Introduce an indie - Olivia Aspinall

Spend some time at The Avenues at Sneinton Market and you’ll start to notice studios tucked in between retailers and eateries. Look even closer and you will discover small teams working and crafting individual items and small batch works of art from within. One such Studio is Olivia Aspinall, a surface and design studio, offering fresh and exciting surface finishes for the design industry. Specialists in terrazzo, their work is characterised by colour, pattern and craftmanship.

Olivia founded the studio in 2015 after completing a degree in textile design at Central St. Martins. Her focus in the studio is on developing new surface finishes as well as working closely with clients to realise their ideas through colour and pattern experimentation.  Hannah joined the team in 2018. She completed a degree at Buckinghamshire New University in textiles and surface design and went on to gain 5 years of experience within the high- end decorative surface industry, creating marquetry. Hannah leads the production team within the studio, fine tuning casting techniques and ensuring projects are finished to the highest standard. Dan joined the team most recently and supports production and helps run the workshops which are open to the public.

The studio collaborates with architects, interior designers, and creative agencies to deliver unique surface finishes for a wide range of projects. They work on a commission basis, developing clients’ initial ideas into one of a kind final product. Clients can choose from a range of in-house designs, customised versions of these or work closely with Olivia and team, to develop completely personalised outcomes. 

If you are looking for something different to do in the city, we can recommend booking onto a workshop at the studio. The workshops are about playing with colour combinations to create colour chips which when set you sand down to reveal your very own terrazzo. This is cast in moulds to form either a pair of coasters or a centre piece for you to take home and enjoy. The classes are so much fun, and the team guide you through the process. When you visit, Olivia and team recommend a visit to their neighbours at Blend who serve renowned toasted sandwiches and Stewarts Coffee, which is prepared in the roastery next door. Olivia and her team claim this to be the BEST coffee in the city and visit daily!  You can learn more about Stewarts in this short video.

So, what about on a day off? Shout-outs from Olivia on where to visit when you’re in the city include Kushi-Ya for dinner. Their dreamy interiors are rivalled only by their equally delicious Japanese grill. For cocktails, head to Hockley favourites and award winners, 31K. Sample their latest creation; a cherry truffle cocktail topped with a garnish from Nottingham sweet treat pioneers Studio Chocolate. Looking to the near future- Everyday People opens soon, the bricks and mortar version of street food award winners, Homeboys and Olivia can’t wait to sit at the bar (that she and the team made) and sample all the food.

To sign up for a workshop at Olivia Aspinall Studio, visit https://shop.olivia-aspinall.com/collections/workshops 

Instagram: @olivia_aspinall

It's In Nottingham have teamed up with John Lewis & Partners and The Great British Exchange to provide eight Nottingham independent businesses the chance to ‘pop-up’ in the John Lewis Nottingham store throughout the summer. 

Olivia Aspinall will be in store 16-22 August. Here, you will find several beautiful items from their current collections, and we hear that an exclusive range will be launched too! For more details on the event please visit https://www.itsinnottingham.com/features/the-great-british-exchange/