A passion for print

Together with our lifestyle buyer Jess, Humphries and Begg have created a bespoke range of clothing sold in our Farmshops. Alice Begg gives her insight into her life full of colour.

The interview…

You’re a husband-and-wife partnership, how did it all start?

We met at the Secret Garden Party festival, where Alice was decorating the stage that Robbie played on, and as they say, it was love at first sight. Alice studied fashion at Middlesex University in London and Robbie is a musician,

Three months after they met, the pair travelled to India returning with bags full of fabrics and patterns and Humphries & Begg was born. We thought our surnames, Humphries and Begg, struck a chord, like it had been around forever. The name was the easy bit

Tell me a bit about your design inspiration.

I get very inspired by a colour palate, which usually calls to me when we’re travelling. I get this feeling about where we are, which always starts with colour. I then do some “mark-making” in watercolours, and then I play with the repeats and refine the designs. I then send the designs to Rakesh who separates the colours into blocks, carve the blocks and bring together the design.

What do you think makes a great article of clothing?

I think firstly, it’s comfort. You have to feel really comfortable wearing it. If it’s not comfortable, even if you love it, if it’s not truly comfortable, it ends up sitting in the wardrobe. Comfort is so important. And then it needs to be special, you know that feeling when you see something that is so special, this is so brilliant and beautiful, I’ve just got to have it.

It’s clear that pattern drives your collections, what’s your creative process in designing your patterns?

I start by looking at colour palettes, then playing around with shapes. It all starts with my watercolour set, it all pours out of my head. Making little patterns and seeing how they work together, it’s my favourite bit of the process. It’s a little like playing with a big jigsaw puzzle.

How do you get your ideas made into fabric?

We have a few methods of production with our partners in Jaipur. We screen print, block print and some of our designs are digitally printed.

We work with two small family run print and production houses within the old city walls of Jaipur, in Northern India. They run their businesses much like previous generations, they’re very accommodating any they try hard to make anything possible.

A motorway services isn’t a natural venue for ethically made fashion?

Jess approached us a few years ago and I knew about Gloucester Services, but I didn’t really know how truly amazing it was. Shortly before we launched our first collection at the services, we toured some of the community projects and social enterprises the services support. It’s remarkable the links they have in the local community. Jess, their lifestyle buyer really “gets” what we do and I love having more opportunities to design.

How does it make you feel when you spot someone wearing one of your pieces?

It does feel amazing when we spot Humphries and Begg out in the wild. I remember we were living in Manchester we were on the bus and someone walk past us, wearing one of our new jumpsuits, and we couldn’t believe it.

A friend told me the other day, it was a grey miserable day in London, with everyone in dark colours and she spotted one of our pink winter coats in the gloom and how good it made her feel. That bright pop of colour on a grey day.

Want to know more? Visit Humphries and Begg, here.