Meet our design team

New House have always employed the very best of British design talent and our current team is headed by Melanie Darwin, with Charlotte Farmer and Laura Fletcher adding their amazing skills. Each have a specialisation, but as we've all been together as a team so long, everyone contributes equally to the projects New House undertake.

 

 

Melanie Darwin RCA

After a 1st class BA Honours in Textile Design, Melanie studied Printed Textiles at the Royal College of Art in London. Perhaps her 'life changing' moment came on a work-placement at an Indian textile design studio, watching the artisans carving wooden print blocks and applying their designs onto textiles by hand. They encouraged Melanie to experiment and to keep trying new things.

Inspired by this and back in England, Melanie carved leather into simple shapes that she used for block printing. At the same time hand-dying and stitching panels of fabrics together to create bespoke roller blinds with block prints on top. She was showing her blinds at 100% Design London when I was bowled over by the beauty of her work and asked if she could help at New House?

Ever since Melanie has been at the centre of New House's thinking and design. Not only in creating new blinds, braids, pulls or prints, but in editing collections and colouratuion too. Along with Charlotte Farmer, Melanie has created our unique photography and helped built New House's image.

Melanie has great creative energy and a unique way of designing. She created Asha by simply punching a card with a knitting needle to to make the pattern and often uses cut leather as a printing medium. :

 

Current projects :    Melanie is currently working on NHT's two new websites and on new products.

Laura Fletcher RCA

Laura studied textiles at the Chelsea College of Art and Design before earning a place at The Royal College of Art (RCA) London, Europe's most prestigious design college to study woven textiles.

Before graduation Laura was recruited by the Trend and Colour Forecasting Industry (and still works for the London branch of Peclars Paris today). However it was at the 2005 RCA Summer show that New House were so impressed by Laura's weave and colour work that we asked if she could help redesign our braid and trimmings collection on the spot? Happily she accepted and Laura has worked with us for over 13 years now, having a huge input into the colour, print and weave of New House.

As well as helping out during the photography of our latest collection, Autumn Gold is one of her designs :

 

Laura has also been one of our most creative designers when it comes to braids and pulls, even having one she designed named after her - Fletcher Braid :

 

As well as work for New house, Laura also creates some amazingly luxurious woven cushions, throws and other homeware products in trademark stripes that are available from New House or Laura Fletcher Textiles

Charlotte Farmer

Charlotte is our amazing illustrator and studied at Cheltenham College of Art before doing an MA in Communication Design at Central St. Martins, London.

Along with Melanie Darwin (who joined NHT at the same time) Charlotte has styled New House’s photography and catalogues ever since. Her sophisticated relaxed style and handwriting have helped turn New House from a small UK company into one that is well-known and respected around the world.

In our new roller blind collection, we had to add Flutterby by Charlotte :

 

 

We also love Charlotte's homewares collections such as WOOOF or Seaside fun :

 

As well as working for New House, Charlotte is a lively blogger and a compulsive screen-printer, often to be found late at night printing away at Spike island in Bristol.