When there’s a first blog post, there’s always a second. Michelle has kindly let me loose on our blog so I wanted to take this opportunity to steal just a very small piece of the limelight. I say small as I will certainly hand it off to Michelle as being firmly at the helm of this creative ship. Her knack of just being able to piece together colors, styles, interpret designs and looks was one the main reasons I pushed her to start up H&G. I guess therefore you could call me the “admin” piece of the puzzle! Also being colored blind doesn’t exactly put me in great stead to be the next color magician!

I was born in England and have always been attracted to and surrounded by various daily items that had a “made in England” stamp on them. From hairbrushes to luggage trunks, shaving brushes to shoes and suits (I spent much of my childhood in an English boarding school) and have become fascinated with the slow movement method of bespoke, tailored clothing, furnishings and pretty much anything else not made in a mass production environment.

I wish shoes (that are affordable) still lasted 10 years. I wish all clothes were made in small tailors that reside above a boutique on a busy London-styled street where you can quite happily wait weeks for the finished garment to be ready. I always buy items that have the ability, through their construction, to develop a personality with age. My last purchase was a Filson bag with a label that reads “Might as well have the best, Made in the USA.” I am obsessed with durability and craftsmanship, provenance and creative character. I admire small family run businesses that never started out to make money. They simply became a business from someones desire to create perhaps a product that didn’t exist, or that what was currently available didn’t serve it’s purpose well or was shoddily made.

I won’t be able to offer a completely creative opinion to Holley and Gills designs (that’s not my department) however, I do pick up each piece and meticulously inspect corners, stitching, ink, fabric and hardware to ensure that nothing has been overlooked.

In the coming days and weeks I will be writing regular posts relating to a number topics including companies and designers we admire, examples of creativity and much more. Hopefully my posts will be different to Michelle’s, that’s the point, as collectively we are both Holley & Gill.

After sending out a tweet to our Twitter following bloggers for links to their first-ever blog posts, I wasn’t quite prepared for the response as well as the pressure that now accompanies writing my first post. Some were links to posts describing exactly that, whereas others went straight into a post about whatever subject or topic those bloggers would be focusing on. So the big question I had to face now was which route would I choose? Do I simply dive in, link to all that is fabulous in the world of design and decor or do I put my first readers into context, letting them know who I am, what they will find here and why they should stay awhile?

I chose the latter. So indulge me now if you will and I promise you will reap the rewards of all that needs to be shared right behind this post No 1.

My name is Michelle. I am a Canadian designer. I live, breathe and thrive on design in all of its forms, sometimes a little too obsessively. I have no limits as to what and where I find my inspiration and motivation to create. What you will find here is simply a type of “virtual bookmarking” for myself and you, the reader. And every once in a while my partner in business and in life, Conrad, will post alongside with me. He’s one smart cookie and the British accent certainly helps him out with maintaining that image as well. (<conrad> very funny)

If you do decide to partake in this new endeavour that we are now officially calling our blog, feel comfortable in knowing that I, and we, will always stay true to who we are, what we like and what we love. This last statement rang true with me and I knew that this was the path to take when all those chivalrous bloggers shared their recipe to running a successful and meaningful blog. Thank you and welcome.