Designer insights with Emily Humphrey

Emily Humphrey is an independent, luxury and print-driven interior brand offering soft furnishings and vintage furniture from Yorkshire. Emily began working as a freelance designer back in 2012, creating prints and designs for a variety of fashion brands worldwide.  This then developed into fulfilling her life-long aspirations of bringing her prints into people’s homes. Her brand strives to create unique pieces with personality, rather than ‘matchy-matchy’ interior pieces. So we are proud to bring you the Designer Insights of Emily Humphrey.

Designer Insights - Emily Humphrey

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1) In your own words describe your unique style and creative aesthetic?

Intricate prints developed using my love for vintage ephemera & hand drawn illustration. Designed to be ‘print-greedy’, ‘quirky’, ‘eclectic’ & with a personality of their own.

2) When starting a new project, what is your creative process?

An image, a vintage find or even a word can start the ideas flowing. From this I starting collating imagery; scanning-in, drawing, cutting-out & then start montaging on the computer.

3) Out of the creative people you have worked with, who is it that you respect and admire the most?

Sir Paul Smith following my 3.5 yrs designing w/wear prints in-house for them. He loves what he does & it really shows in his continued involvement in all areas of his business. His office is AMAZING packed to the rafters with books, bikes, pictures & his collection of unusual shaped items his fans have managed to address & post him from all around the world.

4) When looking for inspiration is there a particular thing you do to get inspired?

A trip to ‘Sheffield Botanical Gardens’ across the road from my studio or to a vintage market tends to do the trick. Something new in bloom or an amazing Victorian scrapbook that is bursting with print inspiration.

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 started out after my degree working in-house for Paul Smith & Ted Baker designing their w/wear prints. This was vital for me to learn about the industry, how it works (technically too), pick up advice & tips from colleague’s. It’s scary as you become fully exposed under your own name/brand so keep the confidence & positivity going to drive you to success.