International Women's Day 2023
To mark International Women’s Day this year, we are celebrating inspiring, creative women, as they each share what they love about their work and the importance of colour to them…
Ruth Mottershead
Ruth Mottershead is Creative Director at Little Greene. From creating new paint and wallpaper collections to giving inspiring colour presentations, her job revolves around a passion for beautiful, eco-friendly design.
What do you love most about your work?
“Working with colour each day and driving the creative and marketing direction of the brand through the creation of paint and wallpaper collections. Colour has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I’ve always been interested in design having previously qualified and worked as a Landscape Architect. Joining my father and brother at Little Greene felt like a natural transition, tapping into the close relationship between spatial design and interior design.”
What is one of your favourite projects you’ve worked on?
“One of my favourite projects to date has been Re:mix, our collection of honest, upcycled colours which allows us to recycle our precious raw materials, tackle the issue of unwanted stock and produce a beautiful palette including some of Little Greene’s most treasured colours.”
How is colour important to you and your work?
“I grew up surrounded by colour and pattern – it has always been a part of my life. It was something discussed at home and one of our first colour cards was actually produced around the kitchen table. Working in the business over the past 12 years has meant I have been surrounded by colour each day and a team of incredible people who share a passion for colour and the effect it can have on the atmosphere of a space.”
What is your favourite Little Greene colour?
“Garden. Green is the true colour of nature, one that we feel comfortable within the home. It’s a shade that we associate with the tranquillity of the outdoors. Garden is a beautiful, mid-strength green that brings a fresh ambience of midsummer itself.”
Molly Freshwater
Molly Freshwater is Co-Founder and Creative Director of Secret Linen Store, creating luxury bed linen using responsibly sourced materials. Together with her sister Harriet, she loves to pair Little Greene colours with her range of beautiful fabrics.
What aspects of your work do you love most?
“I am a creative person through and through, so I am happiest with the product or creative teams working on the latest collections, or creating the images for our website and marketing. I love being in our factories too.”
Where do you find inspiration?
“My inspiration has always been our customers. I love to think about the end use for our product, and how everyone who chooses to make their beds with us, gets to get into bed with us each night. Bedtime is the best part of the day and if we can make that time great for everyone, that’s a tick in my book.”
Which women do you find inspiring?
“The best part of my job is that I get to work with my sister. I am lucky to work with her every day, and without her I would have lots of great bed linen and not a clue what to do with it! My design heroes are Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Barbara Hepworth, Agnes Martin and Lucienne Day.”
How is colour important to you and your work?
“Colour is everything. Making a room come alive with colour is fun and exciting. I always say ‘colour your bed in’ - it’s a great way to add a big splash of colour to your room. Colour enhances our mood and can make the all the difference as the seasons change too. I only have dark colours on my bed in the winter because they feel super cosy.”
What is your favourite Little Greene colour?
“It has to be Hellebore. We have it EVERYWHERE in our office and all of our nightwear is photographed against a big wall painted with Hellebore in our studio. I love it.”
Geraldine Tan
Geraldine Tan, also known as @littlebigbell, is an award-winning interiors blogger and a Medical Consultant. She recently transformed her hallway using Little Greene wallpaper alongside Re:mix upcycled paint.
What aspects of your work do you love most?
“I love having two very different professions, one being a hospital Medical Consultant and the second an Interiors Stylist and social media Digital Creator. It gives variety to my everyday life.
From the exciting ‘you can expect anything that comes through the A&E door today’ feeling and the ability to interact face-to-face with people from all walks of life and professions. To a quieter and more introverted creative process of being an Instagram Digital Creator where interactions are virtual. My motto is: it’s never too late to embrace your passion, no matter how old you are. If you love it, you’ll succeed.”
Which women do you find inspiring?
“I’d say it’s my daughter. She’s taught me a lot – she’s a true feminist, and an advocate for social justice and equality. She’s studying Politics and Philosophy at university with a view to doing Law. I love how she is able to balance her work and social life well, and still find time to help those less fortunate than herself.”
How is colour important to you and your work?
“I have a real love of colour and I truly believe it can influence our moods. I love mixing and matching colours at home to create a calm and happy feel. However, I love neutral colours too. I tend to like painting my wall a neutral hue and then add pops of colours around and against it with decor.”
What is your favourite Little Greene colour?
“I recently painted my hallway in Re:mix Slaked Lime – Mid and added a beautiful blue wallpaper called Clutterbuck – Bice.”
Laura Stephens
Laura Stephens is an Interior Designer whose eclectic portfolio ranges from characterful cottages to spacious London townhouses. She loves to use Little Greene colours to create beautiful and uplifting interiors.
What aspects of your work do you love most?
“I love making tangible improvements to people’s environments and seeing our ideas come into fruition. Great design can be transformative - it really improves a sense of wellbeing. I feel so lucky that I have licence to be truly creative every day.”
Which women do you find inspiring?
“There are so many women I find inspiring, but it’s those who show grace and strength through difficult times whom I admire the most. Brene Brown is a women whom I constantly come back to for guidance and inspiration. I really hope I’m a positive role model to my girls through my work ethic and how I manage my team.”
