Beryl Sheep Plush Keyring by Wrendale Designs

Hannah Dale began Wrendale Designs on a crowded kitchen table in Melton Ross, Lincolnshire. Having a pretty eclectic background (studying art at school before reading Zoology at Cambridge University followed by five years as a stockbroker in London), she found herself married to a Lincolnshire farmer with a young baby and a desperation to find an outlet for her artistic roots. Being a practical sort, Hannah turned her hand to sewing, furnishing the windows of many friends and family with beautiful curtains and blinds, and also making personalised nursery paintings for children which proved very popular.

Inspired by the glorious Lincolnshire countryside and the outdoor life, Hannah started to paint hares; loving their expressive faces and wonderful personalities – other people agreed and they were an immediate success. Spurred on by this, she expanded her repertoire and began painting other animals – foxes, pheasants, geese, dogs, hens (the family keeps cochins with their wonderfully feathery feet!).

It was then suggested to Hannah that she design some cards… and she hasn’t looked back. Since then, the company has won five prestigious Henries awards and supplies cards nationwide, as well as exporting all over the world. It has a collaboration with Portmeirion which produces wonderful quality ceramic, textile and melamine items featuring Wrendale’s designs, and it has also branched out beyond cards to produce other stationery, tinware and a fab soft furnishings range.

As the business has grown, it has become very much a family affair and Hannah’s husband Jack now runs the business, with a wonderful team processing orders, answering the phone and packing the orders so that Hannah can focus on what she enjoys most – the artwork. We are delighted that people seem to love our designs and hope to keep on creating many more!

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