BRITISH DESIGN                  TRADITIONAL SKILLS                     ECO ETHICS

Emily studied Theatre design at Wimbledon School of Art and it was a trip to Bali as production manager with a theatre company in 1989 that inspired her to start her own business. Impressed by the skills of the mask makers, tailors, leather workers and woodcarvers she set about combining her design ideas with the traditional skills of the local people.

In 1990 Emily started retailing in London's West End. She launched her first wholesale range at Top Drawer London in 1997 followed by Scene d'Interieur, Maison et Objet  Paris in 1998. This included a perfectly timed 'East Meets West' bamboo collection which went on to sell to shops and interior designers around the world.

Customers past and present include shops and individuals.

To name a few : Bergdorf Goodman, The Conran Shop, Chatsworth House, David Linley, Jamie Oliver, John Lewis, Gallerie Lafayette, Harrods, Heals, Kirsty Alsop, Kelly Hoppen, Liberty, Nigella Lawson, Nina Campbell, Priscilla Carluccio, The Groucho Club, The National Portrait Gallery, The V&A and The WWF. 

Emily's sister, Lucy Readett-Bayley  joined the company in 1999 and in 2007 they launched their e-commerce website inspired by the success of the POSH Graffiti brand.

We follow the Principles of Fair Trade

Emily has been working directly with 3 small groups of craftspeople in a village in the foothills of central Bali for the past 15 years. This summer whilst shooting footage for a short video, she was able to interview two generations of woodcarvers from the same family. The villagers are also rice farmers. The father now in his early 40's told her about his education, it was basic and he walked 8 miles barefoot to and from school. He left school aged 12 to work in the fields. His son now 22 then went on to tell her, in English, that he is travelling 20 miles on his motorbike several times a week to complete his teaching degree at the local town. He carves letters for his father to earn money to pay for his further education. Small things do make a difference.
Emily has recently been invited join the FFTI Forum Fair Trade Indonesia. We hope to have the video edited and online soon.

Traditional Skills

As the cost of living rises in Bali it is no longer viable for the craftspeople to a make by hand large volumes of cheap and cheerful handicrafts. There is too much competition from new technology and machines. We have always encouraged our craftspeople to aim for excellence. It will be their means of survival and in so doing they will preserve traditional skills for future generations. The wood carving skills in some sections of Balinese society are second to none and there is also a strong bone carving tradition as well as painters and gold smiths. If you examine carefully one of our hand carved words or hand painted floral hearts you will appreciate these skills and see just how special they are.

Our Sustainable Timber Policy

All our POSH Graffiti and wooden decorations are made from a very fast growing tropical wood called 'albizia', also known as 'albesia' or 'Peacocks Plume'. In Bali it is grown in and around the villages on dry land which cannot be made into rice terraces. The seedlings are cultivated in nurseries and then distributed amongst the local farmers. It is a sophisticated and well managed process. The trees need lots of water but as members of the legume family they are also soil improvers and fix nitrogen in the soil. The wood is used widely in the handicraft industry and also as a cheap building material.

Our teak furniture is made from reclaimed teak. We buy old bridges when they are taken down and replaced with steel and old colonial buildings that are no longer used. This teak is some of the best wood in the world and it is a diminishing resource. The new teak being grown on plantations is completely different. We do not use any new teak.

Our Faux driftwood furniture is made from coffee tree prunings and we buy old coffee trees when plantations are being replanted.Our beautiful sculptural bowls are made from old coffee tree roots.

Our palmwood tableware is made from Sago palm which is grown widely in Eastern Indonesia as a food source. The Balinese also use the hair of this palm for temple thatching and making string. We sell the string. It is very useful in the garden!

Our bamboo collection is made from local bamboos. 75 different types of bamboo grow in Indonesia and it is one of the fastest growing plants on earth. Traditionally it was used for many buildings in Bali but as the fashion for concrete blocks and tiles took over bamboo came to be seen as the poor mans building material. However we are pleased to notice a revival in all things bamboo. Since we launched our first bamboo collection in 1997 the tide has defintely turned and now Emily's children even go to an International school in Bali built completely from bamboo! Check it out... www.greenschool.org.