Lockdown business launch of Loom + Lichen is a real family affair for Black Isle mum and daughter
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LOCKDOWN may have put life on hold for many of us, but for a creative mother and daughter from the Black Isle, it has proved to be just the spur to act on a long-discussed family collaboration.
Lucy Vaughan and her daughter Amy McIlhenny had talked about pooling their respective talents for some time and took action when the first coronavirus lockdown kicked in last March.
Inspired by the natural environment in which they both grew up, they came up with a sustainable line of items ranging from organic woollen beanie hats to fully recycled and recyclable cards and wrapping paper.
They’ve been delighted by the response to their online venture Loom + Lichen since its launch before Christmas, and are already open to collaborating with others to help showcase the area’s abundant creative talent.
Both grew up in Fortrose and attended Fortrose Academy. Lucy is from a big family of architects – her dad John was the county architect for Ross and Cromarty and her brother Guy and sister Ruth are both also architects.
“The Black Isle and its surrounding area are home to so many talented people and our aim is to celebrate and promote that."
Lucy is still based in Fortrose, in the family home which was designed by her dad, while Amy is based in Glasgow, though says “my heart is very much in the Highlands!”
Amy said: “Coming from the Black Isle, the natural environment is a huge part of our lives. We’re lucky enough that the family home has a big garden which is always full of colour and wildlife, and having a springer spaniel with a lot of energy means we’re out and about every day enjoying our beautiful surroundings, so it’s very easy to be inspired by it.
“This connection to nature also feeds directly into our ethos of being as sustainable as possible.We’re naturally very concerned about the environment and the impact our lives have on the future of the planet, so it’s not really a matter of choosing to be sustainable so much as something we feel obliged to take seriously.
“We’re very excited to see the business grow and hopefully make it something which reflects our love of where we come from and shares it with as wide an audience as possible.
“We’re surrounded by other creative people so we’re very keen to bring in some collaborations, whether that be cards designed by other people or gifts and homewares made by local craftspeople.
“The Black Isle and its surrounding area are home to so many talented people and our aim is to celebrate and promote that. We launched just before Christmas and our best-selling product was our wrapping paper as people were buying it to wrap gifts to put under the tree, which is lovely. It’s so nice to think of our creations being part of people’s special day.”
Amy has already collaborated with a former classmate, Laura Thompson, creating a logo for her Slaughterhouse coffee shop cups in Cromarty.
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