Oxfordshire Limited Edition – July 2019

80 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition|June 2019

growingmovement.Notonlyisveganismon

therisebothintheUKandworldwide,but

salesofveganproductshaverisenrapidly.

Butthere’smoretoveganinteriordesignthan

simplycuttingoutanimalproducts–it’salso

aboutourhealthandwellbeing.

Siobhan,whostudiedartanddesignatthe

famedChelseaCollegeofArtandthenread

historyofartatEdinburghUniversity,tells

me:“Thereareotherconcernsinourhome,

liketheriseofallergies.

"Somepeopleareallergictowoolor

feathersordustforexample,andasthmais

ontherise.Andthesepollutants,well,we

breathethemin.Scientistsarenowsaying

ourskinabsorbsthetoxicchemicalsfrom

suchfabricsanditcouldbeleadingtoarise

inallergiesandpeoplebeingsensitiveto

chemicals.”

I

tcertainlydoesmakeyouthink,

listeningtoSiobhanandwatching

justhowpassionatesheisaboutthe

environment(Loatesgrewupinthe

diverseculturesofSouthAfrica,the

MiddleEast,EnglandandIreland,allof

whichhaveheavilyinfluencedher.Also,her

threeyoungchildrenchampionenvironmental

causes,campaigninglocally).

Siobhanhadworkedforseveralwell-

knowninteriordesigners,includingTessa

KennedyandDouglasMackie,before

establishingherowninteriordesigncompany

in 2010 ,afterleavingLondonandsettlingin

Gloucestershire,butitwasherawarenessof

veganismthatreallygotherthinking.

Sheisabigbelieverinsourcingvegan

productsviatherightcontactsandnowhas

awidedatabaseofveganmaterialproducers

whoshecanworkwithtocreateincredible

andenvironmentally-balanceddesigns.

“They’veactuallydevelopedsynthetic

leathersthataregrownfromfungi!”Siobhan

tellsme.“Really.It’samazing.Andpineapple

skinisanothersourcetocreateafabricwhich

wecanuse.”

Loateshasalwaysbeeninterestedin

design.Artisticfromanearlyage,withalong-

heldpassionfordrawingandcollectingwell-

designed,beautifulobjects,Iaskherwhat

adviceshewouldgivetosomeonethinking

aboutredesigningtheinterioroftheirhome.

“Livewithitforabit,”shesays,

describingherownhome-styleaseclectic

andcomfortable,withherlivingroomcited

asherfavouriteroomattheCotswoldpad

sheshareswithherthreelivelychildren(and

oneevenlivelierpuppy)becauseshesaysitis

hersanctuary.

“Workoutyourwayoflifeinthehouse.

That’swhatIlikeaboutdesign–howyour

environmentisareflectionoflife.Myjobisto

marrythetwo.”

Loates,wholikescolourandcookingand

searchingforantiques,isoneofthoserare

interiordesignerswholistens,avitalqualityin

anygoodinteriordesignprocess.

“Partofvegandesign,”Siobhantells

me,“istolookatthingsinyourhousethat

01453299453

siobhanloates.com

surroundyouandtoreallylistentohow

theymakeyoufeel,thatwayyoucanmake

decisionsthataregoodfortheenvironment

andforyou.

“Wellbeingandwhatweuseinourhomes

isdefinitelychanging.YearsagoIusedtosee

deerskinrugsonthefloor,say,butnowwe

areaskingifwewantadeadanimalinthe

middleofourroom–andtheanswerisno.

“Peoplearemuchmoreresponsiblenow,

theconsumerismoredemanding,andit’snot

justabouttheendproduct.It’saboutwhereit

comesfrom,ensuringaproduct,forexample,

ismadebyadultsandnot 14 - year-oldchildren

whohavelosttheireyesight.”

Indeed,buyingethicallyisveryimportant

totheserviceSiobhanprovides,Loates

constantlystrivingtoofferthemostethically-

sourceddesignsolutionsshecan.AndIthink

it’sheradmirableethicscoupledwithher

knackforlisteningandherpassionforthe

environmentthatmakestheinteriordesign

servicesheprovides–frominitialmeetings

withaclientandcreatingadetailedbriefto

establishingasharedvisionforthefinished

result–sosoughtafter.

Weendourchattalkingaboutour

favouritewaytowinddown(Siobhanprefers

gymnastics–I’msuitablyimpressed!)and

herfavouritethingtodointheCotswolds

(“ProbablyadogwalkonMinchinhampton

commonwithfriends,”shetellsme,“thenoff

tolunchonarestaurantterrace,withacrisp

whitewine”).

AndasIwalkoutintothedappledStroud

sunlight,where,inthehighstreetbeyondis

takingplaceaneco-demonstration,Ismile

andthinkhowamazingitisthatSiobhan

Loatesisnotjusttalkingaboutveganism,she

puttingitintoaction.She’sputtingintoher

interiordesign.Andshe’sputtingitintothe

wellbeingofourhomes. L

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