Catherine Aitken

The last few weeks have been a serious exercise in self-restraint, as I have been popping in regularly to the Origin craft fair (which was very close to where I work.) There were hundreds of pounds of items I really wanted, which would have worked perfectly in my interiors scheme. Unfortunately I'm not in a financial position to be spending much, and I can't deal with buying Christmas presents in October, so I did not make any purchases. So, it was very disappointing that almost all of the designers I liked did not have their work available for sale online, even though most had their own website. I can't imagine that all of them have enough wholesale business to support them, so is it just that they don't know you can set up an Etsy, Folksy or Big Cartel shop in about ten minutes?

I've identified some designers whose work I want to feature even though you have to contact them directly to make a purchase.

One of my very favourites was Catherine Aitken. Her delicate soft furnishings and stationery came in a beautiful soft palette of greys and taupe, and her geometric designs were softened by their delicate hand-drawn quality.

I especially loved these napkins (I think this design also came on a linen cushion), and her feather designs. I hope to track her work down elsewhere as I really did stop by her stall on several occasions, trying to convince myself that I could justify buying at least a lavender sachet (and leaving empty-handed each time - she must have thought I was quite strange.)