Have you ever stumbled across a small business online and instantly been drawn in? It might be their products that catch your eye, their branding and visual aesthetic might be your vibe or maybe their social media patter is spot on - Forage & Folk is one such business for me.
I came across Lizzee and her beautiful vintage treasures on Instagram last year and immediately loved what I saw. As you may know, I live in a modern townhouse so antique and preloved homewares were never really on my radar until fairly recently. Since starting @thepavlouhome account on social media I've learnt so much about decor - how old can blend with new and how styles can be mixed - and I'm now making a conscious effort to include a few key pieces that will help add some character to our home.
Today, I bring you a chat with the lovely Lizzee from Forage & Folk who's so passionate about all things vintage, it's infectious! Read on to be inspired by her enthusiasm and for an exclusive discount code...
A Forage & Folk stool in our bedroom and terracotta pot in my home office
Q. | How did you start the business? When, why, what did you do before?
A. |  I founded Forage & Folk in the October of 2021, alongside my then corporate role in intellectual property. Before that I had worked for Britain’s strictest headmistress, and before that as a matchmaker for the UK’s oldest dating agency.
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I’ve had a number of incredible jobs throughout my life that I am so grateful for and probably make me a perfect dinner party guest, but if I was honest with myself, I wasn’t passionate about any of them. Of course I loved vintage and antiques, and it was a conversation with a lovely lady I purchased a stool from (I still have it, it means an awful lot to me) that sparked the beginning of this journey; I asked her how she got started in the business, and she told me that she had reached 50 and didn’t want to let the opportunity pass her by. I remember being seized by this absolute clarity, that I didn’t want to wait until I was 50 - I didn’t want to wait another 20 years to start something that I knew in that moment was my calling.Â
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That same afternoon, I secured the website URL for Forage & Folk.
Q. | How do you choose the pieces for Forage & Folk? Without giving too much away, where do you find such gems?
A. | There’s no real formula for choosing the pieces that make up Forage & Folk, other than feeling inspired by each item. I don’t always get it completely right, but I like to imagine each potential piece as a work of art; does it inspire me somehow? Will it serve a purpose? Does it make me think? Do I just adore it? Yes to any of the above, and it’s going straight into the Forage & Folk basket.Â
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Who you know really helps, too. I’ve connected with some incredible people with incredible stories, and I tend to source a lot of the Forage & Folk collections from the most colourful, well-travelled people. My best advice for seeking out gems like the ones on offer at Forage & Folk would be to always have your buying hat on; stop and have a conversation, take a walk in a new neighbourhood, visit those flea markets (although the early mornings aren’t for everyone!) and you will be sure to find yourself some treasure.Â
Q. | Do the items you sell reflect your own personal style or do you have specific customers in mind when selecting?
A. | I think when sourcing such unique items you have to stay true to your own personal style, and trust that your people will find you. I tend to be drawn to classic, often handmade pieces that I can’t imagine ever going out of style. A neutral colour palette and natural materials both help to ensure the timelessness of an item, which is important when investing our hard-earned money!
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One area of focus for me is to select items that may offer not just an alternative to fast homeware fashion, but a fresh perspective on the use of secondhand objects within our homes, whether that be antique, vintage or simply preloved. Newness has its place of course, but I want to encourage a sense of creativity and uniqueness to the act of creating a living space that reflects who we are and how we live.Â
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Q. | What tend to be your most popular pieces?Â
A. | When offering such a varied collection of items it can be hard to pick out a most popular piece, as the nature of vintage and antique items is such that once it has sold, it’s nigh on impossible to replace it exactly. I do often receive messages from customers who missed out, chiding themselves for not snapping up the item they’d fallen in love with when they had the chance!
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That said, Forage & Folk’s range of antique baby elm stools has been incredibly popular; they’re such a sweet size to sit beside the bath with a candle, or by the couch to perch a coffee when guests drop by. Each stool is wonderfully unique, too, its character shaped over years of use. I think that people love the individuality these little wooden stools bring to a space - a sort of quiet reminder that imperfections can be beautiful.Â
Q. | What are your plans for the business moving forward?Â
A. | It’s no secret that it’s tough out there for small businesses at the moment. I would love to create something that benefits the small business community and makes it easier for our people to find us, because I know they are out there. I don’t know exactly what that will look like yet, but it’s a bit of a passion project rolling around in my mind, alongside the other 1034584 ideas on the Forage & Folk mood board!
"I think it is often that wonderful sense of nostalgia that connects people to many of the items I sell. I regularly receive messages from customers sharing memories and emotions that they have infused into their Forage & Folk pieces, and hearing them is one of my favourite parts of the job."
Thanks so much to Lizzee for answering my questions... I do hope you'll take a little look at the Forage & Folk collections (if you haven't already) and hopefully find something you like. If you do, please feel free to use my exclusive discount code PAVLOU12Â for 12% off everything on the beautiful website.
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