About Flax & Mallow
Flax & MallowTM is a family-run, family-owned business in the U.K. It was established in 2014 and all the handmade products are either made in Dorking, Surrey, or in Didsbury, Manchester, or in Hackney, London.
Flax & Mallow is really the culmination of many things, although the name came to Sally one morning over a cup of tea, a banana and a piece of toast. Who said perfection had to be exotic? Flax & Mallow is a love of wild flowers and the English countryside; it is a country wedding in a barn, decked out with boughs of flowers; it is the memory of the quality of a handmade gift; it is an affection for an instantly recognisable range of fabrics; and it is a love of handmade goods.
Remembering days visiting the Liberty store, London, and the feelings and emotions that such a trip invoked, Sally decided to put needle and thread to fabric…
Fast forward a couple of years…
With thermos of tea and packed lunch in tow, Flax and Mallow is regularly on the road, taking our products to craft fairs and fetes. The Flax & Mallow-mobile (Sally’s Mini) is loaded, quite literally, up to the roof, and wings its way across the South East of England.
Flax & Mallow became what it is today through hard graft, and a lot of sore thumbs. The number of early morning starts (“Why?!”) uncountable; the number of events attended impressive (“Cold, wet, wish they hadn’t put me by the door because there’s a draught!”); the number of times the stall has been put up and taken down again at the end of the day (“That wretched gazebo! Why is the car park so far away?”) is too many to mention; and the number of Liberty print products that have been sold is numerous (“What do people do with their hangers?”) BUT the amount of joy that Flax & Mallow brings the team, and the joy that our products bring to our customers is irreplaceable and makes it all worthwhile. (Don’t just take our word for it. The ever increasing number of 5* reviews on Facebook and Etsy are testament to this.)
All the Liberty fabrics that we buy are authentic and are always hand-selected. They are always chosen because they are lovely to look at, to touch and to feel. We can make our products in any material on offer – custom-made and just for you – and our selection of materials is always changing. We will wrap your order with love in beautiful packaging, be it a gift or a treat for yourself, and send it on its way. (Sally is officially “a regular” at the Dorking post office and has even secured an order there!)
The Team
Flax & Mallow was started by Sally in 2014. From previous experience of running her own events, Sally realised how many customers appreciated the quality of handmade goods, over the mass produced, sometimes lower quality goods that flood the market. The presence of quality and uniqueness, combined with an assurance that products had been hand-selected, was a winning combination. (Not to mention, of course, the enormous environmental plus of something that is handmade locally!)
Sally’s daughter Holly, a graduate in Fashion from Manchester Metropolitan University joined the company in 2015, bringing with her new ideas and crafting techniques that grew the product range to what it is today. From hankies to hangers, to bibs to tissue holders, lavender bags to confetti cones , the range of handmade goods on offer expanded and today’s incarnation of Flax & Mallow was born.
The third driving force behind Flax & Mallow, Sally’s other daughter, Sophie, joined the team in 2014 launching the first version of our website. Her latest work is this refreshed site, with added online ordering and payments, and an increased online presence.
However, none of our success would have been possible without the fabric which we base our business on: Liberty prints. The iconic range of Liberty fabrics have their own tale to tell, starting from half a leased shop on Regents Street, London, UK, to the huge business that Liberty’s is today.