MY FAVORITE THING

The first thing I notice about people is their hands, and whether they are gardeners or craftspeople. I think it resonates with me because I love working with my hands, even if I’m just doing papier-måché or making a lampshade. It was something my mother instilled in me. I suppose styling is really just an extension of that.

Growing up we were a very crafty family. My mother did bookbinding and marbling, and my brother was a wonderful ceramicist. We would go to Harrods, measure the clothes and make them ourselves at home. When I left school, my mother and I went to art school together-in those days they gave you a grant that you didn’t have to pay back. My mother did amazingly well; I did unbelievably badly.

She wore this ring every day of her life that I knew her, and now I wear it every day, still sewing, still making things. It’s a signet ring, but her crest, a unicorn, and her motto Pactum Serva, “Keep your word” have been carved into carnelian rather than gold. It’s very battered and there’s a chip missing from where my first boyfriend caught her hand in a car door. He was mortified but I think the ring saved her finger.