The inspiration that shaped Cath Kidston's career

Cath Kidston is one of Britain’s leading designers, whose cheerful, heart-warming aesthetic feeds our hunger for all things vintage through polka dots, cabbage roses and ripe cherries. Her products range from jaunty oilcloth bags to cake tins to tape measures, which can be found in houses and high streets from the home counties to Osaka.

But if you think such things are frivolous, then you might think again. Cath has received an MBE for her services to business, while the financial pages have reported her company is worth up to £100m. Currently there are over 60 Cath Kidston stores and concessions in the UK, Ireland, Japan and Korea. But when Cath opened her first venture in Holland Park in 1993, it was quite different to these. “I wanted to make what I call a chic house clearance shop,” she recalls. “Like a vintage stall that was not as smart as an antique shop, where you walked in and everything looked clean and lovely but very vintage. That was the concept for the business, with lots of old fabrics, bits and pieces and second-hand stuff.”

Then, alongside refurbished vintage pieces she gradually began to add her own creations. “I had a small flat and on the back of the door was my ironing board with a grey ironing board cover,” she explains. “I thought, ‘Why don’t I make it printed?’ If I’ve got to do the ironing – I’m not celebrating ironing here – it might as well be a bit cheerful. It seemed to me a kind of win-win situation. It was my eureka moment for the business. And I have to say in the early days the ironing board covers paid the rent!”

As the product line grew, a theme of happy nostalgia emerged. “Funny enough I’m quite dyslexic but I have a very good memory, a photographic memory, for prints and colour,” she reveals. “I realised early on I could remember my childhood home and all the colours and the prints and the rooms. Whereas I can’t remember a telephone number or whatever! That’s the kind of mind I have.”

In time, Cath noticed sewing and crafting were growing in popularity. “We like selling practical, useful products, so for me a sewing basket came into that,” she says. “We were astounded when we brought it out eight years ago – it was a huge runaway success. We didn’t realise, before the recession hit, there was obviously huge interest in that kind of thing.”

Recognition of this trend led to Cath’s books – Make!, Sew!, Stitch! and Patch! These put her nostalgic style literally into the hands of her fans, reinventing needlework for the modern crafter. “I think people perceive it now to be modern and young and fun,” she says about the resurgence of these ancient arts. “It isn’t an old granny thing. You know, we have girls in the office who are knitting one night, clubbing the next.” So what is it about sewing that’s so captivating these days? “It makes a change. We can all go and buy something; there’s so much cheap stuff out there but actually if you put some time in, make a little bit of effort, it’s very rewarding.”

As a case in point, she affirms that some of her most prized possessions are a handmade. “My sister is an artist and she’s done me some amazing pictures of my dog Stanley,” she says. “She gave me a picture of Stanley and his fantasy wife – it’s fabulous. It hangs in my kitchen today.”

Home for Cath is a Restoration house overlooking the Thames, shared with her music producer boyfriend, step-daughter and, of course, Stanley – a handsome chap who appears on a fair few Cath Kidston products. The terrier accompanies the designer on her adventures in the neighbourhood. “The farmers’ market I love,” she says. “And in Chiswick and Hammersmith there are so many restaurants of all different nationalities, you could eat your way around the world. There’s the fish shop, the butcher, the baker. So I’m very lucky. It’s a villagey place. But isn’t that the joy of London?”

As our conversation winds to a close, I turn the pages of my review copy of Cath’s new book. I want to make absolutely everything but am hardly competent in crafting; are people like me a lost cause? “Give it a go; try something simple, you’ll be surprised,” she says. “It’s no different from cooking. If you read the instructions then more likely than not you can do it. It’s one stitch at a time isn’t it?” In light of all that Cath Kidston has achieved doing just that, it seems a very apt piece of advice.

To celebrate the launch of Patch!, join an after-hours event to make one of the book’s projects. Following drinks and snacks to get you in the stitching spirit, you’ll get a kit containing everything needed to complete the project. The craftiest shop staff will be on hand to guide you through every step. The exclusive events take place at selected Cath Kidston shops on 18 October (York, Oxford, Tunbridge Wells, Manchester) and 19 October (Glasgow, Brighton, Harrogate, Marylebone)

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