Behind the Design: The Story of Wrendale Designs

Royal Worcester’s much-loved Wrendale Designs collection features the delightful designs of award-winning watercolour artist, Hannah Dale. Collaborating since 2013, our Wrendale Designs range is now a global best-selling home and gift collection full of personality and charm. But where did it all begin for Wrendale Designs? Take a sneak peek into the story of the brand and the collection we all adore.

The story of Wrendale Designs begins in 2012 on a crowded kitchen table in Melton Ross, Lincolnshire, England. Hannah, the creative genius behind the collection, always had a passion for nature and wildlife and studied Zoology at Cambridge University before embarking on a career as a stockbroker in London. However, fate had other plans and just a few months before packing her bags for the city, Hannah met her husband Jack, a Lincolnshire farmer. After five years of commuting to and from London, Hannah moved back home to the country, and with a little one on the way, she finally had time to indulge in her creative passions.

Starting with sewing, Hannah began making curtains and blinds for the windows of many of her friends and family. She then turned to painting nursery prints for children, which turned out to be very popular. Loving the expressive faces and wonderful personalities of hares, Hannah started to paint them in watercolour. After printing these designs as greeting cards, she shared them with local gift shops and they were an immediate success. From here Hannah began painting other wildlife, and the wonderful world of Wrendale Designs truly began.

With a love for wildlife and nature from a young age, Hannah chose to study zoology at university, specialising in behavioural ecology. With lots of fieldwork involved and a natural creative, Hannah made the most of her time outdoors and took along her sketchbook to improve her drawing skills, capturing the characters and movements of the animals she saw in the wild. Years later when experimenting with painting again, it was her studies and the glorious Lincolnshire countryside that inspired her work.

Together with her husband, Jack, Hannah has recently set up a sanctuary for wildlife on their small farm in Lincolnshire. Here they have an abundance of insects, birds, and mammals enjoying the acres of wetland and woodland they have restored, and it is has now become the main source of inspiration for Hannah’s designs.

The collaboration between Royal Worcester and Wrendale Designs started as just a small collection of fine bone china mugs. Adored across the globe, the range now sees Hannah’s watercolour designs of captivating British wildlife and zoological animals expressed beautifully across a wide range of home and giftware. From fine bone china mugs, tableware, and trays to glassware, home fragrance and Christmas decorations, there’s something for everyone.