Sumptuosity

Article Added: 07/08/2008
Sumptuosity produce small gift items including brooches, bookmarks, notebooks, handbag mirrors and silk lavender bags from their studios in York. All the items feature the designs of Ruth Brompton-Charlesworth, one of Sumptuosity’s owners. Ruth told me, “My designs are influenced by a myriad of different sources but if they were to be quickly summed up it would have to be described as birds, beasts and relatives”.  

The birds and beasts aspects were obvious, but I was intrigued by relatives. Ruth went on, “Most of my designs relate to or are inspired by family and friends; therefore the wood violets are about my mum as every spring her garden is full of them, while the shoes, bags and dresses are about my niece Charlotte – who needless to say has an overflowing wardrobe!”

Ruth formerly worked as a lecturer at Bradford School of Art and Design before setting up Sumptuosity in April 2006. She says, “The serendipitous moment when I decided to postpone my dissertation marking and go and watch Naseem Darby give a demonstration of freehand embroidery instead has had a profound effect upon my own work.” The company has gone from strength to strength and their products are now stocked in over 80 shops worldwide.

New designs are always being incorporated into their items, including seasonal designs for spring, Christmas and Holloween, but they also have big plans to introduce new product lines later in the year. Ruth said, “We’ve developed the first new Sumptuosity@HOME products and they are going through ‘living trials’ at the moment; we’ve also got to decide the packaging, but all being well, they’ll be ready for introduction at DESIGN EDGE this September.” Ruth’s husband John also wants to explore textile accessories for men, “as he feels that men are somewhat ignored in the gift textile ranges.”

If you would like to find out who is stocking Sumptuosity products near you then please visit their website at www.sheer-sumptuosity.co.uk. You can also buy products from the website, or if you are local to York you can visit their studio “where a cup of tea is usually offered with the sale.” Sumptuosity’s studio can be found at 7 Barleycorn Yard, Walmgate, York YO1 9TX.