When the idea for Kerfuffle & Swish first appeared we were super excited! I don't think we could have imagined the challenges we were to face. But we also couldn't have imagined the unstoppable bonds and friendships we would create.

Being a creative collective of four women - all of us in the LGBTQ+ community, all of us having either one or more chronic conditions or disabilities, it was always going to be a challenge. But a challenge worth mastering? Absolutely.

I consider myself bruised. Scratched. Worn. Tired. And scarred. So scarred. Some of my scars run so deep that, like our furniture, no amount of French polishing, re-upholstering or paint could get those scars out. I'm fairly sure that I've actually fallen apart a couple of times and been re-assembled wrong. And with bits missing. But not am I loved despite my scars, I am loved because of them.

This is an absolute representation of our pieces.

For humans, scars show a life lived, wisdom, a wealth of experiences and an unwavering will to survive and overcome. For us this is our furniture too. It's not perfect there's no doubt about that. But it's bold, it's strong and it's here.

We have taken beautiful colours, fabrics and woods and combined them to create a limited range of high end, slightly bonkers interior furnishings.

Lord Kerfuffle and Lady Swish are our first collections, the two who started the whole idea. We have limited collections for their entire family and household staff. To give you a clue, we have at least another 18 characters to introduce and their ranges of items.

Lady Swish has a brother called Bob, who has a wife called Fanny, so we'll be having a 'Bob's Your Uncle, Fanny's Your Aunt' collection. Waiting in the wings is also Bored Maud, Juniper Pumpernickel (the cook) and Teri Cotter (the handy person). Creating an entire household at Poppycock Manor in Upper Honkham was no easy feat but, I'm proud to say, was an entirely sober process.

Several items at the launch are part of future collections and not yet available on the website - for example, the Phallic Malik's. The story is as much a feature for us as our creations. We want people to be invested in our characters, the absurdity of their tales and to wait with baited breath for the next instalment. Each of the pieces have their own story to explain how they came to be in the Kerfuffle and Swish household. Each is as nonsensical as the one before and as a perimenopausal woman, I can say I'm heavily emotionally invested in every one. Writing their stories is like watching Call The Midwife - the tears flow!

So, let's see, what do we have so far? Four perimenopausal women - Kerry, Sarah, Chip & Gemma - in fairly constant, varying levels of pain and fatigue, creating pieces for a nonsensical, fictitious, aristocratic family. We're on to a winner here!

Add into the mix three more awesome women - Rebecca Woods (our fabulous photographer), Little Su (our website guru) and Andrea Hill (upholsterer extraordinaire). Each and every one of these fantastic, incredibly patient women have worked with us on the launch of Kerfuffle & Swish.

Looking at another side, and very important aspect of our business, is the green, sustainable side. We are trying to look our throwaway culture in the eyes and challenge it to do better! Take our chaise longues as examples. They both started out with us as undesirable, dirty, unloved pieces that had clearly languished in sheds and garages far longer than was healthy. With some awesome fabric, a spot of imagination, a drop of courage and some hard work and talent, they have become utterly stupendous, fabulous and amazing pieces to be adored forever more.

When they come to the end of this life, hopefully we will be given the opportunity to extend its lifespan once more.

It's great that the world is finally investing its efforts into sustainable, renewable sources, but, unfortunately, it seems to be coming at the expense of existing furniture. Buying a new bamboo based suite for it's green value is almost redundant if its 'not yet dead' predecessor ends up in a pile of landfill. All of us can do more to decrease our carbon footprint.

Are we perfect? No.

Are we awesome? Yep.

Are we going to change the world? Probably not, but we're going to have a bloody good go.

Welcome to the launch of Kerfuffle & Swish.