Dear Reader

Well this is our first foray into the world of blogging and hopefully the first of many conversations with your good self.

I thought I would start by giving you a brief outline of who we are and what we do.

Beckford Silk is a family run business that was started in 1975 by my father James Gardner. There are 11 of us currently working here, designers, printers, makers and colourists, and together we produce silk and velvet scarves, silk ties, silk and velvet clothing as well as printed and dyed fabrics that we sell from the roll.

We work from our own premises here on the outskirts of the village of Beckford (a building that my father designed and had built in late 1989/1990) and we are open to the public 5 days a week throughout the year (we close for just one week between Christmas and New Year).

Our core business is the designing, printing and making of silk scarves and ties for the UK Heritage Market (Museum and Gallery shops) but we also produce our own designs that we sell direct to the public from our shops here at Beckford and online.

Over the next few weeks I will introduce members of the team in more detail but for now in brief, our motley crew consists of the following:

• James Gardner (my father). The driving force behind Beckford Silk, James runs the company as well as being a full time dyer of silk and velvet.

• Marthe Gardner (my mother). Mum works full time in our main shop and also does the wages and pays the bills.

• Anne Hopkins (me). I help Mum and Dad run the company and my main job is looking after customers. I originally trained and worked as a graphic designer in London and I’ve been here at Beckford now for 20 years.

• Bill Cook. Printer and Dye maker, Bill has been with us for about 30 years.

• Sue Olsson. Sue started about the same time as me. Originally one of our sewers and hand rollers, she oversees the finishing and making up.

• Victoria Sargent, designer and internet sales. Victoria studied textiles at Falmouth College of Art and joined us in 2008.

• Beth Leibbrandt, colourist and velvet sales. Beth studied art and design at the University of Gloucestershire and joined us in 2010. She works along side James as our colourist and technician.

• Rob Flory, printer. Rob also joined us in 2010 and works primarily as a hand screen printer.

• Suzanne Marler works part time in finishing, packing and sewing.

• Anne Clark helps Mum in the shop for one day a week.

• Robbie Gardner (my brother and a professional actor) has recently joined us part time to set up and run a new digital printing machine that is arriving at the end of this month. Further down the line he will also hopefully be helping me with sales and marketing although this will depend on what acting jobs come along!

That’s it for the moment. Next time I’ll tell you a bit about how the business started.