When we opened the OCHRE store, we began by going through our own cupboards at home – pieces we’d collected along the way from artists and craftspeople who shared something of our vision and whose things were exquisitely made. Our collection has now expanded to include a wider range of world artists and craftspeople making mainly for the home – although we always find space for items from other categories that are beautifully designed and work in our environment. We also love mixing old with new and hunt down a selection of amazing antiques and vintage pieces from the UK, France and Italy.

We increasingly focus on products made under fair trade as well as green principles – partly because it’s the only sustainable way to live in today’s world and partly because we have found talented craftspeople who use these principles and are glad to make unique pieces in small quantities from our designs. We love working with Aid to Artisans, a non profit organization that helps artisans in developing countries bring their products to the US and Europe.

We have also established a collective of designers that have a lot in common with us. The collective makes things exclusively for the OCHRE store under the name, collective(462). The range includes original designs made out of textiles, ceramics, wood and glass and any other medium that we think will be beautiful and fun. And we are careful to promote each designer in the collective to make sure they get their just recognition.