natalie dennis

I come from a small village on Exmoor in North Devon, in the South West of the United Kingdom. I grew up surrounded by beautiful countryside, which gave me a sense of freedom. Also close to the sea, I spent many of my Sundays watching the sea's movement searching for patterns and looking for answers. The sea is unpredictable and dangerous, yet beautiful, endless and unknown. The sea shapes all that comes from within, like shells. Shells are delicate but strong, sculptural and elegant. I've always been intrigued by nature, particularly the sea side. I spent much of my time as a child laying in the long grass in the fields behind my mum and dads house. I started drawing and painting from a very young age, always cutting up boxes and making my new creations. This involved endless amounts of sticky tape and glue and not a single grocery box in the house, after I finished cutting them up. One particular creation was talked about for many years in our house. I'd wandered down to the fields and collected different grasses, leaves and flowers. In addition I'd managed to catch butterflies with my butter fly net. I crept back into my mum and dads house and sticky taped all the leaves, grass and flowers all over the dining room walls and ceilings. I then released all the butterflies into the room. I thought I had made the most beautiful thing ever. I brought my mum and dad to see my amazing spectacle. They seemed delighted and shared in my happiness. However later they told me as an adult they had had a hard time removing the sticky tape from the wall paper. However this memory is a constant sense of amusement to this day. My parents never stopped me becoming who I am, always encouraging my creative side. They paid little attention to my poor school record. I was later diagnosed with sever dyslexia.

I spent seven years studying fine art and fashion culminating in a BA in Accessories and Business from Cordwainers College (now part of the London College of Fasshion).

From there I then worked as a graduate and later head of design for a company called Dollargrand, which was a well established leading fashion ladies handbag company for two years. For the next 3-4 years I designed a collection called Natalie Dennis which was made by me, which I sold on Portobello market in London and was later stocked in Topshop and House of Fraser. As well as doing this, I also designed and supplied major high street brands. Despite this early success my true passion was luxury.

In 2007 I decided to have a family and change my work into property development which would provide the finance and time necessary to develop a luxury handbag range. Over the past three years I have developed a small range of Italian made handbags, which are finished by me in the UK. Working with some of the best artisans in Florence, the current collection is just a taste of what is to come.