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R.K. Alliston was established in September 1996, the brainchild of garden designer Harriet Scott. The company is multi-faceted, combining garden design, along with three retail shops and a thriving mail order business.
From the onset R.K. Alliston has worked solidly, completing garden design schemes for commercial and domestic clients alike in London and the Home Counties. The company has developed an enviable client list that includes high-profile people from the worlds of music, business and fashion.
Harriet believes that in designing a garden it is very important to consider the architecture of the house with its views and vistas, the interior scheme and the lifestyle of the owners, as all these aspects are linked and form the basis of the right design.
She believes that good design should have a lasting quality rather than being about the latest fashion and that atmosphere is often overlooked in very minimalist schemes when in fact it is vital to its success. She describes her style as a mixture of traditional and contemporary with strong lines creating the backbone of the design and reflecting the architecture of the house, softened by textural and imaginative planting.
In 1996 Harriet establish her own company and named her new venture R.K. Alliston after her late grandfather, an artist whose garden in the South of France was a great source of inspiration. Keen to create a garden design showroom where she could interact with clients, she set up shop in a small unit on the New King’s Road in Parsons Green, London. In addition to the garden design service Harriet offered customers a small range of interesting and attractive garden accessories and gifts that she had sourced.
The showroom was an instant success and far exceeded Harriet’s expectations. Within the first week, Harriet had received four new garden design commissions and the products in the shop were flying off the shelves. The collection of products available in the store proved to be such a hit that Harriet set about extending the range – even commissioning own brand goods. Increasing demand for goods to be sent by mail order persuaded Harriet to produce the first R.K. Alliston mail order catalogue in the autumn of 1999.
Since then, all sides of the business have thrived. In October 2002 R.K. Alliston opened the second shop in Bath, Somerset and then a third in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, in May 2006. All shops stock an extensive range of garden and home accessories, including plants, tools, skincare, candles and stylish gifts for garden lovers.
The mail order business continues to go from strength to strength. Customers are able to visit online at www.rkalliston.com. Information can also be sent directly to customers who leave their contact details along with email address. In turn they will receive monthly updates of special offers and newsletters.
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