COOL CREATIVE
For me, it’s all about the fabrics - they form the basis of my products. They’re all sourced from vintage, designer pieces. The sustainability factor is also huge for Repose
Homecoming
Dreamy prints, sumptuous stripes and silky feels await. Repose Studio brings swoon-worthy interior products that tell a story and stand the test of time. Elysia Fryer checks in with Rose Dexter, the creative brains behind the business
In early 2020, Rose Dexter was very much living in the fast lane, working in events in New York. Her final project in the big city was New York Fashion Week - a sparse contrast to her new creative venture back home in North Yorkshire. Now, she spends much of her time between her home in Osmotherley and her studio space in Hutton Rudby. Her commute - a short, country road cruise from village to
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village, rather than a jostling train journey from her flat in Williamsburg to her high-rise office in SoHo. Like many, things have changed significantly for Rose in the last year and a half; but as we sit down and reflect on a turbulent time in history, there are many positives to take away from the situation - one being her ability to enjoy a bit of creative freedom and allow her new business to flourish on home turf. “I was living in New York before the
pandemic hit,” Rose starts. “I’d been there for two years, but I came back for the lockdown because it was quite scary over there. I worked in fashion and events and everything got cancelled quite suddenly. The whole city shut down. I was living in a tiny apartment with two other girls, and I just knew I needed some space. “I came back thinking it would be a matter of weeks, but then, quite quickly, everyone at the company I was working for lost their jobs, so I kind of found myself stuck here.
But I knew I was in the right place at the right time and just had to think of it as a way of opening up new opportunities and letting my creative ideas come to life. “I have only ever worked in events, so it has been a little strange as there has literally been no work in the industry. It’s been a bit of a long year, but the upside is that it’s allowed me to start up a creative business that I would have never found the time to set up and enjoy.” Swapping big city life for the rolling hills and countryside has quite literally given Rose the space to create; to remove herself from the rush of moving from one meeting to the next, then on to events, to rush-hour commuting and everything in between. The slower pace of life is not something she had planned, but it has allowed her to hone in on what it means to be creative; to strip things back a little, start with a blank canvas and let her imagination do the talking. With all of that in mind, we’re delighted to introduce Repose Studio, a luxury interior product business with a focus on slow production, sustainability and sourcing unique fabrics that tell a story. “Repose was a business born out of lockdown, which is the case for a lot of people and new businesses this year,” says Rose. “Judith Stephenson, a close family friend, has incredible taste in everything. She is always dropping round unusual but amazing gifts. In the first lockdown she gave me my first bit of fabric and it kind of just naturally evolved from there. I made some cushions from the fabric Judith gave me and I thought to myself, ‘I can make something of this’. “I love sourcing fabric and I had always missed doing something hands-on creative, so it was great to get back on the tools. “I studied fine art at the University of Arts in London and since then I have found myself in creative jobs, but I’ve always worked on the production side of things. “I’ve had a pretty varied career up until this point. A lot of what I did at university was based around working on your own and I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to do; I wanted to do something that was more team-led. “I ended up working for a company called Mad Ferret, which was a crazy few years. Our job was to create sets for festivals. My two bosses were only a few years older than me at the time, they were the founders of Parklife festival, so we expanded and started doing festivals across the UK, and also abroad. We would source and make everything decorative. I once had to make 16km of bunting in two weeks, or I’d have to create tents out of crazy fabrics - it was nuts! I look back and think, ‘Wow, that was a really bizarre time in my life’, but equally lots of fun!’ “I once had to drive across Europe to
MAY/JUN21
