My meet up with Make Holt’s, Aviva Leigh to discuss the carefully curated concept store and the design of the Shirehall apartments above

My meet up with Make Holt’s, Aviva Leigh to discuss the carefully curated concept store and the design of the Shirehall apartments above.

The Georgian Market town of Holt is a gorgeous place, how did you find yourself here?

“In the Summer of ’20, during the pandemic, I was invited to create a Makers’ Market in Holt, I wanted to bring some life back to the town and create a creative outdoor environment where people could shop safely and support local businesses and makers who had lost their source of income with the closure of indoor markets. During that summer I was offered the space in The Shirehall”.

The old building society-turned-financial services premises was all grey carpets and office cubicles – realising this wasn’t going to be very inspiring for artists and makers to sell their handcrafted items, Aviva was given the freedom by the owner to strip the building back to its beautiful bones.

“What was initially planned to be a pop up concept quickly evolved into the carefully curated concept store that Make Holt is today! It’s great that over the last few years the town has seen so many new independent businesses open and its becoming known for a creative shopping experience!”

Have you always had a passion for interiors or just one day realise you were really good at it?

“Since childhood I’ve loved organising spaces and making them feel homely. My background in South Africa was in fashion and design, I love coordinating ‘stories’ and having a project.. I’ve always loved interiors and when I settled in the UK I did an interior design diploma, followed by a degree in Textile Design. I was offered several private renovation projects in historic houses in Norwich and the Norfolk coast. I love interiors a lot more than fashion but I’m not really interested in trends, I follow my instincts”.

“Texture and colour are really important to me and because I work with natural dyes, the colours have got to have some life to them, which I think is why I really love your paints, because you can see the colours within them, they aren’t just a flat synthetic colour”.

What was your starting point for The Shirehall Apartments renovation and what inspired your colour schemes?

“The building itself is 18th century with a wealth of original features and loads of character! Involved from the very beginning, I tried to incorporate as many of these features in my designs, for example reusing the original floorboards which were no longer fit for purpose to create panelling and kitchen units. The concept of ‘wabi sabi’ and beauty in imperfection is a theme that runs through all three apartments.

My degree in textiles was focused on dyeing with plant dyes and creating woven textiles for interiors. Norfolk has a rich heritage of textiles and natural colour, the three most historic colours were indigo, madder and weld (the three primaries of blue, red, yellow) so I themed the apartments around these three colours.

I was quite daring with colour choices. Old Forge in the Indigo apartment, for example, which the painters at the time were unsure about at first but grew to love”.

Which of The Shirehall Apartments do you like best, and why?

“That has to be Indigo, which also happens to be my favourite colour! It has lots of wood in it with dark, moody Japanese vibes. I also love the original arched window with views down Bull St. Being south facing it has sun all day with a great outlook over Shirehall Plain…”

“Despite being a holiday rental, guests are invited to use the beautiful cups and crockery that you sell downstairs in Make Holt with a ‘no expenses spared’ approach to the furnishings. This allows guests to see what is available in the shop downstairs. We’ve been open for 5 months and there has only been one casualty (a broken mug). I tested everything before we opened and was happy that they could absolutely stand up to the wear and tear. Its nice to eat off beautiful plates and drink from hand crafted cups when you are away, it makes it more special”.

In your own home, what inspires your interior style?

“Everything in my house is something that is special to me – an eclectic mix of world influences. I love to travel and always end up bringing something handmade and unique home with me that has memories connected to it. My house is full of books, ceramics and an eclectic mix of textiles treasures from around the world, things that have meaning and make my space colourful and welcoming. (oh and I have an indigo coloured sofa with a big pile of indigo resist dyed cushions made by a friend from fabric bought back from North Africa!)

I am not interested in faddy trends and boring beige. There is no love or connection to what the items are. I like to buy directly from the makers where I can”.

What was the initial concept for Make Holt and how do you see the business evolving over time?

“Make Holt evolved from the artisan markets. Fed up with draughty industrial spaces and blowy fields I had dreamed of having a permanent space for the work, curated by me and styled to inspire! The Industrial feel of the feel of the old Norwich shoe factory where we used to hold our markets made its presence felt here in Holt when we started stripping off the stripy wallpaper and discovered all the lovely old textures below!

We opened in December 2020 with 24 makers and now have over 60 local artists and artisans working with us. We are always on the lookout for new talent and as well as being approached by makers to sell their work I enjoy building new relationships with them and adding their work to the mix. Moving forwards, I would love to continue to develop the bespoke side of the business, creating specially commissioned works for interiors.

Soucing directly from makers has always been important to me. The only time I will venture outside of the locality for makers will be if I simply cannot find the product I’m looking for from local artisans, for example, the pure wool blankets and hand knotted rugs found in the apartments.

Connections are so key for me. For the bespoke Shirehall Apartment rugs, I worked with a fabulous design studio in the Atlas mountains in Morocco, where there are around a hundred women creating beautiful carpets. Using plant dyes and traditional methods I have taught them, we dyed the wool together on the roof terrace of the studio. I was there at the beginning of the rug making process, where they showed me how they do their special knots. The three rugs in the apartments are hand knotted and completely hand made by people I have met and worked alongside. Although they aren’t British, they are still very much connected to me and my story. Hopefully, the aim is that guests will love them so much they’ll want to commission a unique design for their own home!

In the rooms there is a brochure that has been put together explaining that guests can come down and have a chat about anything they like from their apartment. Artworks are rotated, almost like a gallery, and new items swapped in and out, so the apartments are ever-changing, showcasing the small businesses I work with.

As the business evolves, I plan to transform part of the shop to be more interiors-focussed. Sort of a consultation area for design. Working with like-minded people on commissions / bespoke work, helping them to put pieces into their homes that works for them with the way they live.

Formulaic interior design is not for me. It has to be my style and my aesthetic working with the 100+ local makers to make something happen for them. I do this now, so it happens anyway – but in the midst of everything where its busy, I want the back of the shop to become a more calm and focussed work space for bespoke commissions”.

You are clearly very passionate about Shop Local / Shop Small.

With independent artisans and brands so close to your heart, what do you love most about working with business owners rather than the corporate giants?

“Developing a relationship of trust and confidence with the makers. Each and every one of them has a story to tell, about their inspiration, their process and their creative journey. If we can share these stories with the people who want to buy their work they are buying so much more than a mass produced ‘product’. Provenance is key and it’s great to tell the customers more about the materials, traceability and the back story.

It is also really important to me that people feel welcomed into the Make Holt space and are left to browse but also they know that there are knowledgeable staff here to help if they want more info, or are thinking about commissioning bespoke pieces.

There’s also the element of reducing the carbon footprint of the work, most of the work in the shop comes from within 50 miles of our front door, the makers often deliver the work themselves, giving them a chance to catch up over a coffee, meet some our customers and see their work in the setting of Make Holt.”