Orla Kiely OK716 Egg Cups, Stoneware

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Shevaun: The Orla Kiely brand is also very distinctive, I imagine, if the Bloomsbury Set were still around they'd love your designs.

Orla: Oh, I know exactly where you are, yes, Rathmichael. We lived on Corbawn Lane, the road heading towards the sea, the other side of Shankill. My parents are still there. We lived on this little cul-de-sac with 1940s houses. We had such an amazing road, all the families had kids the same age, it was so safe, we had so much fun. We got up in the morning, we ran outside and we played out all day. Orla: Yes and William Morris' Arts and Crafts and, then, you're right the Bloomsbury Group and the philosophies behind it all, investments that last. She then worked in New York and London as a textiles and print designer before gaining her Master's Degree at the Royal College of Art in London in 1993. Harrods acquired her collection of hats from her graduation show and four years later she and her husband, Dermott Rowan, founded the Orla Kiely Partnership. Shevaun: And, I must ask about the last member of your family, your wonderful labradoodle, Olive, is she named after your favourite colour? Shevaun: I wonder if one of the subtle influences you brought from your Irish convent school education to your clothes designs here was the contemplative, the demure, the serene...Orla Kiely, an internationally celebrated, London-based, Irish designer known for her unique retro graphic prints, was born in Shankill, County Dublin, and educated at the Loreto Convent. She graduated in print and textile design from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin in 1982. As one of Ireland’s leading internationally acclaimed fashion designers she was honoured by An Post with a stamp in her name in 2010 - First Class Overseas. Orla: We met when I was seventeen or eighteen. We both went off and did our thing. Then we just met up in London, however many years later, and we still liked each other, so it was quite nice. Orla: Oh, my goodness, in the 70s I was making outfits, I made pink corduroy jeans! I made my sister her Confirmation outfit – which in retrospect was terrible – with enjoying it so much, I thought I wanted to do fashion. Then, when I got to art college, I discovered graphic design and textile design, it was like, 'Oh, my God, I never knew half of this existed.' So I got into drawing in a much more designery way.

Shevaun: The nostalgia built into that is fantastic and it comes out in your furnishings and homewares as well as in your print designs. Orla: Our oldest son has just done his degree in Politics and History up in Manchester and specialised in Modern Irish History, he was over at the De Valera Archive at UCD. He's very interested in his Irish roots, and our other son is arty.

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Orla: That's a nice way to think about it. I think we're a creative brand, I feel like we're following a very personal style, it's working with what I love, it's got integrity, it's me, I'm not trying to be anything other than myself. I love graphic design so everything I do has that nod to graphic designers from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Orla: I think because in the creative world it's different – by going to college and working here and being part of the fashion and textile community, I've always felt very settled here in a way. I see quite a bit of the Irish in London through the Embassy and various things like that, it's lovely. I love London. London's been very good to me. Orla Kiely was awarded an Honorary OBE in recognition of her services to business and the fashion industry in 2011. Orla: I left Dublin to get experience; there were very few opportunities for a textiles designer in Ireland. I had a year working in New York in a very practical design studio. I spent a lot of time mixing colours to absolute perfection. I learned how to build and make colours, how to affect the tones, how to make a colour chalky or clean or dirty, the subtleties of colour. So that was a really important time. Orla lives in South London with her husband Dermott, their labradoodle, Olive and westiepoo, Ivy. They have two sons, Robert, 22 and Hamish, 20. Extract from Orla Kiely in conversation with Shevaun Wilder

Shevaun: My granny's farm was near where you grew up, just beyond the little Church of Ireland there... The mid-century modern aesthetic that inspires her distinctive designs is instantly recognisable and, along with her striking graphic interpretations of nature, attracts fashionistas like Alexa Chung, Kirsten Dunst, Scarlett Johansson, Keira Knightley and the Duchess of Cambridge.Orla: Well, I always say that Ireland – and I think it's true – is where I got my sense of colour. Summertimes, if the sun was threatening to come out, we'd all jump into the car and drive to Brittas Bay. Then, we'd end up there all hunched around a wind breaker with our cagoules on. Shevaun: It's fascinating that your very Irish name travels so well here in Britain and internationally.

Orla: Exactly. And if you wanted a few amusements and ice-creams, Bray. It was lovely, it was a great childhood. Orla: Yes! I love that it's Irish. I spell it the way it sounds so it's easy. Many Irish names – to people not from Ireland – are unpronounceable if you just read the letters. Shevaun: And, of course, you had the sea and the mountains nearby, part of the joy of living in County Dublin? She also acts as a Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Art and is a trustee for the Graduate Bursary Fund for fashion students. Shevaun: What about Heals, Eames, Jacobson and Eileen Gray's modernist period, were they influences?She presents her ready-to-wear and accessories collection every season at London Fashion Week. Her label includes a complete ready-to-wear collection, travel, homeware, stationery and even a collaboration with Citroën. Orla: Absolutely. The sea was four minutes walking, Shankill Beach is right in the middle between Killiney and Bray.