Nicola Broughton 'The Girl with the Green Sofa' is a renowned instagrammer and blogger who has been featured in the Sunday Times, Casa Vogue and Essential Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom magazine. Here in her Business Spotlight she interviews Charlotte Raffo about the inspiration behind The Monkey Puzzle Tree.
Alexis Snell first worked withThe Monkey Puzzle Tree on their logo design. Just recently she has collaborated with the company again to create this beautiful pattern entitled 'How the Leopard got his Spots',
Fabrics from her recently launched business are also evident. Charlotte has a degree in colour chemistry and was a textile buyer before setting up her online store the Monkey Puzzle Tree. It helps artists translate their work on to fabric and the resulting range has been a big hit with those who are looking for interesting alternatives to mass-produced material. She is about to include wallpaper in the collection.
“The idea is to ensure that artists keep their own identity and creative freedom, while I help them develop repeat designs that work on textiles and wallpapers. It is very important that we are not too restricted by commerciality so we can push the boundaries both in terms of the art and techniques we use,”
I was given a sneak peek at some of the other artists who will be working with The Monkey Puzzle Tree and the decoration pieces that they will be producing. That is what makes Charlotte different to her illustrious predecessor. William Morris focused on creating a style that was easily identifiable as his. Charlotte has an altogether more eclectic catalogue planned. She tells me that this is no accident, her aim is to work with a range of artists and to develop products with them that reflect how their own art work is developing without restrictions.
