New in our ‘Meet the Chiswick Makers’ series we meet Jemima Haddock, owner and creative director of Fox & Chave. Her beautifully hand-finished silks are available from the Chiswick House Shop, open daily 10 am–4 pm. 10% discount for our Members.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you make:

Jemima Haddock is the Owner and Managing Director of Fox & Chave, a team of eight people all passionate about silk and design.

Twenty years ago, I was running a small consultancy business to help start-up design-led companies get into the gift market when someone approached me to ‘babysit’ their business, which was selling silk ties in high street gift shops. After a year, I had fallen in love with ties and bought the company!

We brought all the tie designs in-house and branched out into scarves. I approached museums and the heritage market, where I had worked for many years and the response was very positive. We developed our own range of art- and history-inspired designs, negotiated licenses with wonderful institutions like the V&A and the British Library to use their images.

How are your scarves made?

Our scarves are printed on various types of silk, to achieve different finishes and effects. The hems are hand-rolled. Silk is a sustainable fabric and has a very small carbon footprint. We are working to make our packaging totally recyclable, and we always try to repurpose our samples and swatches either into small items, such as scrunchies, or we donate them to charities that we love, such as Suited & Booted, which helps men from challenging backgrounds to dress with confidence for interviews.

Research and design are the most rewarding and exciting parts of our work. Michelle, our Designer, and I exchange ideas daily. Some designs have quite humble origins – the art deco radiator in my New York hotel room, or the beautiful mosaic under my feet on holiday in Rhodes! But mostly, we collaborate with over 25 institutions, picture libraries and living artists to create a broad range, spanning from antiquity to the modern age.

What do you love about Chiswick House and Gardens?

Chiswick House is a great favourite of mine, a perfect little neo-Palladian villa surrounded by lovely grounds, where my children used to romp and climb trees when we lived in nearby Brook Green. It was with great sadness that I learned that the magnificent 200-year-old Cedar of Lebanon was destroyed by Storm Eunice earlier this year.

Which of your products are available in the Chiswick House Shop?

We are so delighted that Chiswick House & Gardens has chosen our scarves and ties for their beautifully curated shop. We know that their visitors will love the selection of designs and look forward to tempting them with the new patterns and themes that we introduce regularly.

Follow Fox & Chave @foxandchave. Visit their website for their full range of products and an insight into their main sources of inspiration.