The St Mary’s Centre looked smart, professional and welcoming on Saturday June 3. Arabella Ansar, Mat Ashby and John Cowell were on hand to welcome people as they arrived and guide them through the centre to get the most out of their visit.
John, Mat and Arabella set up Design Sussex a year ago now – an initiative to connect creatives and meet like-minded people with all different creative backgrounds and careers.
It is a not-for-profit organisation and ran purely on a voluntary basis to build a creative community where members can support, promote and learn from each other…and have fun social times too.
Their next event on June 21 is a marketing workshop hosted by the fabulous team Rockpool Creative – the South East’s collaborative design and marketing agency.
They summed up the event at St Mary’s Centre, Rye on Saturday: “Hurrah we did it! Our first ever Rye Home Design and Décor Day. Thank you to everyone who attended, booked appointments with our exhibitors and who came to show support.
Thank you to our fabulous exhibitors:
@wearenotlimited
@portraitkitchens
@amy_maynard_interiors
@clarity_homes_and_commercial
@jamesrobsonarchitect
@thebathroomshop
@iamfredcrouch
and to all the participating shops on the printed map designed by Reuben Ashby and on the interactive map from @aryegoodtime :
@puckhaber_lifestyle_edit @ethellovesme @ryebankgallery @ashbees100 @thepaperplacerye @hunterjonesstore @handmade_rugs_rye @rae_lifestyle_ @mrtodsofrye @strand_quay_interiors @badmarriageretro @rectoryinteriors @theryeemporium @tradepaintsltd
Thank you also to The Catering Corps for keeping us refreshed all day with delicious cakes, scones and sausage rolls. Finally, we’d like to give special thanks to @phillipsandstubbs for their very generous sponsorship.”
In case you missed it, the interactive trail of the shops and all of their details can be found for the next couple of weeks under WALKING TRAILS on the free Rye Town App from A Rye Good Time.
Why not have a wander around Rye and explore the town’s many homewares and lifestyle businesses #shoplocal
Some of the contributors explained more:
“My name is Philippa Wiggins and I run The Bathroom Shop at Tenterden where we sell bathrooms and accessories and also offer an installation service. I really enjoyed the day at Rye and meeting the other design professionals. It generated some good leads for my business and I look forward to future shows.”
www.the-bathroomshop.co.uk
Mat from Not Limited:
“We design places that people want to be. With decades of experience in retail, hospitality, residential and workplace design, we bring a unique level of understanding and enthusiasm to each new project. We create, curate and collaborate from initial concept to final completion, ensuring that our clients’ aspirations are met in full.” @wearenotlimited (insta)
Based on the Sussex/Kent border, James Robson is an architect specialising in unique houses and smaller development projects. With 30 years of experience as a registered architect and developer, his focus is on finding creative but practical solutions. James set up his own company in 2022, having previously been a partner at an established Kent company for 15 years. His goal is to work with passionate people to create buildings with character and integrity.
“The Design event in Rye was great for me, not only giving me an opportunity to engage with potential clients, but also having some quality time with the other exhibitors was really useful, I’m sure I’ll be in contact with them again on future projects.”
contact: james@jamesrobson.design
Image Credits: Kt bruce , Arabella Ansar .