Fashion designer turned journalist, author and crafts expert, Danielle Proud tells marmaLADYa.com what fuels her home-making creativity

So, how did you get into crafts and interiors?
My dad had a real thing for old furniture and he used to teach me how to do up old pieces. My mum was really into crafts. She really loved patchwork and was a member of quite a few groups. I think she used to give me small pieces of work to stitch just to keep me quiet! I used to copy whatever she was doing.

Why did you decide to leave fashion for journalism?
I studied fashion at St Martin’s and started working at a fashion designer. I worked on the re-launch of Biba and for Miss Selfridge. But I became really disillusioned with fashion. There’s so much waste and it’s so throwaway and flighty. Every season everything just gets chucked away if it’s not in anymore. So I made a change and went into journalism. I worked as a news editor on a magazine called the Scene, then at Time Out and then onto The Guardian, where I’ve been working on The Guide for the last six years. It was there that I started writing about interiors, in the weekend magazine. I wrote a ‘How to…’ Women’s Institute style page but for the modern day. It was on the back of that that I was approached for the book.

Do you think women are returning to crafts and home making?
There’s a massive trend of women wanting to make their own things in the home. Ikea was so trendy for a while, it was so new. But I think people have got sick of this. You can spot that type of interior a mile off. People want something with a bit of personality in their homes. In the 50s and 60s there was a real need for people to make do and mend what they had. So you had more of a personal touch though sheer necessity. Now after so much minimalism, I think people are looking for things with more personality and that’s really going to reflect their taste. There’s more longevity in interiors. Rooms evolve and develop their own personality.

Isn’t life too busy sometimes to get all arts and crafty?
I did most of the projects for my book in front of Desperate Housewives, or Sex in the City! People say they are too busy and don’t have time to do crafty types of things, but I think you can make time to do it.

Should we be making an effort to re-use and recycle what we’ve already got?
I think it’s so important that people realise how things are made. We’re part of such a throwaway society. Re-using things you’ve got in the house is really groovy! It means you really identify the things you like and it reflects your taste. Like the oven gloves I made out of the dress I was wearing when I first met my husband – I have lovely memories every time I use them. You can’t buy that. It’s a different level of appreciation and happiness. And it gives you such a sense of reward, which is completely different to when you buy something. When you’ve made something, every time you look at it you feel something, and you develop a real emotional attachment.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
Everyday. I can’t look at a piece of furniture or without thinking of 20 different possible ways it could be. I always think, ‘I’m sure it would be better if I did this to it’. Bloody-minded fabulousness, I call it! I don’t see myself as trying to be trendy. I’m not really part of a scene. I just make stuff! What’s interesting about new-wave craft is the way people, who haven’t been taught these things at school, throw themselves into guerrilla craft-making, making things with ragged seams and rough edges, it’s not about whether you can do the perfect French seam and then the other thing that is fascinating, as with anything in fashion and design, is the translation of something old into something new, which gives a piece a whole new vibe and edge. Giving something a new context makes it fresh and new. It’s also nice to see something unexpected, like vintage plates transfer on blinds in a modern kitchen give it a wonderful sense of ‘shabby’ chic.

Where do you pick up old pieces of furniture to do up?
I really like Bedford Auction, a furniture market out in Bedfordshire. Borough Market is really good, but not on the weekends! And the Salvation Army shops.

What have you got planned for this year?
I’ve been filming for a TV programme, which is all about teaching people to find their own taste for doing up their homes. I really like the idea of encouraging people to find their own taste, rather than taste being a prescriptive thing. It’s all about thinking about what you are drawn to, instead of just choosing from what’s on offer at places like Ikea. It’s about identifying colours, fabrics, and particular styles of furniture that you like. I am thinking about doing another book. A bit more interior design focussed. At the moment I write an interiors page for the Sunday Time Style magazine, which I love. But doing a book is a real emotional roller coaster. It’s takes a lot out of you and takes up a lot of time. I’ve hardly seen my husband at all this year!

Have you had a good response to the book?
I do get letters from people. I got a lovely letter from a woman who had tried out the chest of drawers in my book, for her daughter. They’d done it together and loved the result. Doing up a chest of drawers with designer paper is perfect for teenagers. Inspiring people to try these things for themselves is really rewarding. I think that’s a big part of why I’ve never made things to sell. I’d much rather people found out about the sense of reward you get when you make something yourself. I think that’s why I’ve gone down the book, journalism and TV route – that’s the only way you can spread the word without selling your own things.

Do you think we have something to learn from our grandmother’s?
Definitely! My grandmother’s house was really cool. She had old 40s fabrics which had been made into dresses, used for curtains – if a dress had worn out then there’d be another cushion on the sofa. We should defiantly re-use and re-work what we have.

How can we move away from the immediate gratification culture?
I think once somebody has had a go at making something themselves, the sense of reward is so strong they’ll want to keep doing it. I suppose the problem is getting them to try it in the first place. But if you see something you can’t afford then it’s time to get a bit more creative and inventive. That’s what inspired me to start making things for my home.

What’s the best way to get started on making your own things?
If you haven’t done anything crafty before, then you do need to give a little time to learning some basics. Buy a book and follow the instructions carefully, and try not to focus on getting an instant result. And then you just need to try making something really simple. The placemats in my book don’t take more than an hour or so, and you get a really great result. And the mini Damien Hirst shark is really easy. All you do is get a toy shark, stick it in a mould and pour resin over it! Once you get people walking into your house going ‘Ohh, where did you get those?’, you’ll really start enjoying what you’ve done. Making your own things gives a real warmth to a house.

Where’s do you get your craft supplies?
Barnett & Lawson, it’s just off Oxford Street. You can also get a lot of stuff direct from China on eBay, things like pom poms! Hobby Craft has a got all sorts of things which are very useful. It is a bit like the Starbucks of the craft world, but it is really handy. If you want to do three different craft projects then it’s really easy to get hold of everything you need.

Danielle Proud is author of House Proud published by Bloomsbury.