An Interview With Shani Beadle From Etoile-Home.Com

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This month’s Luxaflex® Q&A is with a firm favourite of ours – Shani Beadle the founder & multiple hat wearer of all things at Etoile-home.com

Originally from Vancouver, Shani has lived in London since 1998 when she came to work as an intern at Elle magazine. This led her to a working life as a fashion and interior stylist, contributing across a broad spectrum of national newspapers and monthly glossy magazine titles.

Shani launched étoile Home in 2006 and in the eight years since, her ethos and approach to design has stood strong and fast believing that your home should be a reflection of your life and personality. A beautiful, colourful and creative place that you can live and play in, étoile Home’s modern and fresh take on retro prints that sing with statement colours embodies this.

Back in August 2014 we produced custom made roller blinds in étoile fabric which looked stunning on our sunny photo shoot. Shani took time out from her busy schedule to tell us more about her thriving business.

Custom made Luxaflex® Roller Blind in étoile Home Cadiz Aubergine fabric.

Luxaflex® (L): Tell us about how you got started with your designs and brand

Shani (S): I always wanted to create a home wares brand in some capacity. After years of working in fashion it was a refreshing change. I loved the idea of using the concepts of layering pattern, colour and texture to the home the same way you would a great outfit.

I am not really sure how it actually came to be, one minute I made up some bespoke cushions for friends, the next I had a website with them on it and soon after I decided I should make them from our own original fabric produced by étoile. It was never my intention to design the prints myself but lack of cash meant I had to. Now, I love designing the prints.

L: How would you describe your brand to someone who’s not aware of you?

S: A fun, bold and modern surface pattern, textiles, soft furnishings and accessories design company.

L: We’ve read that you were a fashion and interior stylist. How much do you think fashion influences interior design and vice versa?

S: One does influence the other, sometimes it might be subtle, I believe it generally starts with fashion and trickles down to home furnishings. I look to fashion for ideas and inspiration when I start designing a new collection.

An Interview With Shani Beadle From Etoile-Home.Com An Interview With Shani Beadle From Etoile-Home.Com

L: You have stockists from London to Beijing, Switzerland to the US. Do sales of your designs differ from country to country?

S: Not really, our wash bags have been universally successfully but some prints are more popular in one country over another.

An Interview With Shani Beadle From Etoile-Home.Com An Interview With Shani Beadle From Etoile-Home.Com

L: Describe a typical working day for etoile-home

S: After I drop my daughter at school, I rush home put on the coffee then start my day. Emails, order packaging, factory visits, product shoots, sales calls, no day is ever the same when you wear as many hats as a business owner as I do.

L: Within your own home or studio, what is your next project?

S: We are looking to upsize our house to include a standalone studio space within it.

An Interview With Shani Beadle From Etoile-Home.Com An Interview With Shani Beadle From Etoile-Home.Com

L: What are you most proud of when it comes to your work so far?

S: I am responsible for not only the design but the production and marketing of the brand. The brand has grown organically over the past 7 years and it is still trading after the recession with a collection that I am really proud of. I have collaborated on a collection of prints for Uniqlo women and children’s wear and I have created bespoke ranges of wash bags and iPad cases for Anthropologie.

L: Are there any other products you’d like to put your name to?

S: I would love to do a range of ceramics, stationary and one day furniture.

L: Which of your designs is your personal favourite?

At the moment I love the Maricopa print in the petrol/maize combination but I am already on to thinking about the next collection of prints.