Joanna Sanderson is the Creative Director and founder of Zena & Rose, a pattern design studio which retails its own collections of homeware and licenses designs to other companies. The hero products for the company are cushions, lampshades and wallpaper.
Joanna worked for 10 years in the museum and heritage sector. She has worked as a consultant on numerous projects for prestigious clients such as the V&A Museum, Somerset House, The Royal Parks and English Heritage (Eltham Palace, Belsay Castle, Marble Hill House). Whilst working as a property curator for English Heritage, she was responsible for the conservation of 80 sites across eastern England and advised on major restoration projects.
When she had children, she decided to follow her dreams of becoming a creative entrepreneur. She used her drawing skills, combined with specialist knowledge of heritage and design, to build the foundation of her design business. The company’s mission is to make original products influenced by interior design heritage, whilst appealing to contemporary tastes.
Launched in autumn 2021, the Bright Botanicals collection is a fresh interpretation of Victorian florals popular in the Arts & Crafts movement, presented in vibrant colours to liven up any home. The Japonisme collection launched in February 2022, with patterns featuring heavenly scented pine trees, misty forests and swirling water, presented in calming colour palettes. The inspiration came from traditional Japanese decorative arts, which were popular in the UK at the end of the 19th century. All the designs are a combination of hand-drawn and digital artwork, exclusive to Zena & Rose.
The last two years has been a challenging time for UK businesses, but Joanna feels it was actually a good opportunity to start a homeware business, simply because more people were staying at home. She says, “People have become more conscious of their surroundings and have started to make much more of an effort with their design choices. Our mission at Zena & Rose is to help them make it easy to find distinctive home products that stand out. Our collections are aimed at customers looking for high quality artisanal products that are unique in the market. Our online shop helps them access designer furnishings in one place.”
Zena & Rose’s values are based on environmental sustainability. Joanna says, “When starting the business, I particularly wanted to focus on the sustainability of the products. We have achieved this by choosing to manufacture in the UK and only using cotton that has met international ethical and environmental standards. We try to reduce waste at each stage of our process and make sure any left-over ink or material is recycled. We also thought carefully about packaging and avoid using plastic.”
Joanna is responsible for every aspect of the product design process, from initial artwork to manufacturing. She is also the main point of contact for online retail consumers and industry buyers, both independent and corporate. A key part of Joanna’s role is to understand interior design trends and consumer needs.
Zena & Rose sells through its own online shop but also has a store with online marketplace Not on the High Street . Joanna says, “Not on the High Street is a great partnership for us because the site has a high level of curatorship. This was appealing because we feel our products sit well within the existing marketplace and our designs can reach a wider audience.”
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