About Somerville Scarves

Many years ago, having received a beautiful Hermes scarf as a birthday present, I pictured my drawers full of scarves and decided to make them myself. I pasted stars and flowers from magazines, books and wallpaper on a square background and found someone in India who made up ten samples based on my designs. Amazingly, they came back just as I’d imagined. I took them to a trade show in 2007, pegged up on a washing line and got about a dozen orders from shops. After a couple of years, I moved into cashmere, focusing on neutrals with a star print — now bestsellers. A few years later, I was out shopping and saw a glamorous woman in a knitted hat with a massive pom-pom. I thought: ‘That’s exactly what I need!’ I had some chunky, cable-knit samples made up and at my first sale I sold out. They were especially popular with women like me, who didn’t normally wear hats, I think because a pom-pom is fun — never frumpy. Since then I've developed the collection to include loungewear, socks and bags too! Although I have a warehouse nearby, I work from home and have recruited a dozen other mums to help me. We can all work around our children. I have around 100 stockists in the UK — mostly boutiques such as Iris — and also sell all over Europe, the U.S. and Japan. I always say if you have a good idea, just go for it! I’m so glad I did.Read their story