With her roots in Farnham, Katie Turnbull has turned her love of tweed into a thriving business through creative flair

Originally published in Surrey Life magazine December 2010

With her roots in Farnham, Katie Turnbull has turned her love of tweed into a thriving business through creative flair

Interview by Janet Donin

A chance find of some beautiful tweed fabric rolls gave designer Katie Turnbull a whole new perspective on her work.

Until two years ago, the 27-year-old was successfully making beautiful fashion garments, but working with the tweed inspired a new creative direction into homewares.

“You don’t need to shoot or have a pile in the country in order to have a little tweed in your life!” she laughs. “I didn’t want to think about boning wedding dresses any more. I just wanted to have fun and be more creative.”

And so, with her collection of cute mice, inquisitive looking ducks and the floppy-eared dachshund doorstops, together with a range of cushions, Tweed with a Twist became a reality. “The process of cutting patterns and hand finishing the products is endlessly enjoyable,” she says.

This season, the beautiful Scottish tweeds are in soft shades of blue and green and neutral brown, and the range of products has expanded to include notebooks, breakfast cosy sets and covered coat hangers – perfect for Christmas gifts.

In my view...

What do you love most about your home?The memories I have from wonderful times spent in it.

Tell us the best thing about your job?The great sense of achievement that I feel at the end of a busy day.

How do you like to relax?Taking my Jack Russell Lola for long walks in Richmond Park with my fianc� Jonny and spending long, lazy weekends with my family.

What couldn’t you do without?If I spend longer than two weeks away from my sewing machine, I start to go a bit crazy!

What’s the next thing you will buy for your home?A new home actually!

Katie’s products are available at Maison Blue in Thames Ditton (tel: 0208 398 5585). For more information about her work, visit her website at www.katiemosa.com