The story...

 

Gillian, Mom-trepreneur; business owner and mum of three. Her inspiration and devotion to artistry has enabled her to create products which bring the outdoors, indoors. “I received my BA in textiles at John Moore’s University going on to study my Masters at Chelsea College of Art and Design. Religion taught me a great deal about being an artist. It helped to free me from my self-made constraints and improved my creative ability. I went on to work as a community artist and freelance designer in London for fourteen years. I also worked extensively with people in deprivation and addiction, the homeless and in church groups reaching out to people living on the very extreme margins of society. I learnt two very important things: firstly, the art and the activity of producing beautiful objects, can bring about powerful wellbeing in anyone; secondly, creativity could act as a levelling ‘bridge’ between these deprived individuals and the partners and donors who wanted to benefit them

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Gillian Arnold handcrafts bespoke homeware, gifts and jewellery through blending botanical design and preserving wild plants with artistic production skills.

 

The inspiration behind all of their products comes from Gillian’s inventive experimentation with gathering English wild plants and enriching them into patterns with bold pigments, harmonising a balance between nature and rich colour patterns to create exotic and British natural beauty

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Everything they produce is designed and crafted in their retail and workspace in Darlington, England. 

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As a team, they also have a mission to support community regeneration and employment opportunities for young people in the North East of England. They work in partnership with local colleges and universities such as Teesside University, New College Durham and Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form to offer practical training and employment to young people.