It will come as no surprise to you that I am a big fan of Aimee and Clementine & Co and all she creates. Our gorgeous little gift shop in Gunning, Will & Russ stocks Aimee’s creations and each time I am there, I cannot go past them. They make the most beautiful, affordable, gifts. So today, I’m gifting you an insight into Aimee’s life and all that inspires her.
Where do you live and with who?
I live in Cremorne in the leafy lower north shore of Sydney with my husband Jon, kids - Oscar -15, Evie -13 & Daisy - 9 + our menagerie - 2 year old Dogs - Rosie, a West Highland Terrier & Freddy, a Springer Spaniel & Poppy our grumpy! Ragdoll cat. We are all animal lovers & would have a zoo if we had the space…each week at least one of the kids asks for another family member i.e - goldfish or guinea pig!
Tell me a little bit about yourself, what things you love in life and perhaps some things that you don’t love so much?
I am the creator of Clementine & Co a homewares brand & for almost 20 years I have been a freelance interiors & homewares stylist. Over the years I have styled images for businesses, books and magazines such as Gourmet Traveller, Vogue Living, Home Beautiful, Donna Hay & Country Style.
Most importantly & proudly I am mama to Oscar, Evie & Daisy. I love our family life, it is very busy, at times overwhelming juggling 2 businesses, 3 kids and the fur kids too.
Thankfully our home is happy, loud & very funny. Jon, the kids & dogs make me laugh every day & luckily they all tolerate my frantic house tidying ( a stylist’s affliction), and my need for pretty things - piles of books & flowers.
Feeling inspired & creative, having a good tidy up, declutter & clean in our little house keeps me happy & sane!
To feel inspired and creative I need to be surrounded by pretty things, so have a large pin board of inspiring images, fabric and ideas.
I always look at beautifully designed interiors, flowers, fabric history & travel books, of course Pinterest & instagram too have their place but nothing inspires me quite like a beautiful book.
I dream of creating a Clementine & Co inspired book one day …. fingers crossed!
I am obsessed with flowers and always try to have at least a bunch or a little posy of foraged stems in the house at all times.
What's your fave room in your house and why? What do you do in there?
I love our bedroom, it is at the front of our house has lovely big old windows, a window seat looking out to the tree in our front garden.
I love beautiful bedding, my favourite Clementine & Co Liberty print pillowcases are always on our bed & I have a special new pillowcase on my bed at the moment too. A little insight into a new product in the sample stage!
I love nothing better than a Sunday morning snuggled in bed with a big cup of ( husband made!) tea, an inspiring book, dogs sleeping at my feet and the family snuggled in with me ideally reading together (but let’s be real they would mostly be on their phones / iPads - eek!).
Are you an early riser? Or do you have more of a routine around getting yourself into bed?
During the week I wake around 6.30am I am trying to gradually get up earlier, as I love the light & calm of early mornings & cherish the time when the house is quiet. Pottering around with the dogs getting organised for the day ahead whilst the family sleeps. I think the earlier my morning starts the more hope I have to get through my mountain of to do’s before school pick up and the evening after school activities / dinner rush.
Pre kids I was an avid reader but through those following baby & toddler years of disrupted sleep I lost the habit. I end up devouring piles of books on Summer holidays to sort of make up for it. I really miss reading, love borrowing books from our local library and I am now trying to read before bed each night. But I must admit I often have to drag myself off the sofa after falling asleep. Definitely not a party animal!
Tell me about Clementine and Co - what is your business all about?
I started Clementine & Co as I couldn’t find the pretty floral homewares I coveted for my home & photo shoots. I have always been drawn to nostalgic floral prints and vintage textiles. So tired of all the over styled, bland neutral linen interiors.
Floral prints are endlessly collectable and have been adored for centuries. I think having pretty things, whether it is a little floral notebook for your daily to -dos, a pretty cotton napkin with your meal even if its just takeaway pizza, or a soft cushion can really bring joy. Clementine & Co aims to do just that, bring joy by elevating the everyday with prettiness!
You have a stunning new range - could you tell us how it came to life, from inception to realisation?
