Creating Your Sanctuary

One of the best parts of our day is checking the messages in the morning and hearing from our customers. We love to see how people have styled their homes with our products. It’s even more exciting when we hear from customers who have used our Cream fabrics, especially when they also send through photos, so we can see what beautiful spaces people are creating.

One morning we received a lovely email from Fiona, a customer who wanted to share some gorgeous pictures of her amazing houseboat. We just had to follow up with her and Fiona kindly shared her story of how she created this beautiful space.

Fiona tells us that she first fell in love with Cream Cornwall after visiting a friend who had a number of Cream items dotted around her cottage, such as our lampshades. Whilst on a trip to St Ives she sought out Cream Cornwall, and after falling in love with everything on display, she eventually walked away with a much loved cobalt blue throw in the seahorse design.

Fiona explained that she had grown up in Brighton, surrounded by “…the salt and sea air, the sounds of the gulls and the waves” and that this coastal life was very much a part of her identity. After a divorce, she met her partner, Mark, and moved to be with him in rural Buckinghamshire. Fiona tells us, “I couldn't have been further from the sea, and my goodness I missed those sounds and smells, but mostly the calm being near the water I was used to. Exploring the area, I found myself walking on the tow paths and soon grew a fondness for the canals, the narrowboats and wildlife; it was so peaceful.” It was after stumbling upon some widebeam canal boats for sale that the seed was planted; Fiona and Mark took the plunge and bought their own canal boat to turn into a home.

Fiona remembers, “Now that little shop in Cornwall with all those beautiful fabrics and kitchen and homewares had stuck at the back of my mind. When the boat was found and then bought down to us, it lent itself to needing some colour and something a little unusual. I loved the idea of creating a costal themed boat, but not one full of lighthouses, life rings and the like, but a coastal theme with a quirkier feel, something a little more unique. The design that stood out for me in your store was the bright reef scenes and particularly the gorgeous octopus."

Digging out that beautiful throw to place on the seating area at the back of the boat with some cushions, I found your website details in the bag. It started with oven gloves and a tea towel. Other bits and pieces were found in other shops to compliment those first purchases, such as the diving helmet we turned into a lamp, the ship’s light and propeller clock. Back to Cream and we ordered some glasses. Then my birthday came and I asked for a dinner set. In the meantime I had ordered my sofas to match my tea towel and oven gloves! The fabric on those two things was just so beautiful, but also cheerful. It makes me smile when I look at them. I made my own cushions for when the sofas arrived, so I could afford to continue with the theme. Klarna afforded some other bits and pieces to finish the look. When winter came we were squabbling over the Seahorse throw so we ordered another one to come to live with us, so we had one each!”

At Cream, we love our designs for their beauty, elegance and uniqueness and know that your home is your sanctuary; somewhere to unwind, relax and feel at peace. We asked Fiona her thoughts on the Reef design and she said that she loved, “…the patterns, the colour, but more than anything it reminds me of the sounds, the smell, and the peace that the sea always brings to me. Every time I walk into that room I feel like I’ve created the perfect, calm space that reflects my love of the sea and colour.”

She goes on to share, “When I bought this boat I had had a couple of horrible years. I missed my surroundings and was in rental for while whilst I sorted out my settlement. I found it very hard not having a place to call my home properly and the rental that I’d had went on the market. Having the boat and bringing it to life inside makes me feel safe and peaceful mentally. I work in a difficult environment as a funeral manager and as with so many of my colleagues, we have been through very hard times during the pandemics. Many of us suffered mentally, so it is more important than ever to have a place to come home to that makes you get a warm and fuzzy as you come through the door or as in my case, the hatch.”

As a brand it makes us so happy to hear our goal in practise. You don’t need to have the entire range of a collection, or every product from the same store, you can create your own style using key pieces.  

From the beginning, we wanted to create a brand that allowed its customers/followers to have the chance to use the designs in the way that they wanted. This is why we organise for our designs to be printed onto organic cotton and linen, and then make the fabric available by the metre. As you might know, sourcing manufacturing and production as locally to us as we can is one of our goals and we were so pleased when we were able to keep the fabric production within Britain.

We’re so grateful to Fiona for sharing her experience with us, and hope that it’s inspired you to turn your space into your own sanctuary, whatever that looks like. We love to see our pieces inside your homes, so remember to send pictures through; it brightens our day.  

 

Rebecca and Allison X