Our name
The name of our company was derived directly from our founders’ lives.
The mother of founder Samuel inspired the first part of the name with her favourite tree being the Willow (and the name of her granddaughter), and “Alexander” being the forename of our other founder.
Together the name was crafted to evoke a feeling of familiarity and authority like an old family-owned heritage brands who’s knowledge and craftsmanship was passed down the generational line.
Our original signature brand colours & pattern
Our inspiration
It was in this spirit that a black and green antique gardening book given to one of the founders sparked the inspiration for the artwork of the brand with additional references coming from the original typography of the Wizard of Oz.
"We wanted the company to feel as if it had always been around for a long time with just a hint of magic.”
Samuel Collett, Founder
Our brand pattern
It was in these first creative discussions that founder Samuel started to research the early works of Mrs Beeton and the wonderful hand drawn imagery on all her books. It was these influences that helped create the iconic pattern that runs through the brand to this day.
Going towards a greener future
As the company grew, it was clear Willow Alexander would offer more than just a garden design studio and so the founders set about extending the offering and expanding the Willow Alexander universe to offer more Home & Garden care solutions that centred around caring for the planet.
In order to step outside the world of horticulture, the brand’s look had to go on an evolutionary journey itself.
A new shade of gold
The accent gold in the original font was to take centre stage and become the main colour of the brand. Transitioning the pattern to white was essential in crafting a bold new aesthetic suitable for our overarching company position.
Our new icon would appear for the first time derived from our positioning statement for the company.
A new family is born
Drawing further inspiration from the collection of Mrs Beeton books, the name Willow Alexander was to become the matriarch of the family, with each service acting like a volume of the same book, each with their own personality yet striking family resemblance.
An ode to childhood
The hand drawn fonts and playful icons were an ode to childhood memories of their mothers writing notes on their favourite recipes in their hardback cookbook.
The House of Willow Alexander is steeped in traditions and draws its passion for a more sustainable future from the love of past artisans and creatives. They passionately built and crafted with purpose and intent, using the resources and materials close to them at the time.
A new kid on the block
In 2023 we started work on a sister company, The Thoroughly Modern Housekeeper in further pursuit of connecting great sustainable and eco-focused brands with the ever-growing eco-conscious customer.
Derived from the same core values and principles as Willow Alexander, TMH takes the pursuit of creating and delivering premium eco-conscious Home & Garden care and puts a spotlight on other companies aligned with our mission.
TMH
The look of TMH comes quite literally from the pages of the Housekeeper notepad drawing influence from Willow Alexander’s core aesthetic.
Hand written notes, doodles and icons represent how TMH is managing the day to day running of a busy household.
Willow Alexander In Depth
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