DOG STORY: HOW IT ALL BEGAN

When I first started my label (that’s the word we used before ‘Brand’ became universal), I asked my father if he would write out my name so that I could use it as my logo - he had such great handwriting.

We were sitting in the kitchen during a break from making a painting and he started sketching in a pad; after half an hour he passed it to me and said ‘Is this alright?’ He had drawn a little box with his whippet’s head in the middle and with my name on each side of it. It was so perfect, witty, with an undercurrent of anarchic high spirits.

The dog drawing has translated beautifully into print and as an intarsia knit or a gold embroidery. I love having his subtle involvement in everything I do, with his handwriting as my signature.

This photo was taken by our great friend Bruce Bernard a few years earlier than the date of the logo drawing. It was a typical moment during a break, drinking Lapsang Souchong tea, chatting and reading.