Boutique speak
We get to know Alice Collyer, founder of Alice in Scandiland
Meet Alice Collyer, award-winning interiors blogger and founder of Alice in Scandiland
'escribe a t\pical da\
Usually, I’d be struggling to get up in the morning because I’ve stayed up late working! If it’s a weekday, I’ll start with breakfast and the school run with my two children, and then either man the shop or stay home to source new stock and keep track of orders.
What is \our favourite interiors st\le" I don’t pay a huge amount of attention to trends. Instead, I focus on neutral, natural products and those with a story behind them. Colours, textures and patterns come and go but those core materials will always be timeless.
‘ When it comes to decorating a , room in my own home I quite often start with something I already have that I love and build the scheme around that’
What inspired \ou to set up shop" When I was at home with the children, I felt the need to have something for myself. I set up my blog, Alice in Scandiland, as a creative outlet and everyone was asking me where things were from. In 2018, I started selling some of my vintage finds online, and people were so receptive. A physical space just felt like the natural progression, and I opened the shop a few months later.
What can Ze ¼nd in store at
$lice in Scandiland"
A mixture of contemporary and vintage Scandinavian-inspired pieces – products I hope people will buy once and love forever. Overall, my compass for everything coming into the shop is the question ‘would I have it in my own home?’. It’s a carefully curated selection of my favourite finds.
Where do \ou ¼nd inspiration" Instagram is an amazing place for finding and getting to know new independent makers, and I scour markets, too. In my day-to-day life, if I see something I like I make a note of it and if an opening comes up in the shop I know exactly where to go back to. It’s a very personal process.
Tell us the secret to creating \our oZn signature st\le¨
Ask yourself, what do you actually like? Question whether you are being influenced by what someone else is doing – which is fine to do – but think about whether you will still like it in a few years’ time. When it comes to decorating a room in my own home, I quite often start with something I already have that I love and build the scheme around that.
What³s ne[t for $lice in Scandiland" Getting back to normality, I hope! I’m trying to not put too much pressure on myself after the last few months of lockdowns. I’m looking forward to welcoming customers back to the shop and having the chance to be more creative again.
28 Fore Street, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0BL shop.aliceinscandiland.com