Placing up-and-coming designers alongside found vintage pieces, Future & Found is a new kid on the online interiors store block, with a physical boutique on its way. We spoke to the brand’s founder, Andrea Bates, to find out more about her background, and plans for the future…

We love the stylish curation of Future & Found; do you have a background in interiors?

I’ve worked in buying home interiors for the last 14 years, working for brands such as Heal’s, Paperchase and Jamie Oliver.

Can you tell us a little about the concept behind the store?

The concept is really simple – a stylish collection of beautiful things for your home. Having worked in retail I know how easy it is to get trapped into buying to fit a pre-prescribed “theme” and by doing this simple gorgeous product can be overlooked. I just wanted to reflect the way people are styling their homes nowadays – they are much more confident and eclectic, they mix old and new. Also, people are interested in where products come from and how it’s been made – so its great to be able to share some information on the craft and creativity behind the collection which really gives it its personality.

You sell objects you find on your travels – is travel a big part of your life, and what’s the most curious thing you’ve found?

With my career I’ve had to do a lot of travelling, particularly to India and the Far East and it’s one of the things I’ve loved about my job! My experiences have ranged from cookware factories in China to textile mills in Yorkshire. However the most curious discovery is probably castings of various body parts by an amazing ceramicist in Johannesburg… it was certainly an interesting day but sadly they didn’t make it into our range

What one thing couldn’t you travel without?

A book of sudokus – I’ve had many a sleepless night due to crazy travel times and sudokus have kept me sane.

Can you tell us about some of the designers you’re working with?

Many of the designers I’m working with are people who I’ve worked with or come across in previous lives and earmarked as people to come back to. All are amazingly talented and passionate about what they do so are a real pleasure to work with. Gail Bryson has such an amazing eye for colour so was ideal to commission the cushion designs to – and more of her beautiful framed screen prints will be making their way into the shop. Frauke Stegmann, for example, I met in South Africa a few years ago and fell in love with her ceramics. She runs an adorable café in Cape Town with her mother and they display and use the product there which gives it such a unique and quirky feel.

You’re opening up a shop in March – will it mirror the website’s approach?

Yes the shop will sell the same collection and more… we’ll be starting to test out some bigger items and a wider selection of vintage pieces

Do you see Future & Found becoming more of a label than a shop – what else does the future hold?

Who knows what the future holds for us but I think there’s certainly an opportunity for us to develop as a brand as well as a shop. So we’ll be exploring both and inevitably will evolve over time as we learn more about what our customers want