a lot less daunting than designing 'said laptop' I was currently working on!)
Over the next decade I spent my time working for some of the top London consultancies, from 'The Brewery' Richmond, headed by Paul Stead working with clients such as Esteé Lauder, Dell, Galaxy and Wrap to FWdesign where I was head of branding and senior designer working to create some of the most innovative street furniture and mapping for London, Bath and Dublin to name a few. Then freelancing for the amazing Harrison:Fraser and Portland Design in the heart of the London creative hub working with some of the most amazing brands, creating identities for Lola's underground speakeasy bar in the iconic London Hippodrome Casino, The Jockey Club race courses and restaurants and shops onboard the fabulous Tallink Cruise Liners.
{ Working on City Wide street signage and maps for the City of Bath with the team at FWDesign where I was Senior Designer and Head of Branding for 5 years }
After 10 fun filled, champagne-friday fuelled learning curve years I took the leap of faith and started up my very own company... The Brand New Studio LTD which is my mother company specialising in graphics and brand identities for small and start up businesses... and Deabill & Quince my newly named, fresh faced sister company specialising in beautiful quirky storytelling wedding & event stationery. I’ve been lucky enough over the years to have worked with some incredible companies, couples including A-listers, creatives, designers and fellow suppliers - some of whom have since become great friends.
Family Life...
{ We got married at Northbrook Park in Surrey on Bonfire Night 2016.
I wore Jenny Packham 'Hermia' and Steve wore a red velvet jacket see more here }
I met my husband Steve over a game of 'ring of fire' at a mutual friends Christmas party in London, and after a 3 month long trip to Vietnam with lots of video calls, he moved into my flat in Surbiton. He ignited my passion for mountain biking, and until our two little ones arrived we were often heading for Wales, or the South Downs in hunt of a good trail. He proposed on my birthday in 2015 and on bonfire night 2016 we tied the knot. We had our first baby Rowan, in October 2017 and Hafren came along pretty swiftly in April 2019 so I had nearly 2 years on the down low enjoying maternity leave. Last festive season I relaunched Deabill and Quince and although Covid has some what dampened plans I am excited to see where the next decade of weddings and events takes me.
What Next...
I now work from a purpose built home office at the end of our garden in Oxfordshire, overlooking the gorgeous ridgeway. Steve has a workshop 10 minutes away and Rowan is set to start preschool at the local school 2 minutes away in January! So apart from the dreaded 'C' word, things are looking on the up. I feel energised after the re-launch of Deabill & Quince and I feel like after 10 years I am finally finding my 'stride' in business and work-life balance.
I literally cannot wait for weddings to be back on the cards again properly and to once again work with my amazing couples, but in the meantime I am concentrating on pushing the graphics side of things while weddings are on the lo-down. Needless to say, i'm so excited about what the next decade has in store. Onwards and upwards, over and out good people x
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