Laura Dunkley is the director of From Britain With Love, the home of beautiful British living, selling British made homewares and gifts. Laura is inspired by midcentury and Scandinavian design, as well as well-crafted products with clean lines. She formerly worked as a national magazine journalist for 15 years, and established her own firm Lasso the Moon, before joining forces with From Britain with Love ahead of a rebrand and relaunch in 2013. She now offers great British craftsmanship, beautiful designs and vintage, plus contemporary finds. So we are proud to bring you the Designer Insights of Laura Dunkley.
Image Credit: 1) Mulk 2) Nigel Turner Design 3) Staffordshire Pottery 4) Stoneware Mug 5) Tom Raffield
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1) In your own words describe your unique style and creative aesthetic?
Clean, simple lines, beautiful natural materials and crafted pieces that combine function with beauty. I love to mix Scandinavian, vintage mid-century and contemporary design.
2) When starting a new project, what is your creative process?
I always start by leafing through the mountains of visual material I compile constantly. Moodboards are really helpful for fine-tuning the idea. Then it’s the fun bit of organising shoots, props, location etc.
3) Out of the creative people you have worked with, who is it that you respect and admire the most?
I was lucky enough to work with publishing legend, Felicity Green (Fleet Street’s first female associate editor), for a while at Redwood Publishing and found her hugely inspirational – fiercely intelligent, effortlessly chic and still very down to earth. I also spent time working with designer and ex Country Living Editor Francine Laurence, who taught me a lot about honing messages and visualising ideas in a simple and strong way.
4) When looking for inspiration is there a particular thing you do to get inspired?
I am a very visual person so Pinterest can be a great source of inspiration for me. As can looking through beautifully photographed and well-designed magazines. I always buy masses to bring back from travel abroad.
5) What has brought you to this point in your career? And what is your advice for people looking to follow in your footsteps?
I have always loved finding beautiful and exciting things and hearing the stories behind them. My contacts in the world of design, photography and digital media were invaluable in helping me to create my first website in 2006. I would say to anyone wanting to start up a similar business, that it’s important to invest in decent photography and branding as well as being prepared to put in many hours of long, hard work to make your vision a reality.
