Homegirl London pays homage to Sky Siouki. Sky creates enchanting luxury silk cushions and velvet cushions along with lovely lavender bags and stationery gifts – linen notebooks and blank greeting cards. Her debut collection, ‘A Curious Kingdom,’ brings together fantastical ideals with dreamscapes filled with mythical unicorns, adorable kittens and vintage family photographs. It’s a whimsical wonderland which literally sprouted from Sky’s imagination. Her illustrations are enhanced through digital printing using vivid colours and bright pastels. Choosing to work with the most sumptuous fabrics – silk dupion, cotton velvet, cotton satin and juniper linen, her pieces make stylish gift ideas for women. I caught up with Sky Siouki to find out more.
Silk Cushions – Jackal Party (front) and The May Queen (back)
Meet Sky Siouki
Sky gained a 1st Class Honours in Textile Design at Nottingham Trent University where she graduated in 2013. Key work placement and jobs were with Corita Rose, Romo and Freya Swimwear. Sky tells me about her decision to launch her own venture – “Throughout my degree, running my own business had always felt like a far off dream. It was something I knew I wanted one day but wasn’t quite sure how to go about getting. For a long time, I was baffled by where I would even start. By the time I’d reached my final year and gained some valuable experience from work placements, I began to realise that having my own business wasn’t necessarily something I had to wait for. The more I thought about it, I realised why not now?”
Sky Siouki Procter
While working for Romo over the summertime, Sky just couldn’t seem to shake off that niggling feeling that she’d never be satisfied if she didn’t at least try going it alone. She explains – “My work is very quirky and distinctive so I found it difficult trying to fit myself into someone else’s brand image. It’s hard to say what the defining moment was but it was most likely a conversation with my dad when we agreed it’s better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all. Either that or when I was approached by my first stockist, Folds, having seen my work at New Designers. I remember jumping about with excitement after that phone call.”
Kitten Lavender Bags
So that was it, the company was officially launched in November 2013 at the Harley Gallery Christmas Arts Market. Sky works from home in Bristol – “I wanted to live here because there’s a great arts scene and always plenty of events going on. I love that even though you’re in a vibrant city there’s countryside all around and there always seems to be somewhere new to discover. Plus it’s not too far from my hometown in Dorset.”
Cherub Notebook
Sky works mainly alone making all the products herself, although she does have help with the cushions from a seamstress. She’s the first to admit that she can be pretty stubborn which is why being her own boss suits her down to the ground. Sky reveals – “I like being in charge of all the decisions and if I need a field day for research I can just go out and do it. Admittedly there are of course times when I need a second set of eyes on something but with parents who both have design backgrounds help is never too far away. My dad has always been an amazing sounding board; I wouldn’t be here without him.”
Sky Siouki Collection
Sky talks me through her debut collection – “It’s called ‘A Curious Kingdom’ and has been inspired by an eclectic range of sources. It brings together fantastical ideals and dreamlike landscapes along with elements of heraldry and nostalgia. I wanted to create a collection that was enchanting and whimsical, with each design adding to the story of my very own wonderland. It’s a kingdom which has sprouted from my own imagination. Although the collection is largely based on fantasy, influences have come from photography, retro fifties colour, abstract painters, collage and other textile designers.”
Amongst the Heather Silk Cushion
Animals and wildlife have always had a big influence on Sky’s work, she explains – “I think nature is incredibly beautiful and I feel I learn a lot about an animal as I sketch in every detail. This project made me realise that if I really apply myself I can draw just about anything, that’s something I didn’t know about myself before. I love to challenge myself and it’s such a proud moment every time a drawing is complete. The mythical horses are my favourites, they took forever but I’m so proud of how magnificent and powerful they look.”
Squirrel Lavender Bag
One slightly unusual source of inspiration for Sky was from a rural Italian cemetery. She explains – “Each stone had a framed portrait and a brightly coloured bouquet placed on it. The contrast of the old sepia photos against the flowers was really striking and brought a fresh feeling of life to the images. This inspired me to use the old family photographs in some of my designs.”
Kitten Tales Silk Cushion
Timorous Beasties is a brand that Sky has always looked up to. She tells me – “I think it’s fair to say they’re pioneers in the world of interior textiles, daring to break boundaries and be completely original, which is incredibly inspiring. Their illustrations, use of colour and choice of fabrics are always so stunning and bold. Their recent Birds N Bees design is a particular favourite of mine – slightly less edgy than their famous Toile designs but beautifully illustrated.”
Eagle’s Landing Silk Cushion
An important aspect of the business is ethical sourcing and manufacturing. Sky tells me – “Everything is from and made in the UK. Using digital fabric printing has a much lower environmental impact compared with screen-printing. I use recycled envelopes and only natural fibre fabrics. I dislike seeing fabric wasted so try to use every inch up. If I’m sent a misprint I still like to try and make something of it, such as mini lavender bags as freebies for an event.”
Buy Sky Siouki Products
You can buy the products from Sky Siouki. To give you an idea about price points – Cushions are £85 – 145, Notebooks £15-16.50, Lavender Bags £12-15 and Contemporary Greeting Cards are £2.95. Sky also offers bespoke versions of her designs using a customer’s own family photograph. This can be made to order printed onto the velvet cushions.
Author: Homegirl London. Photographs and Thanks: Sky.
