Worn By Ella Doran

You founded your namesake company, Ella Doran over 25 years ago. What made you set up on your own and what was the initial idea?

I knew from an early stage that I wanted to run my own business. A few of my peers had already received Crafts Council grants, I had a commission to print vast amounts of one of my degree show prints for a dance company, so I went back to college to use the equipment there, but that helped me know that I did not want to buy equipment to run a screen-printing studio.  Instead, I had the opportunity to join 1stXI Studio, a prestigious print design agency who covered interiors and fashion prints, which also led to assisting in the selling of the designs. 

All of this post-graduate experience gave me the confidence and insight into how I might set up on my own...

What characterises an Ella Doran product or project?

That’s a good question, and not the easiest one to be objective about, but I’d say my work is characterised by a bold, graphic quality and a confident use of colour. I was once referred to as the “queen of tableware,” and became known for bringing the outdoors in, and onto the table. Over time, my company evolved to apply those designs to a broader range of everyday products, from wallpaper and window blinds to cushions and accessories.

When I worked for you, you collaborated with design duo, Silence, and the Tate Modern on an Alphabet Book ‘A is for Artist’. A big part of what you do now is lecturing at the Royal College. Can you tell us more about your interest in education?

The books for Tate — A is for Artist and Colour — came about through my work designing collections for the Tate museums in London, St Ives, and Liverpool. 

Each collection celebrated its location and local architecture through my photographic style. Both myself and Zoe Miller and David Goodman, were parents of young children at the time, just the right age for learning the alphabet and then colour theory!

We had a wonderful launch for the first book in the Turbine Hall, where guests were invited to create their own artwork and stick it on the wall for the day — celebrating “A is for Artist” and  “G is for Gallery!”  

Fast forward 15 years and you’re right — for the past five years I’ve been a tutor on the superMATTER program in Interior Design at the Royal College of Art. This past year, I’ve also been co-leader of the platform, and I absolutely love it. The creativity, exchange, and reciprocity with the students and my peers is brilliant — I feel very lucky to be part of it.

Your work often explores sustainability and the circular economy. Can you tells us about any key projects in this area of design and what drives you?

Many of my participatory or public exhibits in the last decade have centered around education and exploring my creativity through the reuse of materials and making of products. The most ambitious to date was at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which focused on showcasing creativity local to material and place, where I worked with the wool from the sheep that graze around the Henry Moores, and wood from a fallen oak tree. From Sheep to Seat – Fleece to Floor, was a selling exhibition in the Visitor Centre, where I made as many products for the interior that I could out of wool and Julian Mayor designed a set of chairs and stools that were upholstered with my design that had been translated into a woven textile. Another was Clean Up Camo, with Sophie Thomas, inspired by her collection of waste plastic collected during beach clean-ups, I photographed the collection and created a repeat pattern which we then applied to a range of accessories using mono materials and tracing every element as far as we could to bring transparency to the supply chain, and the journey of materials in order to make the collection, we sold the collection at the 

Design Museum during their Waste Age exhibition. 10% of the sales go to Surfers Against Sewage and they have two designs on T shirts that are available on their site too. 

Your latest M.Hulot piece, the Loe Bag in Nude, is a belt bag like the Honstu. How do they fit into your life and how do they differ?

I love my new Loe Bag, but I wear it over my shoulder the same as the Honstu, the size is perfect for going out– ie for dinner. Whereas my Honstu lives with me daily, it is my phone and card holder and it’s perfect as it’s light and easy, and looks cool. I get asked most weeks where it is from ☺

London’s East End is such a big part of your life and work. Which is your favourite spot and do you have any recommendations for those visiting the area now?

As a Hackney local I am rightly proud of our parks, both Victoria Park and London Fields are both lovely, especially on a sunny day. The Museum of the Home has recently opened some new room  sets, which are well worth a visit for anyone interested in design and the home. They have fantastic array of events over the year, so it’s well worth joining their mailing list.

For the best coffee, head to Batch Baby on De Beauvoir Road, conveniently close to my studio. And more local to home Broadway Market not only boasts a brilliant weekend market, but has three excellent independent book shops, Donlon Books, Broadway Bookshop and Artwords Bookshop

Bags and Artwork Featured :

M.Hulot Bags Featured:

Wood Drawstring in Lilac

Mill Slouch in Nude

Loe Bag in Nude

Honstu Belt Bag in Peat , no longer in Production.

Nubuck Peter Bag in Bitter Chocolate/Emerald

Artworks featured:

Bridge Bench - Ella Doran in collaboration with Blake C Joshua

Hanging paper Artwork - Yuliang Kang

Wood Grain Textiles and Window Vinyls - Ella Doran

Wow Yellow Bike Wheel Round Cushion - Ella Doran

Photography - Beth Davis