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Patterned curtain in a cream and taupe bird and flower design, hung from a batten against a brick wall for checking

About Sew & Sew Interiors · Since 2000

The rest is herstory.

Two sisters began by sewing curtains for friends and family. Since 2000, that has grown into a workroom at Howe Street that makes curtains, Roman blinds, cushions and upholstery for homes and hotels.

The founders

Sharen Suzanne

Sisters, co-founders and, since 2000, the two people at the heart of everything the workroom makes.

Cube footstool upholstered in amber and black animal-pattern velvet, on a white table in the workroom
A footstool made in our workroom

Sharen

Co-founder

Sharen Robinson co-founded Sew & Sew Interiors with her sister Suzanne in 2000, after the two of them began making curtains for friends and family.

Suzanne

Co-founder

Suzanne Smith co-founded Sew & Sew Interiors with her sister Sharen in 2000. Helping clients build on their own ideas, and bringing fabrics, colours and furnishings together into one scheme, is at the heart of the way she and Sharen work.

Our story

From friends and family to Howe Street.

How a shared love of fabric became a workroom.

  1. Before

    A flair for fabric

    Sharen and Suzanne share a flair for fabric and start sewing curtains for friends and family.

  2. 2000

    Sew & Sew begins

    The business is founded at Toot Hill, Essex.

    Line illustration of two people sewing curtains at a table at home, with a sewing machine and a basket of fabric
  3. Next

    Channels, Little Waltham

    The workroom moves to a unit at Channels, Little Waltham.

    Where our workroom has beenA map of Essex outlined in running stitch, with a thread running from Toot Hill to Channels at Little Waltham and on to Howe Street. Chelmsford is marked for reference. Positions are approximate.123
    1. Toot Hill
    2. Channels, Little Waltham
    3. Howe Street

    Chelmsford

    Where our workroom has been since 2000: Toot Hill, then Channels at Little Waltham, then Howe Street from 2010. Positions are approximate.
    Map data: Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2023.
  4. 2010

    Howe Street

    We move into our workroom and showroom at Warners Farm, Howe Street.

    Line illustration of low farm buildings around a courtyard, with a gate and a winding lane
  5. Today

    Homes and hospitality

    Curtains, blinds, automation, upholstery and interior design for homes, hotels and holiday lets, mainly across Essex and the Home Counties, with larger projects further afield and in London.

    Line illustration of countryside, villages and fields running towards a city skyline

How we work

Three things we never compromise on.

Floral curtain gathered with a Sew & Sew branded tie band, beside a sash window

We listen first

Every project starts with understanding how you live, the light in the room and what you love, before a single piece of fabric is cut.

Close-up of a Greek key embroidered tape along the leading edge of neutral curtains

Made by hand

Curtains, Roman blinds, cushions and upholstery are cut, sewn and finished in our own workroom.

Striped curtain edged with an orange pom-pom trim beside black-framed glazing

Finished properly

We fit what we make and dress every curtain, so the room looks the way it should from the moment we leave.

Behind the seams

From the cloth to the window.

How a piece comes together in our Howe Street workroom, step by step.

  1. Close-up of a woven braid trim sewn along the leading edge of a neutral curtain

    Choosing fabric and trims

    It starts with the cloth and the details. Fabrics and trims are chosen with you from our library, so you can see the colour and feel the weight before anything is cut.

  2. Floral crewel-style fabric laid out on the workroom table, with shelves of tools and supplies behind

    Laying out the fabric

    Every piece is measured out and laid flat on the workroom table before it is cut.

  3. A patterned Roman blind being steamed at a bathroom window above a freestanding bath, the fitter seen from behind
    Neutral Roman blind with a contrast border, raised above window shutters

    Finishing a Roman blind

    Roman blinds are made here too, then steamed at the window once they are hung, so the folds sit neatly. See more Roman blinds made in our workroom.

  4. Armchair in amber and black animal-pattern velvet with splayed oak legs, in the workroom
    Close-up of a footstool upholstered in chartreuse crushed velvet with piped edges

    Upholstery

    All of our upholstery is done in our own workroom, from armchairs in a bold animal-pattern velvet to a large footstool in a J Brown vintage velvet, made to match a client's sofa. Find out about upholstery and headboards.

  5. Ivory curtain with a pink leaf braid on the leading edge, hanging beside a fluted pilaster and arch

    Trims and finishing

    The finishing touches, like this leaf braid along a curtain's leading edge.

  6. Long run of grey pinch-pleat curtains on a pole, hung over dust sheets during fitting

    Hung and dressed

    Finally, we hang what we've made and dress it, setting the folds so the curtains fall properly. Here a long run of pinch-pleat curtains has just gone up, over dust sheets. See our handmade curtains.

"When I first met Suzanne and Sharen I was amazed at the amount of knowledge they had."

Jamie, Bishops Stortford
Close-up of a pebble-weave rug sample with a dark teal bound edge, on a workroom table
Looking along a curtain heading finished with a beaded Greek key trim

The workroom

Where every stitch happens.

Our Howe Street studio is workroom and showroom in one. It's where the fabric library lives, where curtains and Roman blinds are cut and sewn, and where all of our upholstery is done. Jayne is very much a part of the team, alongside our in-house makers.

You're welcome to visit the Howe Street showroom (by appointment), see everything we make, browse our projects or read what our clients say.

Square brass curtain pole and rings fitted against a textured wallcovering
Painted bunk beds with timber posts and rails being installed under a beamed roof, with fitters at work and fixings on the floor