About Me
Hi, I'm Pippa (she/her), the person behind Chimps Tea Party. Designer and maker of beautiful homewares and gifts to help you make your home your happy place.
I have wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember, and I can't go a day without creating something. It's something I just need to do.
Starting with drawings of my favourite animals and birds when I was a child (as well as quite a long series of drawings of cakes). Then making and selling sock monkeys on eBay when I was in secondary school. This is partly where my brand name comes from.
At college I realised that I always loved to solve a problem or tell a story with my artwork, so I went on to do a degree in Illustration at UWE in Bristol.
I loved my illustration degree, but I really wanted my designs to be used rather than just looked at. As I have always loved interiors and decorating, homewares seemed like the perfect new direction to take my products in.
I've always preferred the traditional methods to anything modern or computer related. Making with my hands feels so much more creative, and I love the accidental outcomes and designs that appear out of nowhere. I started using photo collage when I studied my degree in Illustration at University of the West of England in Bristol.
Photography has always been a big passion of mine, so it seemed natural to use pictures I had taken, by cutting them with scissors and glueing them together to make new imagined worlds. My love of surface pattern design started in my final year of uni, when I created prints to go on wallpaper and clothing to tell the story I was illustrating.
All of my current designs are still created by hand using scissors and glue, but now with coloured paper instead of photos. This process may take longer, but it gives the finished fabric prints and homewares more unique. The edges of the paper can still be seen, giving it a handcrafted, textural look.
My products are designed to be a small thing you can buy that will make a big impact in your home. No need to redecorate when you get bored - just change the table runner or the cushion cover, and change the look and feel of your room.
A lot of my homewares are seasonal, because I love celebrating the changing seasons, and want to change the mood in my home to reflect them.
Our homes are so important to us, as we spend a lot of time in them (this year more than ever). They should be a place we retreat to to relax, they should inspire us, make us smile, and make us feel happy and warm.
If you like colour and pattern, and want your home to be fun, then I've probably got something for you! Whether it's something to set the scene when you're entertaining, or something to make a normal meal at home a bit more special. My products are here to help you celebrate the small everyday moments.