‘Dream come true’ for luxury interiors business owner going from strength to strength
The owner of a luxury interiors and soft furnishings business says she is living her dream as her venture continues to expand and grow.
Louise Miller-Chalk is the founder of Miller & Chalk and she designs, sources the fabrics and hand makes all the products on offer.
The soft furnishings span across feather cushions, made-to-measure curtains and blinds, table linen and blankets – and Louise is the mastermind behind the meticulous attention-to-detail that goes into creating them.
The online store allows shoppers access to an evolving selection of home decor across a variety of interior design styles.
The journey began in 2016 when Louise launched the business under the name ‘Gracie Lu’, selling luxury pet products. Four years later, in 2020, she rebranded to Miller & Chalk.
The founder went through a lot of life changes – from leaving a relationship, moving back home and being made redundant from her job – and says this is what pushed her to take the business on full-time.
Since then, Louise has brought her vision to life by renovating her studio space, located just outside of Towcester in Astcote.
For those who have never heard of Miller & Chalk before, Louise described it as a “country soft furnishings brand” best known for its cushions.
When asked how business has been since the last time she spoke to the Chronicle & Echo back in January, Louise said: “Things have been doing well. There's a lot of change happening for us – all good things.
“We’re starting to progress and we’ll be celebrating four years this month. It’s crazy but exciting. We’re starting to venture out into new product lines and I’m working on designing those.”
As part of her commitment to keep everything as local as possible, Louise is working with Northampton-based woodwork company Waller & Wood. They have collaborated to create branded presentation trays that can be personalised, as requested by Louise’s customers.
This is one of the many new products coming, the rest of which Louise is keeping under wraps for now. The founder says people can expect more trendy homeware items in the near future.
Louise is pleased to have built a loyal customer base, who tend to start with upgrading one room in their home and return to Miller & Chalk when they move onto the next.
“I never really thought I would own a business,” said Louise. “It’s a dream come true. I speak to so many different people and they send me pictures of their homes so I can help them choose products and fabrics.”
The business owner posts regularly on TikTok and assists those who ask for recommendations. Louise documents this process to help other potential clients too, which she thoroughly enjoys.
Her proudest achievement this year is having a selection of cushions featured in The Store Hotel in Oxford, after an interior designer reached out.
Louise also hosted her spring-summer photoshoot at Ashbrook House, and this was the first time she had done a proper shoot outside of her home and the studio.
Looking to the future, Louise hopes to run seasonal workshops from her studio and would also like to employ her first team member – who would assist with creating all of the products in-house as a seamstress.