We were delighted to visit Pippa Rolls in its newly expanded premises very near our Gloster Rd showroom in Anson Rd, Martlesham.

Where it all began

Pippa Glazier meets us with her business partner Miguel Muñoz. Having started in interior design she met Miguel – an expert, experienced cutter and curtain maker – and they set up Pippa Rolls in May 2007 in Gobbitts Yard in Woodbridge. They soon had to move to larger premises in Martlesham in 2014. Business was good and they became the local-based expert on making windows look stylish, writing a ‘Style Counsel’ page in the Suffolk Magazine, building reputation and many word-of-mouth referrals. The business continued to grow as they focused on offering the service of curtain designers. Consequently – through steadfastly doing one thing very well their name for the design, manufacture and fitting of top class curtains, Roman blinds and soft furnishings has become better and better known locally and abroad and curtain design is now their speciality.
Pippa Rolls has just expanded for the second time, taking on an adjacent unit to house a showroom where customers can browse fabrics, wallpapers and soft furnishings – something they couldn’t do before.
Miguel and Pippa value the collaboration they have with Interior Designers and Specifiers tremendously – Trade customers account for 40% of their workroom business but they have recognised that their retail customers are looking for something less than an interior designer might offer and more than just a curtain maker would. Pippa says “Our clients tend to know what overall look they want to create. They come to us to find curtain design solutions. We know our fabric books inside out and help them find the right style, fabric and finish to complete the look they are wanting to achieve.” Miguel adds: “We don’t sell kitchens or coffee tables; we are not interior designers – we deliberately specialise in soft furnishings and wallpapers. It keeps us busy enough!”

It’s a team effort

Pippa explains “Customers visit the showroom to start the process”. Either Pippa or her assistant Helen works with them to choose fabrics, paint colours or wall coverings. Once they have chosen their products and their windows have been check-measured the fabric is ordered and passed to Miguel and his team. Miguel is in charge of production and with over 30 years’ experience handling expensive fabrics he knows how to optimise any fabric and make it into a beautiful finished product. The team then arrange fitting and dressing of the finished article. “We pride ourselves on offering a 100% in house service. This ensures efficiency and accuracy and gives our customers the peace of mind that nothing gets overlooked.

Recent trends

“Kitchens in particular have undergone great change” Pippa comments “As social spaces they have grown in size and status within the home so that it isn’t just a window over the sink anymore. Larger kitchens are knocked through to surrounding rooms and incorporate dens, eating areas, lounges, media, music and even office areas. Fortunately for us windows are everywhere and glass is often pushed out into the garden. Curtains play a bigger and bigger part in kitchens”. Pippa Rolls has noticed an increase in demand for translucent curtains – voile. More and more voile fabrics have been introduced, coloured and embroidered to become very popular in kitchens because they are easy to wash and re-hang. They can hide you from view and yet still moderate all that lovely light coming through.
Roman blinds continue to be popular and ones, using electric tracks in particular. This is particularly useful where the roller chain mechanism is hard to reach. They are also popular because of the 2014 safety regulations that regulate the length of chain – with electric no chain is required making it safer and tidier. In a kitchen, you no longer have to lean over a 65cm work surface to open or close your blinds and it’s not just kitchen that are awkward Pippa Rolls recently fitted a 3 metre electric Roman Blind on an awkward stairway in an Edwardian house. On one remote controller, you can run up to four blinds and if that’s not efficient enough the controller can be partly solar powered!
 
 
The trend towards having a feature/statement wall has meant that wallpaper is undergoing a genesis. Vinyl wallpaper (like Jane Churchill) can look like silk but you can wipe it with gusto. It changes the acoustics of a room as well. The Pippa Rolls showroom demonstrates that you can combine expensive wallpaper with reasonably priced curtains and, as the wallpaper takes the eye away from the windows, achieve a bespoke finish on a lower budget. She adds that average curtain fabrics cost around £55/m – plain colours as low as £18/m and designer patterns as high as £230/m. With such a wide range there is something for everyone.
Miguel and Pippa joke that they have made even the humblest fabric look good with Miguel’s magic cutting, lining and finishing. “Although we make an enormous number of curtains and blinds each one gives the entire team tremendous satisfaction when seen on our workroom rails where they “rest” before going out for delivery”.

15% Pippa Rolls discount

Pippa Rolls believes they should support similar local businesses and would like to offer anyone with an Anglia Factors kitchen or bespoke interior a 15% discount on any curtains, Roman or other blinds agreed. Just quote this blog when you call to arrange a meeting.
Partners include: Jane Churchill, Colefax & Fowler, Lewis & Wood, Clarke & Clarke, GP & J Baker, Mulberry, Cole & Sons, Ian Sanderson, Zoffany, Linwood, Manuel Canovas, Bluebelle Gray, Chess Designs and Prestigious Textiles.