Walpole: In a world where we’re always available, how do you separate your personal time from your work time?
Cath Brown: I think we have become quite good at compartmentalising and separating our work and home life. We founded Feldspar together and we're also married with three kids, so while it’s very easy to slip into chatting about work at home, it’s also quite hard to have meaningful discussions about work when you have a one-year-old shouting ‘tractor!’ in your face. So we do try to leave work at the workshops, but there are always exceptions. It’s a work in progress!
What’s one thing you do after the workday to help you unwind?
Have a bath. Every night, without fail, all year round. Jeremy made me a beautiful wooden bath bridge a few years ago that holds my book, has grooves for our soap dish and a space for one of our scented candles. It’s the perfect accompaniment.
What activity do you do in your time away from the office that helps you relax and recentre after a stressful week?
We have young kids so relaxing is something that doesn’t necessarily happen – organised chaos is how I would tend to describe time away from the office. The workshop is quite relaxing in comparison! We live in the middle of nowhere in Devon though, so just being at home and cooking and eating is our favourite thing to do. We try to leave home as little as possible, which probably explains why we started making homewares!
Little rituals are important to us to make special moments at home though - amidst all the toys! We’ve just launched a collaboration with Lucy Williams that is all centred on candlelight and how lighting a candle as the evenings draw in is a wonderful way to elevate ordinary moments, to create a sense of occasion.
What’s something you’ve read, listened to, or seen in your spare time that’s helped you at work?
We always find listening to Desert Island Discs is very therapeutic, especially if we’re spending too much time working and not enough time with the kids. It really makes you re-focus on what’s important!
After home and the office, where’s your favourite ‘third space’?
The beach. We go to the beach after work, after school, have barbecues there and a splash in the waves. It’s important time because you never have phone signal where we go, so it’s an enforced break where you can’t do anything except play pétanque and build sand castles.
On Sunday night, how do you prepare yourself for the week ahead?
Sunday nights are actually my favourite evening of the week. We always have a supper of leftovers, always watch something very cosy on TV (ideally involving David Attenborough), get our ducks in a row for the week ahead and then wind down with a good book (in the bath, obviously).
Best reason you've had to turn your Out of Office on recently?
Jeremy’s brother got married recently in the South of France, so we were out of office for a whole week! Jeremy made him a set of boules in a beautiful case – he hand-turned them from maple and walnut and made a luxurious felt-lined ash box with a lock and key to keep them in. It’s a beautiful object, just the perfect gift. And we danced until 5am.
Your go-to Out of Office outfit: Levi 501s with an old, darned cashmere jumper on top if needed (it usually is on Dartmoor!) and Blundstones.
Your happy place anywhere in the world: On the beach in North Devon at dusk on a beautiful day, with a barbecue going, watching the sunset over Lundy Island.
Your favourite bar or restaurant: Foros in Old Perithia in Corfu – and we always order the same mezze dishes. It’s always so delicious and Thomas, who runs it, it so welcoming.
Something cultural or sporting you booked recently that you'd recommend: We went to the Summer Exhibition at the RA which is always great and inspiring.
Something you've listened to or read recently that you'd recommend: Beth Gibbon’s new album Lives Outgrown is brilliant!
A hobby you'd like to cultivate: Papier-mâché. Jeremy is always making outrageous fancy dress outfits for the kids. He recently made both a full-size minion out of papier-mâché and a full set of armour including a hand sculpted walnut and ash sword for an Odysseus costume.
A luxury that’s actually a necessity: A long soak in a bubble bath.
Best luxury under £25: A bar of Pump Street Chocolate.
