Our Story
Made in Devon.
Born at Glastonbury.
Designed to last.
Helen Moore began in 1982 not with a business plan, but with a belief that beautiful things should be made carefully, honestly, and without harm. Over forty years later, that belief still runs through everything we do.
We are a family of makers. Artists, designers, craftspeople. We grew up making things with our hands and we have never stopped. This is our story.
“My mum wanted a beautiful small factory making beautiful things that would last. That is still all we want.”
The Beginning
It started with postcards at Glastonbury.
In 1982, Helen and Stanley Moore were young, creative, and raising a family in Devon. Stanley is an artist, and so to help them travel to festivals they started a business selling his artwork as postcards. Glastonbury was where it began. (and Hester still does this today)
The card business grew into something real. But Helen's heart was always in textiles. In the early nineties, she found her moment. Textiles began to take over the business entirely, and they made a decision: sell the stationery company and build a textiles factory.
"I just want to have a beautiful, small factory with women making beautiful things that will last for a long time." Helen Moore
That vision became real. The factory in Witheridge, Devon grew. At its height, we employed over 60 local people. In 2013, the business was rebranded as Helen Moore, with my mum as its face, and I joined full time.
Photo of Helen and Family at Glastonbury in 1981
A Creative Lineage
Raised by artists. Trained as designers.
Helen and Stanley both studied at Goldsmiths College of Art. Stanley went on to the Royal College and Helen went on to teach at the London College of Fashion. Hester also studied design at Goldsmiths, following quite naturally her parents' footsteps. Two generations of makers, all trained to look at the world and make something from it.
Stanley's artwork lives on in our silk scarf collection. One of Hester’s favourite collections as it bridges her dad’s art, postcard at Glastonbury to who we are today.
Growing up in a family like ours, artists, creatives and festival goers, people who made things rather than bought them, gave me a different way of seeing. We are proud of that. In a world of fast fashion and digital consumption, there is something increasingly rare about people who still make things by hand, who care about what something is made of and how long it will last.
We are not romanticising the past. We just know that craft, care and longevity matter more now than ever.
Growing up in the business
She was stapling catalogues at six years old.
Hester Moore has spent her whole life in this business. As a child, she was at trade shows. As a teenager, she was helping run them. Many of our wholesale customers have seen her grow up in this business.
After studying at Goldsmiths, she worked for other brands and designers, returning to Helen Moore full time in 2013, and taking the helm in 2024. Today she runs the business alongside her family and has been lucky to work with both her brothers and sister-in-law. Helen has now retired but acts as the chief cheerleader. It has always been a family effort.
Where we are now
Smaller.
More deliberate.
Growing again.
We've been bigger than we are today. The last few years brought many challenges, including the pandemic and shifts in buying behaviour, and we made difficult decisions to keep the business alive. We're smaller now, and we're intentionally growing
differently.
That means making more deliberately. Knowing our customers, saying no to things that don't fit. Investing in doing it right, the way Helen imagined it from the beginning.
We have worked with the best stores in the world, and today we work with some of Britain's finest independent retailers, the kind of shops that care as much about what they stock as we care about what we make.
Photo: Helen in front of Harrods, the year we were in 14 Christmas windows
British Manufacturing
Made here.
Honestly.
Over 80% of our faux fur collection is made in our own factory in Witheridge, Devon. We cut, sew, and finish each piece ourselves, every piece of fur cut by hand, every item sewn from start to finish by one of our skilled machinists.
Like many heritage brands, some of our products are now made in carefully chosen factories overseas. We won't pretend otherwise. What we can promise is that wherever something is made, it is made to our standard, with the same care we'd give it ourselves.
Manufacturing in the UK matters to us more now than ever. It lets us make to demand, reduce waste, and stay close to what we're creating.
Sustainability
We were doing this before it had a name.
Faux fur was once considered a compromise. We always thought of it as the right answer. Our materials are cruelty-free and free from harmful dyes.
Most of our faux fur and linings are made from 100% recycled fibres. We make to demand, no overproduction, no landfill. We sell our fabric scraps rather than discard them. We offer a bespoke service because we'd rather make one thing you'll keep forever than ten things you won't.
Recycled materials Most faux fur and linings from 100% recycled fibres.
Made to demand. No overproduction. No excess. No waste.
Zero waste ethos. Scraps sold. Nothing thrown away if we can help it. We sell seconds in our archive
Carbon neutral delivery. All parcels via DPD's carbon neutral service.
Made to last. Not fast fashion. Designed to be loved for years.
Faux fur, always.
Thank you for being here.
Whether you've been with us for years or just found us, you're buying something made by people who care, in a place we love, from materials we've thought hard about. That started with a postcard stall at Glastonbury in 1982. It hasn't changed.
Hester Moore Creative Director & Owner · Helen Moore · Witheridge, Devon
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