Thank you so much I have really enjoyed researching and creating the 2 new prints - Rosette is a celebration of roses the print is inspired by vintage china & textiles. Wildflowers is based on the Victorian’s obsession with collecting and pressing flowers. I studied fashion & textile design so working on this new range was really exciting brought back my creative Uni days! Once I researched my colour palette and print designs, I sent my final prints to my lovely maker Michael who then gets samples printed on our quality cotton. I check the quality of the prints and the colours ( colour is so so important). I then had samples made up in our original the pouch and napkin designs. I currently have a new product sample in the works too so stay tuned!
Are people loving it???
I hope so, there seems to be many like minded floral obsessives out there like me! Although you don’t have to overdo the florals, keep it simple, contrast is lovely. Floral prints work so beautifully with both modern or simple vintage tableware & interiors. If anything the contrast of floral prints with a simpler pieces such as a modern glass & matt glazed plate with a soft rose print napkin on a table for example, will really allow those florals to sing.
What's your attraction to Liberty fabrics? Is there a story?
When I began Clementine & Co I turned to my beloved Liberty fabrics with their soft cotton and dainty florals. Growing up my mum also loved Liberty. She made our cot sheets in London & later as toddlers in Sydney our little Summer dresses out of Liberty prints. My daughter’s also wore those dresses - a real testament to the beautiful quality and durability of their fabric. The history of Liberty is wonderful so many people have fond memories of a beloved liberty floral print. I dream of going back to London and being allowed into the Liberty Fabric archive, can you just imagine all of those beautiful historical fabric samples - heaven !
I love designing with a Liberty print in an unexpected way - as a dainty cotton napkin rather than plain linen, surrounding a notebook or as a scarf adorning a bag for example.
What’s in your bag right now?
I can’t live without my Clementine & Co basket , even though I am no longer a mummy pack horse lugging about kids nappies and drink bottles I can’t seem to get past having a big bag.
At present I have:
My winter cardigan
My Clementine & Co Rosette Petal pouch - with lip balm, headphones, hand cream, blush stick & perfume.
My car keys - tied with a long ribbon - saves me losing them in the bottom of the bag!
Sunglasses & glasses
Phone
Tea bags - I am a fussy tea drinker , will only drink strong British English Breakfast PG Tips or herbal. So have my favourite Pukka herbal tea bags to hand!
My Clementine & Co notebook - I go through so many notebooks for lists, ideas, goals. So naturally I just had to create a Clementine & Co notebook.
My Artline pens - ( again!) I am fussy so always have stash of these particular pens.
A tape measure - a styling tool I use when out sourcing props for shoots it can be handy to measure a table, platter or vase so I know the scale will work for a particular shot on my brief.
More often then not a bunch of flowers!
Also the practical yet unglamorous - tissues, mints, bandaids ( for the kids) & essential spare dog treats & poo bags for walks!
And I absolutely love your beautiful cotton Clementine and Co zip bags - what are they best used for?
Oh wonderful thank you I am so pleased to hear that. They have been very popular & are the perfect mix of pretty & practical. I created them as have always had the need for organisation in my big cavernous handbags!
They really are multi use - pop them in your handbag for your makeup. phone, odds & ends. Or use them for storing jewellery, glasses or even as a little clutch bag.
They make really lovely gifts too - spread the Clementine & Co prettiness!!
Energy lacking. Leaning in to it. Read 2.5 books; Oh William! by Lucy Stroud, Nothing Bad Ever Happens Here by Heather Rose (what a remarkable memoir, I’d love to chat about it has anyone else read it?) and diving back into Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Monday: after proclaiming Winter has not been harsh in my last Sunday newsletter - we’ve been hit by an arctic blast and 7.5 mm of rain. It did not snow but I can see it in the magic, cotton ball clouds. I cooked soup and read in front of the fire and dragged myself to other domestic-y things. Wednesday; Kids athletics carnival, one of those days you dread because it takes all day, but then you realise it’s not that bad, divine in fact, because in a year’s time, when the next one rolls around everyone will be one year older and time again, will have slipped through our fingers. Thursday: running around like a mad person getting ready for my annual girls weekend at Goonoo Goonoo Station, namely trying to find an outfit for our 80’s Prom theme. As themed parties tend to do, all inhibitions will be lost but it’s true things don’t fit like they used to.
Have a fabulous weekend, Skye!
Looking forward to a photo of your outfit in next week’s newsletter 😜
Also, great Q&A with Aimee. Must visit Min! x
Thank you for your kind words Skye it was so great to be part of Company on Sundays
Xx Aimee