Country Homes & Interiors – September 2019

Poppyinher

studio,wherethe

designsare

brought to life

myselfandimportantly,tobelieve in myself.

Itwasgreatsupporttohave.’

Poppydida lotofmarketresearchon

whereherproductscouldsell.Localgalleries

wereanobviousplacetostartandshe

spokewitha numberofdifferentmakersfor

recommendations.‘Therearea goodnumber

ofartisansandcraftershereandwe’reallvery

supportive.I hada numberofpeopleI could

askaboutwherewasthebestplacetobe

seen,whatthemark-upwasandif galleries

supportedandpromotedartists,’explains

Poppy.‘WhenI firststartedI hadn’tenvisaged

whereelsemyaccessoriescouldbesold,

butaftergoingtotradefairsmyeyeswere

opened.’Realisingthesalespotential

went far further than just the local market,

researchingdifferentshoppingexperiences

andtheoverseasmarketwashugelyexciting

anda greatwayforPoppytogether

homewaretoa wideraudience.‘Therewere

concessionsareasindepartmentstoresto

exploreandthegrowthinmailorder,

especiallybeyondtheUKwhichhasbeen

extremelysuccessful,’saysPoppy.

Beginningwithsewingmachine-embroidered

piecesincludingteacosies,bagsand

cushionsforthefirstfewyears,beforegoing

intoprintedtextiles,it wasclearthatPoppy

wouldneedtogetextraworkersonboardto

keepupwithdemand.‘Earlyon,mysister

helpedmewiththesewingsideofthings,’

saysPoppy.‘I wasn’tsureatfirstabout

someoneelsereplicatingmywork,butI

showedexamplesandnooneelsecouldsee

thedifference!Evennowwiththepeople

whoworkinthestudio,I cantellit’snotmy

hand,butI’mtheonlyonewhocan.’

There’sbeenlotstocelebratealongthe

way,fromopeningtheshoptoemailsfrom

happycustomers.Thelatesthighlightis the

launchofa newcollectionfeaturingStMichael’s

Mount,a popularattractionoffthecoastof

Cornwall,accessiblebyfootatlowtide.Poppy’s

islandsketcheshavebeenmadeinto

accessorieswhicharesoldintheisland’sshop.

‘It’ssucha celebratedandiconicplace,which

localsareveryproudof,soit wasthrillingto

beaskedtoworkwiththem,’saysPoppy.

Asthecompanyandfamilyhasgrown,

thereis nowa teamof 12 – plusdaughter

Bibba,whoregularlyvisitsthestudiowithher

dad.Poppyis stillthecreativeforcebehind

thecompanyandproducts,aswellasbeinga

mum.‘I usedtowonderaboutmakingthe

companybigger,buthaverealisedthatit’s

therightsizeandit’svitalthatmyfamilyand

thebrandcancohabit,’saysPoppy.‘I hope

we’veseta goodexampleintheprosof

doingsomethingyouloveand having a

healthyworklifebalance.’

PoppyTreffryShop, 42 ForeStreet,StIves

TR26 1HE, 01736 795494, poppytreffry.co.uk

What I lovemost about mywork...

❝

THERESPONSEWHENPEOPLECOME ANDVISITTHE

SHOP.THEYARE JUSTTHRILLEDTO SEE MYPRODUCTS UP

CLOSE. IT’S LIKE THEY ARE IN A SWEETIE SHOP!

❞

62 COUNTRY HOMES & INTERIORS