"My love of all things Regency has turned into an award winning business," Helen Reynolds founder of Viscount Folly
It was while she was laid low with flu that Helen Reynolds got the idea for her business – Viscount Folly. “I had just unpacked an ugly tissue box from my supermarket home delivery. I tried to pile books round it so I couldn’t see it. Why couldn’t it be more like the ‘chocolate box’ houses in Pride and Prejudice that I was comfort-watching for the umpteenth time? That’s when Viscount Folly sauntered into my mind.
“I’ve always admired buildings and architecture and have lived in some beautiful English cities, including Cambridge, Brighton and now York. I’m also a huge fan of Jane Austen, Bridgerton, and other period dramas and fantasy series, and it just gave me the idea to make a Regency house.
“I’d been to the Regency ball and ended up having to cobble together a costume from an M&S nightie and made an open robe and a bonnet, as I had left it too late to hire one for York Theatre Royal. It just snowballed from there, and I have been invited to a number of Jane Austen and Regency events.”
The costume is also useful for promoting her fledging business. She started by making a miniature regency house using everything from matchsticks to birthday cake candles, and the plan had been to sell them, but it took so long she decided it wasn’t viable.
“It’s quite challenging to get a lot of detail in a 14cm square,” says Helen. “As well as loving that period, the style of house leant itself to what I wanted. Also, they aren’t really about rooftops and gables, so I could start with that.”
She decided to photograph her finished house, rather than being graphic designed, because she wanted it to look more like a dollhouse than an architectural model.
Helen then photographs them, before digitising them into flatpack kits. These are printed on demand and shipped from the customer’s nearest printing fulfilment base in either the UK or USA on eco-friendly cardboard, minimising waste and carbon emissions. They can then be printed, then cut out and turned into 3D houses – all you need to add is glue.
“In some of the houses I have included a 3D element where you can attach the windows using sticky pads. I’ve also added to some houses some corner stones, which are a true architectural thing to do to strengthen a house, but they also cover the seam.”
She launched her papercraft kit business at last year’s York Georgian Festival and then set up an account on Etsy and Instagram as well as selling through gift fairs, including the York Dolls House Fair and the Jane Austen Fair in Bath last month.
Helen has hosted a crafting workshop, and a York cleaning company called Dust Whisperers gave her box covers to clients instead of Christmas cards.
They were also table centre pieces at a wedding reception in May. Weddings and other bespoke and personalised ‘houses’ are an area that Helen would like to expand.
“The wedding order has inspired me to investigate offering personalisation via Etsy, so it becomes a card/gift hybrid. It’s so annoying that cards can cost so much to buy and send but then eventually end up in the bin. This way, they have another purpose as a tissue box cover.” Having attended the Home & Gift Show in Harrogate this summer, she is also looking into retail and wholesale possibilities.
Helen is now one of 150 creatives selected from thousands of submissions from across the world for the Etsy Design Awards – and one of just 17 UK finalists.
In total, Etsy has more than five million sellers. Its global awards programme celebrates creativity, craftsmanship and standout design from independent makers around the world. The criteria states that designs must be eye-catching, with a unique bold vision and top-notch branding. Finalists have a chance to win a People’s Pick Etsy Design Award or a grand prize of $25,000.
“I’ve always admired artists but thought the design world was closed to me, as I can’t draw for toffee,” says Helen, who grew up near Scarborough.
“I nearly didn’t enter, but winning a York and North Yorkshire StriveLive award and being named a One To Watch finalist in June for the University of York’s Enterprise Awards gave me the confidence to apply. Making the ‘Etsies’ final has finally healed the wounds inflicted by my former art teacher’s remarks, who said, ‘Well, it’s not that refined, but I suppose it’s very whimsical.’” Now, as self-appointed ‘Head of Whimsey’ at Viscount Folly, Helen has turned this light into a business.
“With all the awful things going on in the world, I think we all need a bit more whimsy, and I think it explains why there is an increase in popularity for the Regency period.”
After school, Helen gained a place at Cambridge University to study English. She then pursued a career in website strategy and copywriting, working in New Zealand, Gatwick Airport and the Lake District before moving back to her native Yorkshire, settling in York.
But she never lost her love of crafting.
The range currently includes eight pastel-coloured and miniature Georgian houses, including York’s Mansion House and the Bonding Warehouse (both only available to buy at the properties), as well as Hallowe’en and Christmas designs. And she has plans for a Yorkshire range of houses and possibly even adapting her method to houses abroad.
“With the new Sense and Sensibility film just released, Netflix’s Pride and Prejudice launching early December and The Other Bennet Sister’s Christmas special scheduled, it’s also the perfect gift for the period drama fan in your life,” adds Helen.
The Etsy Design Awards will be judged by Etsy’s Trend Expert Dayna Isom Johnson, a former judge on the Emmy-nominated show Making It and a lifestyle contributor for The Drew Barrymore Show, and CBS Mornings in the USA.
The guest judge is fashion designer Lisa Bühler, founder of the Lisa Says Gah brand, as featured in Vogue. The winners will be announced in November.
Find out more about Viscount Folly on Instagram: @viscountfolly