We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gemma Lewis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gemma below.
Gemma, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
When I was naming the company, I knew from the start that I would have a physical store, however at that point I didn’t know that the actual building I would end up in would have some Wattle & Daub within the building. Wattle and daub is a composite building method used for making walls and buildings and has been used for at least 6000 years and therefore is often found in historic buildings. Woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand animal dung and straw. For me the description of wattle and daub illustrated the idea of what it means to create an individual home, basically taking different ingredients to create something individual. I believe passionately that every home should be distinctive and by layering objects which make you smile, start a conversation of that have you tell a story will create a home that is both curious and charming.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
It’s taken me quite a while to get to this creative path, previously spending nearly 27 years in Human Resources in the corporate world. At the age of 42 I knew that if I didn’t change what I was doing now then I probably wouldn’t ever change it. I just felt that there was something else I needed to explore. Ridiculously having a shop is nothing like anything I had done before and I really didn’t think much beyond that. I suppose for lots of people being a shopkeeper feels a little romantic and how naive that seems now. When I think about the beginning (7 years ago), it was simply a case of curating a shop and selling my wares. As my skill set has developed the Wattle & Daub brand has evolved into a product and service based business.
I was always obsessed with my home and as a kid I would arrange and rearrange furniture in my room exhausting all the options available to me. As the years went by I continued to seek out the old stuff discarded as junk by another but treasure to me or source the new, created by makers far and wide to be displayed together to create a space that was distinctively me. Doing this for others felt like a natural path and so Wattle & Daub was created. Wattle & Daub as at today source and salvage objects for the home & living curated together in the shop in Church Street, Godalming, alongside offering a suite of creative services which include product/lifestyle photography, floral styling and interiors advice. We also run workshops to share these skills to hopefully inspire others to find their creative side and to meet like-minded folk.
Often customers lack the confidence to create the spaces they aspire to have and hopefully by showing them either through visiting the shop, seeing my continuous decorating habits online or attending a mood board workshop we can help them to push the boundaries and gain the confidence to create a unique space rather than follow trends. Often people tend to decorate their rooms in isolation of each other but do not consider all of the spaces as a continuation. It is the key to creating a coherent look and feel.
Offering photography workshops and creating images for other brands is something I absolutely adore doing and is what I am most proud of. Seven years ago when I started the business I knew the type of images I wanted to create but with a lack of technical know-how I had to climb a steep learning curve and teach myself. I have been so lucky to have gained some lovely press covered through these images and I know first-hand the importance of creating beautiful imagery that tells the story behind the brand. Our businesses are one-of-a kind and I now really appreciate the importance of showing this individuality through the lens. In a world where everyone is a photographer there is no excuse not to be able to take great photographs.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
I am lucky in that I have a physical presence on the high street (well slightly off the high street), so automatically when you create beautiful visuals in the window and open the doors people will (hopefully) come. However you have to keep them coming as that initial interest in a shop that has just opened always disappears. Some customers will become loyal customers, others will make one purchase and never visit again. I had an experienced shopkeeper tell me many moons ago that it will take at least 5 years to create an audience that consistently turns up to visit you. The reality of having a physical shop is that you have to continually ‘feed the beast’ and always make the space look incredible (in my mind anyway).
The national press coverage I have received in publications such as Country Living, Homes & Antiques and Homes & Gardens has certainly helped, as has the instagram account. Although as all small businesses are now experiencing, gaining a decent reach via social media is a lot more complicated than it previously was and I am not sure dancing in my pants on TikTok is the way forward for me. I am at a stage at present where because the business has evolved into a service based business as well as continuing as a product based business I need to reconsider my marketing strategy and look at all the tools available to me and how I continue to use those tools to market the brand. What I do know is that by creating consistently good visuals via my socials and the website I have continued to receive press coverage. The challenge for me is that I am one person doing everything so trying to balance the different priorities and be consistent in my marketing to attract new customers is an ongoing battle.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
For years I was a ‘non-creative’ working in large corporate businesses. I thought that was my career sorted until at the age of 42 I decided to open up a shop in a creative field of work. As things have evolved and my skill set has developed I now create products for the shop, produce photography for other brands, create floral displays and run creative workshops. I question how I was able for so long (27 years in fact) to work in a cut throat industry as a ‘non-creative’. I find the admin side of the business a chore and I struggle to balance all of the tasks required as a business owner when you have very few or no-one to delegate to. I am convinced I am dyslexic and now look back at how tough I was on myself to compete at a senior level within Investment Banking. I feel much more myself working in the world I find myself in but I also need to remind myself that to continue to thrive and ensure the business is a success I have to overcome some of my fears and continue to promote and market the business consistently.
Contact Info:
- Website: wattleanddaubhome.co.uk
- Instagram: @wattleanddaubhome
- Facebook: wattleanddaubhome
Image Credits
All photographs copyright of Wattle & Daub Ltd. Gemma Lewis.