Norfolk by design
1st January 2026
From glassware and ceramics to textiles, these are the local independent homeware brands to have on your radar, says Harriet Cooper
Lottie Day
Norfolk-based textile designer and artist Lottie Day, who grew up in Hindolveston, established her eponymous homeware business after being inspired by the wonky veg growing on her father’s allotment. And so the Vegetable Collection came into being, 100% natural cotton napkins and tea towels screen-printed with Lottie’s hand-drawn illustrations of turnips, swedes and parsnips. Subsequent collections feature seafood and wildlife, reflecting both Lottie’s love of the local countryside and thoughtful craftsmanship. For an autumn spin, check out her Squash Collection of six different designs, including Crookneck, Hubbard, Turban, Sweet Dumpling and Knucklehead.
Made in Cley
If you see people delicately holding brown paper bags in Cley-next-the-Sea, it’s likely they’ve just paid a visit to Made in Cley. The hand-thrown pottery and contemporary jewellery gallery and studios opened in 1984 in the old village shop. Four decades on, there are now around 10 artists working there, sharing every aspect of the pottery-making process. This is the place to pick up one-of-a-kind homewares, from mugs, butter dishes and garlic pots to salad bowls, flan dishes and colanders (they also do made-to-order). All the stoneware pottery is oven-proof and dishwasher safe.
Birdie Fortescue
Birdie Fortescue began her interior design journey in the 1980s, working for Colefax & Fowler, before striking out on her own as an antiques dealer. Following a move to Norfolk in 2012, Birdie based her burgeoning business in Burnham Market, expanding it to include decorative homeware and art. Fast forward more than a decade and the luxury brand – now based out of a showroom in Fakenham – is thriving, with its multiple collections incorporating lighting, furniture, home accessories and soft furnishings, as well as collaborations with creatives including Sarah Corbett-Winder and Butter Wakefield.
Kelling Home
Kelling Designs was founded by Emma Deterding in 2006, an interior design studio based in London and Norfolk that has built a reputation for its use of colour, pattern and texture. This vibrant aesthetic ripples through Kelling Home, the homewares offshoot, too. The curated range, available at their shop at Creake Abbey, has been put together in collaboration with leading British fabric houses and product designers. The pieces all showcase the studio’s signature bold hues, statement silhouettes and eye-catching prints, from headboards and lampshades to wallpapers and fabrics.
IzziRainey
Creative design company IzziRainey was founded in 2014 by Izzi Rainey, who had just graduated from the Glasgow School of Art, and her friend Lara Mullis, on Izzi’s family farm near Foulsham. Designs for their homewares and stationery reflect the farming landscape, as well as local flora and fauna. You’ll find everything from swallows and cattle to Land Rovers and beehives adorning oven gloves, cushions, aprons, hob covers and custom-made blinds. All are made in the UK, with prints using a combination of hand-printing, collage, painting and stamping.
Bombay Sprout
After a one-of-a-kind rug? Look no further than Bombay Sprout. This design brand was founded by Zara Bolingbroke-Kent in 2017, who had spent more than two decades as an interior designer, overseeing commercial and residential projects including at Holkham Hall. Though Zara designs her joyful, rainbow-hued rugs in her studio, they are made in India, a country she has always been deeply passionate about. Rugs are handwoven using centuries-old techniques, each one involving over 20 pairs of hands from spinners to dyers.
