Introducing Coco & Wolf

Every home has room for a Liberty print.  Prints that make you smile and feel happy inside, quintessentially English, silky soft cotton to cocoon you into a blissful slumber, sigh.  If you share the love of mixing patterns and colours on your bedding, then Coco and Wolf are going to be the ones for you.

The gorgeous ditsy prints are the thing of dreams.  They take me back to days of staring out of the window at school, doodling on my school book, tiny flower heads cascading out of flower pots and dotted around my essays I would drift off with thoughts of running around barefoot in fields of flowers in my prairie skirt and cheesecloth shirt having a picnic on a quilted Liberty print blanket.  The reality was not the same but we can all dream. My love for Liberty had started, fashion magazines and the library were my places to go to feed my obsession, I would make frames for my favourite images and they would be proudly displayed on my wall dreaming of the day that I could own a scarf or a metre of fabric.  

A Brief History

Arthur Liberty (1843 – 1917)

Arthur Liberty began his career as an apprentice for a draper. He then took on a job at Farmer & Roger’s Great Shawl and Cloak Emporium a position that set him on course of his life’s work. After ten years of work there, learning about textiles & other arts, he decided to branch out and open his own business in 1875, named ‘East India House’ where he solely sold Oriental imports namely rugs, decorative objects and fabrics. After a few years, East India House grew & demand for their gorgeous fabrics became stronger. It was then that Liberty made the decision to import undyed fabrics and have them handprinted in England in the style of Oriental fabrics. At this point, Liberty started marketing their fabrics as ‘Made in England’ and their growth as a British brand began. In the 1920s, Liberty began to produce miniature floral, paisley & abstract prints that became known as ‘Liberty Prints’ and the rest is history.

 

Time to Meet Amy of Coco & Wolf

Liberty print loveliness since 2012

In 2012 whilst pregnant with her daughter, Amy began designing baby clothes. With a career in fashion buying, Amy was lucky enough to spend years travelling the world finding inspiration in far-flung places and environments. she pulled together all the experiences that she had to design a tiny range of baby clothes all using Liberty of London’s exquisite printed tana lawn cotton. In 2015 the brand evolved further when Amy identified a gap in the luxury bedding market for stylish Liberty print bedding and home wears. Coco & Wolf were the first UK retailers to produce contemporary Liberty print bedding for babies and children. In 2017  Coco & Wolf became known worldwide for creating contemporary and luxurious clothing, interiors and lifestyle products. They now have a team of seamstresses and a brilliant relationship with Liberty. The brand ethos remains the same as in the very beginning; every piece is handmade and thoughtfully designed using clean shapes, delicate detailing and contemporary styling.

We felt very lucky to have a chat with Amy just as she was launching a pop up in Liberty London  How exciting, can you imagine the feeling of having an exclusive limited-edition interiors collection along with eleven other designers in Liberty itself, what a  proud moment for Coco & Wolf.

First of all, we would like to say Thank You Amy for chatting to us and getting to know us.  A massive congratulations to you for launch in Liberty London  as well.

Amy where does your brilliant brand name come from?

Coco and Wolf were (are) my favourite girl and boy names. Whilst pregnant with my first child I named the business and then went on to have 2 children, a girl, Coco, and then a boy, Wolf. When I was pregnant with Wolf I said to my husband that if we have a boy we can’t call him Wolf as I say ‘Coco & Wolf” all day for work, he said we have to name him Wolf as that is the favourite boy’s name!

What started your passion with liberty prints?

I have always loved great clothes in great fabrics and used to spend hours wandering around the haberdashery department on the 3rd floor in Liberty London devouring the prints and colours. There is no other fabric like it in the world. I have fond childhood memories of a smock dress I had as a child made in Liberty cotton that must have sparked joy and stuck with me. Liberty’s prints are iconic timeless classics, we have customers sending us their stories of what the prints mean to them which is just magical.

Do you have a favourite print?

Before I started the business my favourite print was a William Morris design called Lodden in the navy colour, I even used the print for my wedding in the green colourway. Now each season I seem to have a new favourite and never believe I can like another more. Betsy will always hold a special place in my heart, it is the first print we started selling and still sell now.

How do you feel when you see a beautifully made bed?

Like I want to get into it! We spend so much time on the shoots making the beds look perfect it has had a knock-on effect on me and I now take an inordinate amount of time at home making our beds every morning! I can’t leave the house without having all of the beds made.

How would you describe your interior taste?

Eclectic. Our house is a mix of ages and we have incorporated different elements throughout. We have a dark cosy sitting room, William Morris wallpapered hallway and then an industrial kitchen. I love using dramatic colour on the walls and then telling stories with the accessories and furnishings. I love antiques and flea markets and have been lucky to inherit some really beautiful pieces too which I mix with more contemporary classic designs. We all have mix and match bedding on our beds which I update every season, it is such a great way to update bedrooms without having to totally redecorate.

Do you have a favourite colour for your interior?

Can I have 3?!

My current favourite is Studio Green by Farrow & Ball – we are about to have our stairs painted in it. On our AW19 shoot, we used Hague Blue & Sulking Room pink and both of these colours are up there too. Strong bold colours that really frame the Liberty prints.

What’s your favourite breakfast to have in bed?

Croissants with greek yoghurt and blueberries.

Come on do tell, a good book or watch TV in bed?

Always a good book. We only have a television in the sitting room and it is hidden in a cupboard. I am an avid reader and always make time for it before bed. It is the best way for me to switch off. I am reading Jo Malone’s book which is so inspiring and I devour my magazine subscriptions, Vogue, Grazia and Elle Decoration.