FINE PRINT

Designer Kiran Ravilious may have married into a famous family, but she’s very much made her own way in the creative world

Kiran Ravilious didn’t expect her life to turn out the way it has. She thought she would still be living in Singapore and working at a graphic design agency. Instead, she finds herself in Leicester, overseeing a burgeoning design empire and selling her work to a global market. A graphic designer by training, Kiran left Singapore 15 years ago with the intention of having a two-year sabbatical in London, but her mother insisted she stay with a family friend in the Midlands first. It was, to say the least, a culture shock. Finding herself homesick in Leicester, Kiran went to a local art store to buy some canvases in the hope that painting would lift her mood. Then she met Ben Ravilious, a keen photographer, and the pair clicked.

She knew nothing at the time of the Ravilious name. Ben’s grandfather was the celebrated painter Eric Ravilious and his father was noted photographer James Ravilious. ‘I was incredibly lucky to become part of this creative family,’ she says. ‘You can’t help but be influenced by them.’

Kiran’s garret studio overlooks a canal and is a peaceful haven where she can craft her designs, which are artfully displayed in the space. ‘I never plan,’ she says. ‘I just sit down and experiment with inks and patterns. Being spontaneous is very much part of my work ethic.’

Her rapidly growing print business is best known for its homeware and stationery, but Kiran is now branching into textiles and wallpaper, which are sold across the world. ‘I’d done lino printing at art school in Singapore, but wanted to try it with fabric, which is very different to

‘I just sit down and experiment with inks and patterns. Being spontaneous is very much part of my work ethic’

paper because you need different inks,’ she explains. Encouraged by the results, she turned her creations into cushions and began selling them, along with her stationery designs, to local shops and then online through her own Etsy store. ‘The response was surprising,’ she recalls. ‘Then I began doing repeat patterns and it snowballed.’

Soon Kiran was exhibiting at trade shows, where she was approached by Heal’s. Her first collection for the store encompassed everything from bedding to aprons, and featured her signature leaf design.

Her work is heavily influenced by her childhood and her parents’ Punjabi heritage. ‘Everyone thinks of Singapore as being sleek and modern, but when I was young it was very tropical. My parents used to take us for walks in the jungle and I was fascinated by the greenery,’ she says. And, of course, there are British influences too. ‘I love folk art and I’m often inspired by something I’ve seen when out walking with the dogs,’ she adds.

Whether it’s kitchenware or wallpaper, Kiran’s work always starts with the motif. ‘I like creating patterns that evolve into products rather than thinking of a product and designing for that,’ she explains. ‘I don’t even work with a particular customer in mind, because you never can tell what people will respond to. My designs are quite naive, but they’re not chintzy or cutesy so they have a broad appeal.’ Find out more at kiranravilious.com OPPOSITE Kiran in her Leicester studio. Wallpaper designs feature her signature leaf prints THIS PAGE Her creations are beautifully displayed in the attic space; Kiran creates her block-print designs by hand