CLOTH HOUSE STUDIO

Jay and Niki Harley have moved their fabulous textiles store back to its original neighbourhood in London’s Camden Town a er more than 25 years in the West End

When did you open? We founded Cloth House in 1984. The idea was born from a background in fashion, art, retail and a love of textiles. When we started out we found a lovely old house in Camden Town which was converted into a warehouse space and from that day became our Cloth House. Starting in one room, we began collecting, buying and selling, choosing cloth that resonated with us. This building lies at the heart of Cloth House and has continued to evolve through the decades.

How do you operate? We mainly run an online business from The Cloth House Studio now and all retail is by appointment. In 1994 we expanded and opened a second store in Berwick Street in London’s Soho but we have recently moved back to Camden and opened a studio this summer.

What do you

sell? We have a large collection

of natural fabrics – linen, co! on and vintage textiles from around the world. We work closely with artisans, textile traders and families. We have a mixture of plain and patterned fabrics as well as haberdashery and vintage remnants, such as velvet ribbons and beautiful trims, some made from old saris. Choosing our products has always been important to us as they reflect our values as a business. We try to be conscious of our environmental impact so we do not sell material such as leather or fur, and our packaging is either recycled or recyclable. We are always working towards making Cloth House a more environmentally sustainable company.

What do you love about your job? Everything! Coming to work is an opportunity to create every day. We want to keep things simple and be kind. There is still so much to learn and so many forgotten crafts to explore.

020 7485 6247; clothhouse.com