top of page

The Humble Cut

Local mum Harriet Plumb is making a living out of potato
printing! With a background in textile design and retail, she was experimenting in the kitchen one day, when she came up with
some motives for home accessories and decided to launch her
own homeware brand. Since then she hasn't looked back – check
out her charming designs for the special people in your life
this Christmas…

Tell me about yourself…

I live in Bisham with my husband and two children, aged six and eight. We moved to the area four years ago from Barnes. We loved London but didn't envisage staying there forever and knew it would be harder to leave once the children were settled in to school. I'm from Somerset and my husband is from West Sussex, and we were looking for somewhere that felt rural but commutable to London, where he still works. We also wanted a period property to do up – a bit of a tall order! To be nearer my parents was also a criteria and Bisham miraculously ticked all our boxes! We are very happy here, the children love their school in Cookham and we all enjoy living on the river, with Marlow and all it's wonderful restaurants, shops and facilities so close by. To have the Chilterns on our doorstep, yet still easily accessible for London for work, our friends (and more shopping!) is just ideal.

​

Tell me about your business…

When my daughter started school a year and a half ago, I wanted to work again, having not done so since the children were born. But I needed something that was flexible around their school days and holidays. My degree is in Textile Design, and when I graduated I worked in retail as a buyer, then had a career change to Interior Design. My hope was to utilise by background but be self-employed. I decided to start designing again and whilst playing around at the kitchen island with the children, I re-discovered potato printing! I kept experimenting and found the process really effective and gratifying. Once my portfolio was good enough, I put my designs into production and started my homewares brand, The Humble Cut. We sell home accessories, such as trays, placemats, fine bone china and kitchen textiles, all decorated with my sophisticated potato printed designs.

​

Who is your idol? And what inspires you?

Since childhood, I have put a lot of importance on the home, how it looks and feels, creating a warm atmosphere using lots of colour and texture, and being surrounded with objects that tell a story about us as a family. Designers like Ilse Crawford and Neisha Crosland have influenced me along with my original idol, William Morris. I like homeware to be well made, honest and beautiful, and it's increasingly hard to find when everything is so cheaply and easily produced and nothing made to last. 

My designs are always colourful, often flora and fauna inspired, but I also like using architectural elements in my work. I feel the potato printing process gives the motifs an imperfect charm that you don't find with computer generate design.

​

What are your goals for the future?

Having launched my Online Shop this summer, I have since shown my work at the Top Drawer – Spotted Trade Show and now have wholesale stockists. This next year is all about continuing growing the brand's profile whilst designing and developing more bright and beautiful pieces to bring colour and charm into people's homes!

​

www.thehumblecut.co.uk 

bottom of page