Guest Curator // Holly Tucker

We’ve been chatting to founder of Notonthehighstreet and Holly & Co, Holly Tucker this week! Why not take a leaf out of Holly’s book and fill your home with animals, colour and treasures? Scroll down for interior inspiration along with some advice from Holly if you’re redecorating…

I am Holly Tucker, 15 years ago I founded a company called Notonthehighstreet and most recently Holly & Co. I am a passionate believer that the key to a happy and fulfilled life is by building a business from your passion. So I have decided that until I am 90 – I will cheer-lead the small business community, those that bring colour and creativity to our everyday grey.

My home is an important energiser for me
It’s an elaborate treasure trove and Aladdin’s Cave of small business creativity!
I’d describe my home as colourful, eclectic, and happy – with a wash of animals!

My interior style is ever-evolving, and one piece has a snowball effect onto the other, so there won’t ever be a day when I see the house as ‘done’.  It just keeps morphing and growing, as Frank would say, in an out of control way!

Is it cheating to say my own?! I have a weekly podcast called Conversations of Inspiration where I interview founders and those that inspire me, to share their incredible stories and encourage others to dream big and pursue their passions. One of my most favourite guests that I have interviewed was the brilliant Dave Buonaguidi who was hilarious (and naughty!) from start to finish – charting his days in advertising to his life as an artist!

My ideal weekend is a long walk along the river with my husband Frank and dog Mr Mudley – followed by a film and a takeaway with Frank, Mudley, and my son Harry. My perfect Sunday is reading on my outdoor bed, as my son Harry plays his guitar next to me, Mr Mudley is snuggled at the end of the bed and Frank is making a Sunday lunch before our friends arrive to join us for supper.

I have actually just come back from a staycation in Norfolk. I have so many happy childhood memories in Norfolk as my grandfather lived in Holt. The family still has a little cottage down there, so I visit Holt a couple of times a year – it’s so beautiful, the pace of life slows and we take long walks along the beaches and the dunes.  It is also a thriving independent part of the country, and so I personally help prop up the economy!! My latest purchase was a number of felt beaded, embroidered, colourful moths and butterflies to act as corsages for the big day!

Life became so full and busy in lockdown, I honestly don’t think as a business we have ever worked so hard, for such long hours over such a long and intense period of time. Within 48 hours of going into lockdown, we had launched a new sub-brand – SME: SOS.  A single place for small businesses to find out all the latest information demystified, hear from experts and other founders about how they were navigating this time, as well as my own insight – across IGTV, a podcast, and live interviews and daily bulletins.

I have never been so proud of my team, we pulled off something incredible in the most extraordinary times.

I am getting married in a matter of days, so I am just about to purchase some hand-embroidered vintage parasols for the big day in my garden.

I am a HUGE Dave Buonaguidi fan, in fact, for my last birthday, the team has a bespoke print commissioned with him One of my most treasured pieces is the ‘Do what you love, and the money will follow’ printed onto a dollar bill.  It utterly aligns with my central mission at Holly & Co and is a sentiment I passionately believe in.

I also, have recently been kindly gifted by Print Club London Clare Halifax’s ‘Hallo, Amsterdam’ which I can’t wait to find a spot in my home to hang it proudly!

Do What You Love & the Money Will Follow (Diamond Dust) by Dave Buonaguidi
Edition of 100, £100

Hallo Houses, Amsterdam by Clare Halifax
Edition of 50, £200

It is an 18th century 6ft statue of Madonna and child from a German church that I found in Hastings after a couple of glasses of wine!

Anything written by Seth Godin and I am currently loving Human Kind; A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman.

It can be easy to follow the latest trend, but your home is an extension of the happiest place in your soul, so if that means it’s full of animals, too much colour and lifesize olive trees in the kitchen, so be it! If we are lucky, we get 29,000 days on this planet folks, make sure you live in a place you don’t just love, but adore.