daisy loves... The Camouflage Company

Following our recent discovery of The Camouflage Company – an online shop selling beautiful garden and home accessories – we were delighted when owners Louise Unger and Corinne Laurie agreed to chat to us.

Louise, you and Corinne are sisters who run your business together. What are your backgrounds and did you always want to work together?

We had a company together called Table Matters selling wholesale antique and modern products for all types of tables. We sold pretty much anything that was stylish, quirky and fun and that went on tables! In 1991, we were approached by a Japanese businessman to take the whole range and do a fair in Tokyo. It was hugely successful and when we came back to London he asked us to open a Table Matters shop just off Sloane Street. At the time, it was all very new and exciting and Corinne designed a fantastic range of porcelain which sold in Harrods and Thomas Goode.

For various health and personal reasons we stopped working in the shop and Corinne went onto design jewellery while I did a foundation psychotherapy course, and went on to do hands-on volunteer work.

I normally like my camouflage on soldiers (!) but the designs for The Camouflage Company are just divine – pretty and yet very practical. Where did the initial inspiration come from for the products?

In 2004, Corinne was staying in the country and saw a gorgeous garden blotted by nasty green furniture covers. It made her wonder if there were any alternatives available which would blend in to gardens and pretty them up. There was nothing around so she set about designing some that did!

What is The Camouflage Company’s philosophy?

The look of all our products is fresh, new and very 'now’. They are practical, pretty, eco friendly, kindly priced and incredibly useful! The entire range is aimed at brightening up mundane chores with smart, stylish accessories that can be adapted for a zillion household uses. Basically a very different range of bags for life! Our philosophy is really Glamour up your Clutter – make mess look less!!

The designs of your products are incredibly clever and some are totally unique. Where do you get your ideas from and who comes up with the designs?

Corinne is the creative genius and the ideas just come to her naturally. I have to hold her back as she has a brilliant new idea every five seconds! When we started out the Evergreen design made sense as it was the most obvious form of camouflage. However, the Long Grass design was a little more summery. As other product ranges evolved we decided we also needed patterns that were a little more vibrant, which is why we came up with the English Rose and Indie Chic patterns.

It looks like we’re going to be in for a fab summer – what does every glamorous girl need for her garden this season?

Every girl worth her glamour needs to have the Tool Belt, the Panier for working in the garden and the Leaf Bag to make sweeping up leaves a breeze! And of course our fab covers provide beautiful art in the garden as well as protecting your furniture from those pesky summer showers. If it’s a gorgeous day you are going to want to be outside and our boxes and trays are also great for keeping all the bits and pieces you need with you neat and tidy!

Are you both avid gardeners and if so what are you growing in your gardens this year?

We both like natural, pretty gardens, nothing too structured and definitely no ugly green covers! Although we are both townies, when it comes to gardens and the outdoors, we are both country girls at heart. We love all sorts of gorgeous flowers and we both find gardening a great way to relax.

Your products are so versatile - I use my English Rose tool belt when I’m walking the dogs as it’s perfect for biscuits, blackberry, keys etc. What else can you use some of your products for?

The thing about all our products is that everything is multi-purpose!

The Duffel carrier can be used as a car boot sheet – ideal for avoiding the mess when you visit the garden centre. It can also be used for picnics, or for throwing all your clothes into for a weekend away. If you’re a Mum, it’s perfect for babies to play on then simply duffel up their toys for a quick getaway!

My favourite products at the moment are our fantastic Shop Boxes which have a multitude of uses. But the best way to use them is for your grocery shopping! Just put two boxes inside one of our chic shoppers and when you get to the supermarket put the boxes and the bag in the trolley and shop to your heart’s content. But you do have to leave a little extra time as I can guarantee everyone at the till will ask you where they came from! Then just lift the boxes straight out of the trolley and into your car - we call it your box for life!

The Panier is a very stylish alternative for shopping at your local baker, flower market, butcher etc. You can also use it for activities like fruit picking. One friend of ours is an artist and she uses it to carry all her gear around. The uses of all our products are really just limited to your imagination and we are always delighted to hear how people use theirs!

You currently sell your products online at The Camouflage Company. Do you have any plans to open a shop front or expand into different sectors?

The online shop currently keeps us very busy and we are also stocked in John Lewis and Dobbies as well as smaller chains and independents and other websites. We also have distributors in the USA and France as well as Japan, Croatia, Norway, Spain and Belgium so there are no plans for a shop!!

We are also really excited to be working with the National Gallery and bringing out products at Spring Fair – so no rest for either of us for the foreseeable future!

Thank you both so much and we are both looking forward to a very glamorous summer in the garden!