Louisa Tratalos – Colours of Arley
What can we say about Colours of Arley… WE LOVE IT! We literally cannot get enough. So we thought it would be nice to give readers and those that stay with us a little bit of background on the brand. Firstly, you will have no doubt seen these stripes taking over you life at some point, whether that be via intsgram parties ( they throw the best) to the amazing collabs – Ikea – they were recently part of their fun unveil that had press and consumers a buzz for weeks!
Now at at glance, the stripes and colour combos are obviously divine but its when you deep dive into the brand and the person behind it that you fall more in love.
A winning selling point is you have hundreds, literally hundreds of colour combos to choose from, the website is mega and helps you refine your choices ( although we took ages as we love too much). Then you can choose the width of stripe and if all that wasn’t enough, you then choose the finish. At Paradise Farm we have used all the fabric combos, alternating depending on the room and usage.
So great website, achingly cool store, mega parties, and a genius concept.. with all this you surely want to know who is behind the brand eh?
Louisa Tratalos is know to us first as a photographer, spoke of her (at the time) side project of fabric creation, boy did we not expect this drop in convo moment to result it being on of the main backdrops at Paradise Farm a few years later.
Here is a little Q&A from when Louisa and her partner visited Paradise Farm:
When and why did you start C.O.A?
I designed a dog bed for my rescue terrier Patch, and realised how difficult it was to find the perfect stripe. So I came up with a simple solution, 180 colours, 3 stripes sizes, and thousands and thousands of possible combinations. I worked as a photographer before so my favourite thing is to follow the stripes and to document the people and the spaces in which they end up, and how they came to their colour choices.
What makes C.O.A products special?
All our fabrics are made to order, and everything is bespoke. So you know it's been made especially for you, with no waste, and people rarely choose the same stripes so they are truly unique.
What should people know about C.O.A?
That it's really fun choosing your own stripe, come see us!
What advice would you give to female entrepreneurs?
Be clear on your vision, speak up and always keep a sense of humour.
What has been your favourite project / project for far?
My latest project with fashion designer Adam Jones. We made a collection called DFUN 'Down From Up North' and created a limited edition Studio Bag in colours all inspired by things that reminded us of our shared Northern roots, from Snooker to Frazzles.
What have been the most popular colours this year?
The neons are really popular, but mixing them with more subtle colours, like Sherbet & Maroon or Acid & Zest.
You have hosted amazing parties in your store and have an incredible following which seems to be all about collaboration and community - why is this important to you / your brand?
We create bespoke stripes inspired from anything such as a genre of music or a specific food dish. As such, we've been able to work with some really amazing people and brands, and the parties are all about bringing people together and just having a good time.
Whats next for C.O.A?
I'm off the The Hamptons to launch an exciting new garden collection and then we've got our biggest collaboration yet, but I can't talk about that just yet! Keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram.
What makes Paradise Farm special?
For when you stay? For me it has to be the pigs. My dream is to have pigs and lots of them, they are sentient, intelligent, beautiful animals. It's so nice to see them living happily here with fresh air, lots of space and of course, to be loved, like they deserve!