The exquisite Christmas decorations that spark childhood joy, and the decoration-maker who creates them
Elizabeth Harbour's irresistibly pretty Christmas decorations earn her a place as one of our heroes of Christmas.
This Christmas, Country Life is raising a glass to the unsung heroes who work all year round to make our seasonal celebrations special. All their stories will be collected together on our Christmas section.
Today, it's the turn of Elizabeth Harbour, a decoration maker based in Kent.
Aa child, Elizabeth Harbour and her siblings would decorate the family Christmas tree with great excitement. ‘We’d always drop a few glass baubles and smash them, but it was such fun.’ Later, as an adult living in London, she found herself walking up and down a busy street ‘trying to find traditional Christmas decorations to buy and there not being any’.
Today’s shoppers will have no such difficulty: Elizabeth Harbour Designs has become synonymous with exquisite decorations that conjure childhood celebrations, from a magical ballet fairy to a plump pudding, all made in England from sustainable wood or card. As well as several hundred different hanging decorations, there are angel tree-toppers, mantel ornaments and miniature free-standing Christmas trees that can be flat-packed away.
Elizabeth draws daily inspiration from the Kent countryside where she now lives, its architecture, history and the changing seasons. After studying illustration at Maid-stone College of Art she went on to the Royal College of Art, going on to become a book illustrator. When she became a mother, she ‘started to look at things differently: I wanted to have more design control in my work’.
She began applying her illustrations to card and wood, aiming to create decorations inspired by folk art, wildlife, literature and classical music that would be treasured for generations.
Elizabeth works 60 hours a week in the run-up to Christmas.
The Christmas build-up is ‘very intense: normally it’s a 12-hour day, posting every day apart from Sundays’. Her husband, artist Llewellyn Thomas (with whom she creatively collaborates), son and daughter all join her. ‘Once we get on top of things, decorating our own tree is something we really look forward to’.
Elizabeth Harbour's Christmas treat: ‘Watching a traditional Christmas film such as It’s A Wonderful Life together as a family.’
