Knowing the journey something has gone through to reach my hands has turned into an essential part of my all-around shopping experience. I love opening my spaces to welcome beautiful handicrafts from different parts of the world. By becoming more conscious about every phase in my life, I’m often also reaching out to items with a complex and lovely story behind them. Handmade items aren’t just unique; buying them also means supporting years of individual tradesmanship and perhaps millennia of tradition. And you’ll find a lot of richness in the furnishings available on Out There Interiors.
Out There Interiors was born as a side business for someone looking to break into the arts. Its founder, Jenny Hurren, was a struggling actress that earned some extra cash selecting and selling beautiful handmade items. The business grew so much, she decided to pursue it full time, later joined by her partner Mark. Over a decade later, Jenny remains the beating heart of Out There Interiors, personally overseeing every layer of brand design, selecting and purchasing pieces, surveying sales and even running the company blog. Her goal? Making breathtaking furniture easily available for those who love it. The company is strongly focused on service, always striving to provide Desirable, Diverse and Down-To-Earth attention.
A fully British brand, Out There Interiors operates entirely on a farm about 30 minutes north of Brighton, East Sussex. They also have their own warehouse, a surprisingly uncommon feature among independent furniture retailers. The choice of products is quite extensive, including varieties as different as mirrored pieces, French style furniture, Scandinavian design, retro furnishings for every area of the home, country style and even ethnic pieces from different cultures around the world. In fact, Out There Interiors sources furnishings from a broad array of countries located on different areas around the globe, although many of them are European brands stemming from countries like Italy, Denmark and, of course, the United Kingdom. Whether you’re looking for statement pieces or classic ones that will complement any area without being too dissonant, this is an online store to fall in love with.
The sustainability approach of Out There Interiors is entirely focused on all things handicraft. Every single item on their shop was handmade, from the newest pieces to recovered ones. Each product was created meticulously by a group of craftspeople, each of whom has spent decades honing their skills as a carver, weaver, and every other practice necessary for the items you see on the shop. All the company’s partners make a strong stance towards handmade items and tradition, aiming to maintain the way things have been crafted for centuries while also adapting the look and utility to the modern world. Contemporary design meets ancient techniques for a truly unique look. Out There Interiors partner brand HKLiving, for example, currently hosts a 2020 catalogue that is heavily inspired by ancient Greece, also adding newer terrazzo and marble trends to thousands-of-year-old concepts. On the other hand, you’ll also find aesthetically enchanting recovered furnishings, taking up the necessary idea of making things that last a lifetime, stepping away from fast consumption.
While I’d love to see a more direct approach to sustainability from Out There Interiors, their work towards finding handicrafts and recovered items is nothing short of admirable. Looking around their website you can see that they take a very careful approach to selection, finding furnishings with a lot of personality. As it happens with handmade items of any type, there is always a level of so-called imperfections – but these are also the details that make each little thing unique in its own way.
Easily available, Out There Interiors’ prices vary depending on different factors, including country of manufacture – due to general price of living, British-made items are more expensive than Chinese-made ones, for example. They also have a price match policy, in which they’ll thoroughly review any link you send them with an item on their stock that’s cheaper elsewhere.
Out There Interiors is a wonderful little online store for people who love design and are on the constant lookout for handmade, one-of-a-kind décor. They’ve been around for a while and know their way around the furniture industry, and are available for a more in-depth explanation of their different collections. I fell in love with their niche selection, chosen with love and care by someone who clearly loves decorating with a passion. With items from around the world, including lots of British design, it’s quality craftsmanship at its best, with a strong approach towards the handcrafted!