Creative clothing
Kate Chapman meets Lincolnshire fashion designer Jessica Townsend, whose House of Flint brand promotes eco-friendly values.
When she became disillusioned with the world of fast fashion, Jessica Townsend decided to take things into her own hands – and launched her own clothing brand to align with her sustainable and environmental values.
Through House of Flint, she prides herself on creating versatile, long-lasting clothing that moves and adjusts to the wearer’s body, while taking them through each season, offering simplicity, function and comfort.
Jessica, who studied at the London College of Fashion, launched her business five years ago and produces a range of made-to-order garments – including dresses, shorts, skirts, jumpsuits and shirts – from deadstock and natural fabrics along with the help of a small team of seamstresses.
“My dad has been building a house on this land for 25 years – he likes to do things himself, and do them slowly, and this is the way we have been brought up; in terms of how to live our lives and in terms of the environment,” says Jessica, who lives in Binbrook with her husband, their young son and her extended family.
“I always loved creating clothes. I used to alter all my own clothes before I went to school in the morning, I never bought anything new. But I always thought fashion wasn’t somewhere I could find a place.
“Fast fashion is not good for the environment – or the people making it and all of this needs to be addressed.
“I wanted to take a slower, more sustainable approach and slow fashion is what it says: it’s the opposite of fast fashion. It’s a completely different way to create clothes, and one I got really excited about.
“I wanted to explore that and how that could fit in with how I like to create things – and that’s how I came to launch House of Flint.”
Sustainable ethics
Jessica gained a degree in costume making from London College of Fashion, where her studies focussed on costumes for film and theatre. She then moved into the bridalwear industry, both freelancing and working part-time for a bridesmaid dress company, but says she became disheartened as it didn’t align with the slow and sustainable ethics she was trying to live by. This prompted her to return to her studies and she completed a part-time Masters in fashion while building her own business, which takes its name from the house her dad is building.
It took Jessica around two-and-a-half years of testing designs and sourcing materials before she was ready to launch in 2019. The Covid pandemic the following year led more people to discover her fledgling brand, she says, as all the clothes shops were closed and everyone spent more time browsing online – and discovering independent businesses.
Jessica explains: “There’s nothing wrong with following a trend, there can still be a slow process and the opportunity to forge other connections – it’s not just about buying a piece for one day.
“I want my clothing to become part of my wardrobe, so I can wear it with multiple things. I want to keep my garments for a long time – until they don’t fit into my wardrobe or fit my body anymore, and then maybe I can pass it on to someone else, so it still has that longevity to it.
“I’ve always had these thoughts in mind, but in order to be a sustainable fashion business, I needed to ask a lot of questions – like what fabrics should I use? Where have they come from? What do they feel like on the skin? How hardwearing are they? How are the seams finished? I had to take all these things and more into account. I needed to know how each piece would be made and what thought the customer has put into why they are buying it.”
Worldwide sales
Jessica sells her designs through her own website, with many of her customers located all over the world, as far afield as Canada and America. She also sells garments through a couple of small, local stockists, and has noticed people sharing her pieces on social media sites like Instagram has helped to grow her brand.
She describes her designs as easy-fit and adjustable so they can accommodate natural fluctuations in the body, with sizes ranging from XS up to 5XL, and she also offers a custom sizing service.
Jessica believes more people are embracing the slow fashion ethos and says that higher pricing points need not be seen as a bad thing, as customers are getting higher quality, longer-lasting pieces for their money, while there are also options to buy pre-loved. House of Flint runs a pre-loved section on its website and offers customers store credit in exchange for any of Jessica’s items which they choose to return after wearing.
“I try and use more natural fabrics, plus I also use deadstock fabric that has been saved from waste,” Jessica adds.
“If a business orders too much and it doesn’t get used it becomes waste, it just means I can create some really unique collections. I try to keep my designs consistent rather than launching something new each week; every season a series of designs are released, and these remain the same, but I change up the fabrics a lot, and all of the pieces are made-to-order.”
Jessica is currently working on her next summer collection and is also hoping to bring her team together at one studio, as they are currently split across two. She also hopes to create more training opportunities for those in the surrounding area who would like to work in the fashion industry.
“There’s not a lot of opportunity in this area if you want to get into fashion, so I want to help the next generation,” she says. “I thought that if I didn’t live in London, I wouldn’t be able to work in this industry, but it’s lovely being able to do it right here in Lincolnshire.
“It’s the perfect place for me to test-drive everything I make too. I wear it all first so I can test its function for everyday life. Things shouldn’t be saved for special occasions – we should wear them every day.
“These are pieces you can keep for years, not just something you will only wear once, and it can be kept for a lifetime.”
For more information visit houseofflint.co.uk
Photographs: Dan Clarke / Edward Groover / Zuzu Valla
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