JR Artisan Spotlight

Kate Marr

Founder, Design Director

What inspires you?

My inspiration comes from many sources: often historical and tribal documents which I collect and hoard. Colour inspiration comes from these items as well as beautiful paintings, buildings, exhibitions, sometimes trends – a massive eclectic jumble of visual inspiration.

 

Describe the brand in 5 words or less:

Quality, Integrity, Design, Honesty, Eclectic

 

 

How did you get your start in the industry:

I trained in textile design at Art College, then went to work in a design studio in London. There, we designed speculatively for the US market as well as working with UK companies as consultants. When the founder retired, I started to work as a self-employed designer and took on the consultant’s role with a UK Furnishings fabric Editor. There I met my partner, Ken Titley, and we formed Titley and Marr. Partners in life as well as business. I designed; Ken was the marketing director. Sadly, Ken passed away, leaving me with young children and a business. I shrank the business to make it more manageable, the children became adults, and I am happy to say the company is blossoming again.

Describe your studio/workspace:

My design studio is a deeply personal, creative mess. Mood boards, books, fabric samples everywhere – old and new. I very rarely throw anything away. It is a garden room at my home. Surrounded by my garden’s influence, which is also a great source of inspiration. I like to have a boundary between home, office work and design work. Only I get to inhabit this space. If suppliers come to visit, I meet them in my kitchen, which is generally filled with light and reasonably tidy. The Titley and Marr office is space shared with the team – better organised as it needs to be to deal with the structure of orders and sample requests from customers.

What makes your brand stand out from the rest:

We stand out through our rich sense of colour and the vibrant palette woven into many of our designs. Our fabrics reflect a deep commitment to comfort and authentic quality, offering quality and beauty that enhances interiors with character and warmth.

Are you experimenting with any new techniques, mediums, colors, or aesthetics?

I’m constantly working on new designs, some get developed into finished products, some rest in the drawers of my plan’s chest.

My forthcoming move to a new home was filling me with dread, but now I’ve started “sorting” I’m finding lots of design inspiration I’d forgotten about, the act of sorting is a kind of reconnection with previous thoughts and ideas. It’s a bit like finding the phone number for an old friend and calling up!