A Sussex Christmas with Scribble & Daub Founder, Caroline Kent
Previously a curator of contemporary art, Caroline Kent founded Scribble & Daub in 2012 and has since created illustrations for leading international luxury fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands.
Scribble & Daub creates luxurious illustrated cards, notebooks and decorations designed to be kept and treasured. Each piece is letterpress printed from an original dip pen and ink illustration by Caroline, and hand-finished in her East Sussex studio. Believing that you are what you give, Scribble & Daub uses the finest materials and artisan processes to create heirloom pieces – tiny works of art for stylish gifting, correspondence and celebrations – alongside a curated selection of stationery, fine confectionery and small gifts. Find Scribble & Daub on instagram here
How do you set the scene for a festive gathering? Walk us through your signature Christmas table styling.
I don’t really hold with traditional colours for Christmas – I like a rainbow. We work with a maker in Cornwall who stitches crepe paper streamers exclusively for us in gorgeous colour combinations, and using these to create a ‘tent’ over the table makes things look fun and theatrical. You can also create a similar effect with snippets of ribbon tied at intervals on long lengths of twine.
Candlelight is an essential winter ingredient. Pomegranates and oranges make excellent holders – natural beeswax candles are my favourites – and you just stick them into the top of the fruits and dot them along the table. Nuts and sweets arranged in glass bowls, or scattered over the tabletop, look fun and festive and double as an amusing amuse-bouche. Seasonal favourites like marzipan or candied fruits, chocolate coins or candy canes are my choices.
At this time of year, bringing the outside in feels essential. How do you integrate natural elements into your Christmas decor?
This is one of my favourite bits. We live in an old cottage in East Sussex, so I head out with loppers in hand and cut fir, holly, ivy, fluffy old man’s beard and seedheads from the garden and hedgerows. I’ll arrange these in big vases in each room, and then make rough bunches with the rest, tied tight with wire or twine. They get hung up with coloured ribbon wherever I can find a spot – down the stairs, off light fittings and so on.
Scent has a powerful link to memory and mood. What is your absolute favourite olfactory moment during the festive season?
It’s a neck-and-neck tie between Christmas cake in the oven, mulled wine on the stove, cloves piercing oranges, and wood smoke in the cold air.
VERDEN’s Festivum Scented Candle captures a joyful, seasonal blend of warming woods and spices. What makes this scent resonate with you at Christmas? Where and when do you burn it?
I light Festivum every evening as a sort of advent ritual, and the glistening gold label makes it an extra decoration for the room.
Which VERDEN piece are you gifting this year, and who are the lucky recipients?
A Nocturne Treatment Candle for my husband, in the hope he takes the hint.
How do you style your entryway to welcome guests the second they step out of the cold?
Every year I make a wreath at my friend Sasha’s amazing workshops and hang streamers along the hallway.
How do you approach sustainable decorating without compromising on aesthetic impact?
I predominantly use the three Ps – paper, produce and plants! My tree decorations are either vintage glass baubles I’ve collected over the years, or ribbons and ornaments from Scribble & Daub – everything is designed to be treasured and kept for a lifetime.
Photography: Kim Lightbody
