Why Mustique?
In 1992 the British Medical Journal put out an advertisement: “Doctor needed on small private island for one year.” We had recently returned to London from working in a missionary hospital in Zululand. Mustique sounded like an ideal place to spend the first year with our brand new baby. My husband, Michael, had been a doctor in the British army for seven years before our travels in Africa, so his combined experience suited the role well as a solo doctor on a remote island.
What was it like raising a family on the island?
"Idyllic" sums it up best. Thirty years ago, Mustique would be buzzing at Christmas and Easter, but no one visited during the summer months. From April to November, we had a Robinson Crusoe lifestyle for the children. They could swim before they could walk; climbing coconut trees was second nature, and exploring the bushes to find tarantula nests and scorpions was a favourite pastime. Neither of these are poisonous on Mustique, so life was stress-free as a parent and we could let the children run free. The island school took them up until age 11, with morning classes only, leaving afternoons free for the beach, riding, or tennis.
Photographed by Lord Lichfield
Summer months are now more popular for visitors, so life is busy year-round. Our timing was perfect for raising a family. At age 11, our four children went to boarding school in England, where they got to know grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Life was good, and while we missed them, they always came back home for Christmas, Easter, and summer holidays.
And now?
It has been a very strange year worldwide, but we have managed to see all of our children at some point. We hope they will soon be able to return for a holiday!
What’s next for the brands?
For Lotty B: A series of Limited Edition silk pieces all made in the UK. We are very excited about this new project and hope to launch the first pieces in the next couple of months.
For Pink House: We plan to continue expanding our interior collections. I began designing china a couple of years ago, all handcrafted in the historic Stoke-on-Trent factories in England.
My latest venture is furnishing fabrics. I worked with interior designer Tristan Auer, who re-decorated the Cotton House Hotel, and he invited me to design all the curtain fabrics to match the names of the rooms, e.g., Papaya, Mango, Jasmine, and Guava. I have also designed fabrics for several private houses. My current project is a collection of indoor-outdoor performance fabrics made by Sunbrella, all inspired by the island, which I hope to have available on our website in the new year. This has been a dream of mine for some time!
The Jasmine room at the Cotton House.
We are currently producing the first runs of the furnishing fabrics. Please get in touch if you are interested: interiors@pinkhousemustique.com.