How is colour important to you and your work?
“Colour is one of the most, if not the most, important aspect to my work. I only take on projects where I know the client will trust me to weave colour into their homes. It can be either in a quiet and bold way but for me I can’t imagine work to live without it.”
What is your favourite Little Greene colour?
“It has to be Celestial Blue. It has the perfect depth and tone and works so well with neutrals and reds and pinks and yellows. I come back to it time and time again.”
Caroline Dowsett
Caroline Dowsett is a Manchester-based artist and maker who designed the tins for our collection of honest, upcycled colours, Re:mix. She also used Little Greene paints to create vibrant murals at the Whitworth Art Gallery and at our Head Office.
What aspects of your work do you love most?
“I really love how my work is a place for me to go and see what appears with playing, through shape, colour and words, all coming from a personal place – what I have seen, heard or felt. I enjoy connecting with people through my work too, and how they see/feel from my pieces.”
How do you find inspiration?
“My inspiration is being a creative full time, and being able create pieces as a living. It’s something I have been working towards and a big dream for a long time, an option that felt almost dreamlike, the idea of being paid to create.”
Which women do you find inspiring?
“I’m inspired by so many women! Being a woman alone I find so incredibly inspiring, the way we are connected to one another, to our planet/nature, showing up in a world which has been built to minimise our experience through patriarchal ideas, and women still having the strength to fight for our rights and equality for all.”
How is colour important to you and your work?
“Colour is the driving force of my creativity and my pieces. How colours come together on my page, screen, or canvas, the balance, the brightness, the hues, it makes me very happy. It creates feelings, sets a tone, conveys messages, without any words involved.”
What is your favourite Little Greene colour?
“I adore Tivoli!”
Natasha Landers
Natasha Landers is Creative Director of interior design studio, ULRS, and owner of the joyful Instagram account, @untillemonsrsweet. Little Greene is the perfect partner to her bold design style and passion for upcycling.
What aspects of your work do you love the most?
“I love the opportunity to be creative and to help clients to push through their comfort zones to have interiors they deserve but couldn't have imagined themselves.”
Which women do you find inspiring?
“I would say my mum first and foremost. Her style has inspired me to push boundaries. The second woman would be my daughter, who has built her own digital marketing company and has taken on the role of my PR agent.”
How is colour important to you and your work?
“Colour is very important to me; it brightens up my day. I don't do monochrome very well. I dress like my home – it’s part of my individuality.”
What is your favourite colour in the Little Greene palette?
“This is difficult because I love so many Little Greene paints, but if I had to choose one it would be Light Bronze Green. I painted my living room ceiling and cornicing in it, and it definitely gives a wow to the room.”
Vanessa Arbuthnott
Vanessa Arbuthnott designs and sells beautiful interior fabrics and wallpapers that are influenced by her surrounding Cotswolds countryside. She often uses Little Greene paints to complement her eco-friendly designs.
What aspects of your work do you love most?
“What I love most about my work is the complete autonomy to be creative: to produce new designs, new colours, and products without any meetings…I can make my mind up about something in the bath! I also enjoy collaborating with my family who I have asked to create designs for me.”
Which women do you find inspiring?
“When starting my business, I was inspired by my talented designer friend Brigitte Buchanan who set up Cabbages and Roses the same year. Also, by the journey of designer Cath Kidston and of course my childhood heroine, Laura Ashley.”
How is colour important to you and your work?
“Colour is very important to me and my work: choosing a beautiful colour is really 50% of the success of a design. A great design can fail if in a poor colourway. I am as passionate about colour as I am about designs.”
What is your favourite Little Greene colour?
“Hicks’ Blue is my favourite colour at the moment. It’s a warm deep blue hue that creates a wonderful foil for my Saffron yellows and Moss greens. I have painted a panelled wall in my showroom this colour.”
Jenny Luck
Jenny Luck is an Interior Designer who builds beautiful designs around each individual client. Having previously worked as a Little Greene Colour Consultant, she features our paints and wallpapers in many of her projects.
What aspects of your work do you love most?
“As much as I love seeing my ideas come to life, what I love the most is seeing my client’s faces light up when I present them with designs schemes that they would never have dreamed of choosing for themselves, but they are excited and completely comfortable with the new ideas! My aim is to continue building a collection of projects which are a little bit different in some way and will stand the test of time, along with repurposing objects and furnishings where possible to reduce waste.”
How is colour important to you and your work?
“Colour is imperative to my work, encompassing every item in the room, be it artwork, cherished family heirlooms, soft furnishings and even the people. Our choice of paint colour will determine the overall feeling and shouldn't be overlooked. I love the nature of colours behaving so differently depending on the grouping and lighting situations. It’s certainly not a one shade fits all and requires careful consideration.”
What is your favourite Little Greene colour?
“It’s impossible to choose only one, but right now I’m really enjoying an injection of citrus and I’m keen to build Pale Lime into my schemes. It's an oldie but a goodie, and layered with more neutral shades, such as the Green Stone family, this uplifting shade could look quite sophisticated on joinery, or a vibrant contrasting ceiling!”
