Want to see how a gift-wrapping expert decorates their home for Christmas?
As a child, Nathan Cole went to the village school on the Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire, which meant he was lucky enough to be invited to the legendary Christmas celebrations hosted by Debo, the Duchess of Devonshire. ‘You don’t realise as a kid how fortunate you are,’ he says. ‘I remember Father Christmas appeared on the roof with a deer from the park and came down the chimney with a present for everyone.’
His hostess’s style made a strong impression on him: ‘Debo was quite irreverent with her decorations; she’d chuck a bit of old tinsel on a marble bust like a little halo. It was all quite homemade,’ he recalls. It’s only now, looking back on those childhood experiences, that he wonders if they sowed the seeds for Colford, the sustainable wrapping studio that he launched earlier this year.
Noting that gifting’s ‘quite a frivolous thing’, Nathan is determined to prove that you can take a more mindful approach that looks beautiful, not twee or too earnestly ‘eco’.
He runs Colford with friend and former colleague Imogen Beresford. ‘Every Christmas, we send each other pictures of what gift-wrapping scheme we’re going to do. I texted her saying, “I think I’m going to start a business, are you in?” and she said “Yes! What is it?”, which was the perfect response!’ Their first commission was creating table favours for Nathan’s wedding to Andy Moller, the co-founder of Studio Boum (known for creating extraordinary experiential events for the likes of Fendi, Hermès and Stella McCartney), with whom he shares his home.
Since that very personal start, Colford has gone on to work on projects for a mix of fashion, homeware, fragrance and beauty brands. With sourcing criteria based on ISO standards, paper is the favoured material. ‘It’s amazing and often underused,’ says Nathan. ‘It’s fun to push it and see what you can do using it as the embellishment as well as the wrapping.’ As ribbons can contain plastics, he looks to unlikely sources such as the upholstery industry for surplus bindings to re-purpose, as well as experimenting with paper made from seaweed and woven paper ribbon that looks and feels like fabric.
Naturally, Nathan is discreet about Colford’s high-end clients, but he mentions a project for a Parisian fashion house that involves sourcing the gift as well as wrapping it. He is grateful for those who are extra organised – ‘We’ve got a private client who does all of their festive shopping by October’ – but is prepared for the last-minute types too, with freelance wrappers on stand-by. ‘It’s going to be a big learning curve!’ he says of this, the firm’s first Christmas.
Business may be hectic, but home, at least, is an oasis of calm. Previously, Nathan and Andy had rented a beautiful flat in St John’s Wood, but were craving quiet and more space. ‘As soon as I saw this house, I thought, “we have to live there!”’ Nathan recalls. The landlord, who lives next door, had restored original features like the terracotta window ledges. ‘It wasn’t that we were looking for an arts and crafts property, we just loved the spirit of the place.’
All they had to do was move their art and furniture, which is a fascinating amalgam of the pair’s tastes. ‘In the Venn diagram of our styles, there’s a small crossover,’ says Nathan. ‘Sometimes we agree, other times we have to give each other freedom to invest in pieces that we love. We might sometimes be a little bit form over function, but we’re not precious; if something doesn’t work, we’ll sell it or recycle it.’ One thing they both love is scouring antiques fairs for Tudric hammered pewter (designed by Archibald Knox for Liberty), an obsession started by their shared interest in their home’s arts and crafts heritage.
Their house may serve as a retreat from busy lives, but Nathan and Andy always host a summer garden party and a big Christmas blow-out. ‘Last year ended up with Andy dancing for everyone with a pink cowboy hat on! That’s the sign of a good party,’ recalls Nathan.
Each have their role at these events: Andy’s in charge of drinks – ‘There’s always a lot of champagne and he makes a lethal negroni!’ – while Nathan likes to have a vat of mulled wine heating purely for its festive fragrance. He’s also usually on canapé duty, but keeps it simple: ‘once the party starts you want to be able to enjoy it, so I tend to prepare everything in advance.’
When it comes to decorations, unsurprisingly Nathan focuses on sustainability. ‘It’s all about natural materials, things we can put away and get out next year or that are biodegradable,’ he explains. ‘I like to add a pine foliage wreath on the door and something similar on the mantelpiece.’ He loves a big tree as a focal point and admits to putting it up as early as the last week of November ‘to get our money’s worth!’ Decorations include brown velvet ribbons, pine cones, lots of lights and a growing collection of glass baubles. ‘I feel we might have enough now! Ask me again when I’ve been to the Liberty Christmas shop, though!’ he laughs.
The couple have spent Christmas in Singapore, Australia (Andy’s birthplace) and Derbyshire, the latter always involving carol singing around the neighbouring farms and a rendition of Happy Birthday for Nathan’s grandad, who was born on Christmas Day. But, recently, they’ve been staying at home in London, where Nathan always tries to catch a candlelit carol service at St Mary le Strand or St Martins-in-the-Fields. He and Andy tend to treat themselves throughout the year rather than buying lots of gifts for each other. Instead, the Christmas period is simply about being together. ‘It’s nice to have the fire going, put some music on, just chill,’ says Nathan.
The Colford founder’s work has given him a unique insight into how and why we give presents. ‘Back to early civilisations, there’s evidence of people gifting each other as a way of showing how they feel or acknowledging their position in society. It feels as if that’s a human instinct.’ His hope is that, instead of seeing the wrapping as an afterthought, people will think of it as a way to pay homage to the recipient and add to the experience by delaying the pleasure of seeing what’s inside.
‘We often come back to the old adage “it’s the thought that counts”, which is true,’ he says, ‘but why shouldn’t that extend to the wrapping as well?’ colford.co.uk
