Louise Roe on her stunning homewares collection, Sharland England.
During lockdown, fashion broadcaster and journalist Louise Roe had an epiphany. ‘I did actually suddenly feel like a bolt of lightning struck – and I thought right, this is what I want to do’. Cut to just over two years later, and her fabulous homewares brand Sharland England is getting ready for its third Christmas. Inspired by and named after Louise’s great-grandmother, it is a nostalgic, wicker-woven nod to the artisans of the past, whilst celebrating those of the present. ‘It’s kind of blending that traditional, cultural aesthetic with what I’m trying to create’.
Louise’s beautiful, unique designs spill out tantalisingly over of the pages of the equally beautiful website, and I want it all. Especially the Bunny bench. And don’t get me started on the napkin rings. Who knew a napkin ring could be so lusted after, but when they are hand-crafted and come adorned with colour-popping little wicker grapes, strawberries, cherries, oranges, pears or lemons, it’s impossible not to go giddy. For Christmas, of course, there’s holly.
‘I love coming up with festive ideas and this year, we’ve launched quite a few. We’ve just brought out a bespoke box - full of three votive candles - painted by the artist Rachel Bottomley. It was really fun collaborating with her. It’s got a really lovely thick, oil-painted floral pattern, in our rusts and mustards. I love incorporating those tones into a Christmas palette, so it’s a bit less obvious than your usual silver and red, you know.’
There is nothing obvious about Louise’s aesthetic. She’s been running her hugely successful lifestyle blog, Front Roe, for 10 years. A celebration of her favourite fashion, beauty and lifestyle moments, Louise’s fans have long been emulating her innate sense of style and pizazz, so Sharland England is just what we’ve all been waiting for.
I’m missing a huge part of the story, however. How does one go from pipedream, to trunk shows in LA and Dallas (over 70% of the customer base is in the US) and travelling to Italy or Spain to find the right artists to bring her creations to life? ‘I started talking to people in the industry that I knew, and was lucky enough to get a lot of good advice. But I took my time, I didn’t rush into it. Old friends from fashion, perhaps work in PR or events, were so connected that they then introduced me to interior designers or interior editors and journalists’. She laughs. ‘Anyone who would talk to me! I was all ears, to be honest. And I’ll always be grateful for the people who were a friend of a friend of a friend, who really didn’t know me at all but took the time out of their day to give me advice.’
Now based in London after 11 years in LA and a stint in the English countyside, Louise is impressively across every aspect of her business – ‘I’m really in the thick of it! But I also enjoy it a lot’. She rises at 5 and works for a few hours before her daughters Honor, 5, and Inès, 2, surface, bringing with them a very different phase of the day. Her husband is TV director Mackenzie Hunkin, and since meeting at work, that professional collaboration has never stopped. He helps out with her shoots and ‘I just really love not only the styling, but also finding great locations that feel right for the brand’.
I wonder what someone like Louise, whose job is so tapped into the mainframe, does to switch off. ‘Phones are a real problem, not just for me but I think for this generation. We’re all reading and listening to podcasts as much as we can on how to detach’. She leaves her phone in another room when it comes to dinner and bath-time for the kids, ‘otherwise it just continues to ping at you, especially because we’re working a lot with America and that’s when they’re waking up’.
Pilates and podcasts provide the relaxing moments; sometimes she wants to learn, sometimes to switch off and laugh. Always, however, she makes time for her friends.
‘I think social life is the first thing to drop off when you’re trying to run a business and a family, but I do still see mates probably once a week or so for a dinner or drinks. And I find that really great not just to relax, but also when you share – what’s that saying? A burden shared – and then you think, oh everyone’s going through the same stuff, it’s not just me. And everything’s going to be alright!’
One thing’s for sure, armed with those napkin rings, it really is.
November, 2023
