Homegirl London pays homage to Bluebellgray. This lifestyle collection features mood enhancing bright and fresh watercolour florals and abstract designs. You’ll find everything from cheery cotton duvet covers plus pretty pillowcases, curtain and upholstery fabrics, cushions, wool rugs, tableware and food serving trays plus so much more. The Scottish based business really does go the extra mile to bring sunshine into our homes. These colourful masterpieces are perfectly orchestrated through the use of premium fabrics, from luxury linen cushions to 100% wool rugs. If your home needs a wash of colour, this is the brand to seek out for upbeat and beautiful home accessories. I caught up with the owner, Fi Douglas, to find out more about Bluebellgray.
Nevis Cushion Collection
Meet the Bluebellgray Designer
Creativity started at an early age for Fi, she reminisces – “I loved to draw and paint when I was very young so I think something creative was always going to be in my future.” She enrolled at the Glasgow School of Art to explore this artistic side which led to textiles. Fi explains – I knew that painting wasn’t quite the right fit somehow though and my best friend Cait was across the road in textiles and encouraged me to try it out. I made the switch and she was right – in textiles I found my true home. Something about it that just clicked for me and I’ve never looked back!”
Fi Douglas
Fi explains how the company started back in July 2009 – “After working in the industry for a couple of years I knew I had to take the plunge and start out on my own – I had all these ideas and I just needed to realise them. I literally set up working from my kitchen table with just six cushions. When I began, I did everything myself but luckily now I work with a wonderful team which allows me to focus on the design side of the business. I paint every original design by hand in the Glasgow studio and see this right through to the finished product.” Fi is still very much involved in the direction of the brand, she tells me – “I make sure that I attend meetings with new stockists and distributors and also direct the photo shoots.”
Tetbury Cushion and Sanday Throw
Fi explains the name behind Bluebellgray – “In the springtime in Scotland, bluebells carpet the floor of the forests and it looks so beautiful! I love these little bright blue flowers, they are so optimistic and I adore their colour so I decided to use them as part of my brand name. The ‘gray’ part refers to the colour of natural linen cloth I often print on. I wanted the brand name to reflect the designs and be happy and uplifting.” Located in the West End of Glasgow, Fi is lucky to have a bright and sunny studio – “It’s a really lovely space to work in. I have lived in Glasgow for over ten years now, since studying here. It was really important to me to keep the business here and try to create some opportunities for others and I now employ ten people. I’m proud to be a Scottish based brand!”
View the Bluebellgray Collection
Bluebellgray is described by Fi – “It’s all about feel good design – bright and fresh watercolour florals and abstracts. The collection is growing and today we have a wide range of products so you could say it is a complete lifestyle collection! I’m a really tactile person so all our products are made from beautiful quality materials from linen cushions to the 100% wool rugs and the Birchwood trays.” As for design inspiration, Fi explains that this comes from nature and taking the time to stop and look a little closer and take in the world which is something her eighteen month old son does –“He looks at everything with wonderment and joy whether it’s a leaf, pine cone, twig or stone.” Fi is also inspired by illustrator Quentin Blake – “His watercolour drawing style really appeals to me and he is my all-time favourite artist – that big blue watercolour cauldron in George’s Marvellous Medicine really sparked something in me!”
Philippe Fabric
The design style is quite free and based around watercolours, Fi explains – “Sometimes when you let those colours really do their own thing they bleed into each other to create the most beautiful colours and patterns. Really my passions are colour and flowers so they’re always going to be the core of my design – they just have the ability to lift your mood and that’s what design is all about for me. With new printing technologies available I can achieve a high level of detail which captures every brushstroke so the finished article looks just like the original painting. I believe when we launched our rug collection, two years ago, they were the first rugs in the world to be digitally printed onto 100% wool which was very exciting!
Abstract Rug
The Red Rose Collection really started the ball rolling for the business – “It’s full of oversized bright and fresh watercolour blooms inspired by hazy summer days spent outdoors with bees buzzing and fresh cut grass in the air. Anemone and Red Rose are still best sellers.” That season Fi also launched Abstract – “This was been such a pivotal design for me. It’s really inspired from the organic watercolour marks that appear as part of my natural painting process. When I paint I always test colour swatches on the side of the paper and somehow they seemed too pretty to disregard so Abstract was born!”
Abstract Fabric, Picture and Cushion
Bedding works well with the designs; Fi explains further – “Bedding is a great canvas for my art because it is such a large surface. It’s also been really exciting being able to do something new with the co-ordinating pieces which form part of that collection. This season we have some beautiful chunky throws which really add a new dimension. I love seeing different textures and patterns layered together.” See a picture of the Sanday Throw at the top of this article.
Taransay Bedding
The tableware ranges were launched last season, Fi tells me – “This was a dream come true for me. I’ve been collecting ceramics for many years now, from local designers to more traditional finds from holidays and travelling. We were lucky enough to work closely with one of the best shape designers in the UK and having an input in every stage of the design process was so important to me. We also worked with highly skilled craftspeople to make sure the hand painted designs really were a true reflection of the original and I am so delighted with the final outcome. It really is a beautiful every day range which offers something a bit special.”
Tableware
This season Fi is excited about her biggest launch to date – Nevis Collection. She tells me – we have an update on the abstracts with a colour palette inspired by the colours of the Nevis range, close to where I grew up in the Scottish Highlands. This is about really bright primary colours bursting through the snow and I wanted to capture that. I spent so much time on those mountains when I was little!”
Nevis Cushions
The new season florals were inspired by a visit to HRH Prince of Wales’ wildflower meadow in Highgrove, Tetbury late last summer. Fi says – “Those gardens were so beautiful and really resonated with me. All very natural with such a gorgeous mismatched array of colours and blooms, all wild flowers – it was such a special trip.” This print looks amazing on the bedding which you’ll see below.
Tetbury Bedding
With spring in the air, this is a great time to fill your home with all things bright and beautiful. Make your space a happy place with some colourful and delightful home accessories. Take a look at the extensive product collection for inspiration and treat yourself to some watercolour wonders.
Buy Bluebellgray Products
To find out more about this designer and to buy the products you can visit the website Bluebellgray. If you don’t live in the UK and want to buy their products do check out the international stockists list which you can find on the website and if you get stuck just email the studio and they will be able to help you out. To give you an idea about prices floral printed mugs start at £9 and extra-large digitally printed rugs are £1400. Bedding retails at £90 for a double duvet.
Author: Homegirl London. Photographs: BBG. Thanks: Fi Douglas and Wendy.
