The Wind Down With Ren Massey

 

With your upcoming move, what are the first things you’re planning to do to make your house feel like home?

All going to plan, our next home is a bit of a renovation project. We’ll prepare one bedroom and a living space while we slowly work our way through restoring the rest of the house. The plan is to white wash the walls and give the original floorboards some love to create a neutral, soft backdrop and then layer lots of textiles, lowlights and personal objects throughout to make it cosy and lived in. 

 
Where’s your favourite place to wind down in your home?

You’ll most likely find me on the sofa, especially now that I’m in my 6th month of pregnancy I only want to be horizontal. It’s the cosiest spot to cuddle up under a blanket, with a wood burner on and kicking back with a renovation show.

Ren wears The Dream Cotton Robe in Moss

We’re big fans of your label Ren, what inspired you to create it?

My grandmother worked in a linen mill for 40 years so it’s the first textile I was introduced to from a young age. I started a soft furnishings business using the linens from the very same mill and overtime my focus shifted to using linen and other natural textiles to create a slow womenswear label. 

Tell us about how you juggle work with your home life and still find time to wind down?

I’ve learned that juggling a business and motherhood for me requires a lot of flexibility and that inevitably there are days when the two overlap, so I have to get creative to get through them. Evenings are dedicated for grown up wind down time. 

The Dream Cotton Quilt and Linen & Cotton Throw in Clay

What does your perfect weekend look like as a family?

The perfect weekend is to stay in our corner of east London and visit our favourite places. On Saturday I would start with a short stroll to our local deli for coffees and pastries. Followed by a walk through the park and down Broadway Market for brunch at Ozone Coffee Roasters and back via our local green grocer to pick up fruit and veg for the week ahead. Last stop is the Spurstowe pub for a quick drink before we settle in at home for an evening of cooking, lounging by the fire and doing something crafty with our daughter. Sunday is best left with absolutely no plans, just to take it easy and laze around as a family making dens and eating snacks. 

Life in London can be busy, do you have a favourite place you go to that inspires calm?

Whenever I can escape to my studio, it’s that place for me. It’s child free and quiet and the space has huge windows with beautiful light all year round. I like to set the tone with a scented candle and some soft music and then I sit in the world's most comfortable lounge chair to sketch and design for my work. 

What ways do you live more sustainably in your day to day life?

Probably most impactful is that our whole family is pescatarian and we consume very little dairy. We generally get around on foot or cycle and shop for fruit and veg at the local grocers avoiding excess packaging. A handful of years ago we made the switch to a 100% renewable energy supplier and never looked back.