Last year was amazing, one that still feels a little surreal and which ended on an incredible high with my daughter Natasha getting engaged!
2014 however is already starting off with quite the flurry of exciting activity too. Dragons Den is back on your screens this Sunday 26 January at 9pm, which you really must tune in to as it is an extra special episode for me. Filming for the next series will start again soon and I can't wait to see the passionate individuals that come up the lift to face their fears and us Dragons to pursue their business dreams. We often get the focus as the Dragons of Dragons' Den but the show is really about people from around the country creating opportunities for themselves.
I guess that's why my new website which launched last week, kellyhoppen.com was so important for me to finally get off the ground. I think it's rather fitting that it launched around the same time as Dragons Den proving I don't just talk the dragon talk but I walk the dragon walk too.
People are always asking me where they can buy the items I use in my designs, so it felt it was a natural progression to design my own. It's been an incredibly exciting time watching it all come to fruition and to know that anyone will be able to buy something I created myself in a way that is, I think, a unique shopping experience. I've created the whole range with the idea in mind that everything works together perfectly, so you can't really go wrong. I offer my expertise in terms of styling and creating the home of your dreams but you are essentially your own designer. I've designed everything with you in mind so that you can enjoy the process of creating what works, with you knowing you can't go wrong.
There are lots of different ways to use the website, by inspiration, by collection, by room or item, so it doesn't matter if you are re-designing a whole house or just want to reinvent one room, there is something for everyone. I absolutely love it and this may sound biased but I do, and I'm incredibly proud of it and I am going to be using almost everything on it when I redesign my next home.
Last year was fantastic and a massive learning curve for me and I embraced it, and loved every minute of it so this year I'm going to face what comes at me with a new found sense of understanding of what is and isn't possible. Not to mention some exciting design projects for clients around the world. My team and I are off to Maison &Objet in Paris this week for a bit of inspiration. Finding new influences and inspirations whether it is in Dragon's Den, at a design fair or in my own design studio is key to the creative process.