Trader Profile-Denman & Gould
We caught up with one half of the design duo, Eleanor Goulding, who told us all about setting up their design studio in a converted Dorset church after leaving the hustle and bustle of city life, and how they’ve used market days to grow their brand.
Hello Denman & Gould! Tell us a bit about what you do.
We work in a collaborative way, making small runs of individual pieces of contemporary craft, homeware and art. The work focuses on slow, thoughtful design with a strong interest in natural fabrics and materials.
We also run a design consultancy and work with designers, retailers and manufacturers designing bespoke pieces of furniture and cabinet making. Our clients have recently included The Dragons of Walton Street who designed the Royal nurseries for Princes’ William and Harry and have our recent design range for them on show in Harrods and Elystan street, London.
This year we are excited to be teaming up with Mount Art in Frome to develop a specialist range of designer picture frames using traditional joinery techniques.
We also exhibit work, and are currently taking part in ‘The Transformed Land’ at Taunton Theatre and Arts Centre.
Why did you choose to come and trade at the Frome Independent?
We moved our studio from Brighton into a beautiful converted church in a rural spot in Dorset. This peaceful spot suits the way we work and gives us the time and space we need to realise designs, but we missed being involved in a wider network of makers and craftspeople. The Frome Independent has been a lifeline of creative energy and we always leave feeling energised and inspired by new things and ideas.
What do you think are the benefits for makers and small businesses when they sell directly to the public at markets?
Selling directly to the public has enabled us to be more experimental with our work as we can get feedback from people straight away. This helps when developing new pieces or with evolving designs that are already existing. We want to grow our brand in a slow and thoughtful way, so this platform helps us with direction and development of our work.
Tell us about your favourite product; what do you love about your work?
I really love the freedom of hand painting and hand embroidering my linen pieces. Russ definitely loves meticulous attention to detail which you can especially see in his inlaid veneer pieces of jewellery but also his furniture and models.
What is your favourite stall at The Frome Independent?
I do really love food so for me, one of my favourite stalls at The Frome Independent is our friend The Bakemonger. I never get tired of seeing her vibrant and incredibly creative work (and it’s all edible of course!). But I also really love being next door to Nick Fraser and Ana Beck and love seeing how their work changes and develops each month.
You can find Denman & Gould in our Designer Maker section on market days, or see more of their work here.
