Ex-PR guru Lynne Franks launches business club for women

Franks says she started bringing the team together six months ago through direct appointments, adding that she has been ‘a big fan’ of Ashwell and approached her when the designer set up a shop in London’s Notting Hill earlier this year called Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic Couture Store.

Ashwell, who founded and designed Shabby Chic stores in New York, has integrated a vintage look into sustainable design, using furniture she sourced herself.

‘I’ve gathered furniture and furnishings with a romantic and whimsical flair without compromising function,’ says Ashwell.

Grigoriou co-ordinated the design team, found sustainable solutions where possible, introduced a drop ceiling in a meeting room and designed the reception desk.

Mural artist Charlotte Adler has created designs based on mantras from Franks’ Seed women’s business book series, and new work by female artists and photographers will be regularly hung in the space.

A flagship club in London’s Covent Garden will open next week, with a roll-out planned for others in Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester in the autumn.