Life is too short to always be wearing black. What I’d really like people to start doing is embracing colour a little bit more,’ says Emma Deterding.

The Norfolk-based interior designer of Kelling Designs and Kelling Home at Creake Abbey is well-known for her bold use of colour.

But, she says, why stop at the home? That is the ethos behind her new label, Serucchi, a curated collection of jewellery and clothing, which makes a colourful statement.

‘I’ve done a survey of this and in London

Emma Deterding of Kelling Home, who has created the new brand Serruchi. (Image: Conitributed by Imi Communications)

I can be the only person on the street wearing colour. But it really does make you happier. So we need to spread the message,’ says Emma.

‘When I first started my interior design company the colour palette was very neutral, because we were doing a lot of rental properties. Gradually, over the years, as more people asked us to do their private homes it became more colourful.

‘Someone once said this to me, and it’s really true, that when your children leave home and the toys and all of their kit and their caboodle has gone and you have a home which is all beige, that’s the time for colour.’

The inspiration for Serucchi came from spending time in India – a country which holds a special place in Emma’s heart – and her self-confessed magpie tendencies.

‘Last year I spent six months there, doing some work for Kelling Design and also just enjoying India, because I love India,’ she says. ‘And by mistake I went to a jeweller’s and I saw some amazing jewellery that I really loved and I thought: “Ooh, I’ll bring that home and I’ll sell it.” And then I thought: “I rather like those coats and I rather like...” and it morphed into something that is slightly bigger than I thought it was going to be.’

Earrings by Serruchi. (Image: Conitributed by Imi Communications)

She had a soft launch for the brand back in September and a full launch in November. As well as gorgeous jewellery pieces adorned with dazzling semi-precious stones, such as pink tourmaline and blue topaz, the collection also includes velvet jackets and screen-printed silk shirts – with plans to expand the range with the launch of the spring/summer 26 collection.

As Emma explains, it is an opportunity for her to collaborate with some hugely talented people.

‘We work with three or four jewellers in Jaipur, who all specialise in different things. Some do amazing beading, which is unbelievably complicated, and then some specialise in stones,’ she says.

‘The jewellery is quite extrovert with big stones,’ she says. ‘It’s not necessarily for the shy and retiring. For spring/summer we’re going to be bringing out a whole range of shell jewellery and enamel too.’

And already having contacts in the textile business through Kelling Designs was a big help with finding people to make Serucchi’s jackets and shirts.

Emma has curated a beautiful collection of statement silk shirts and jewellery. (Image: Conitributed by Imi Communications)

They do embroidered and plain velvet jackets and screen-printed silk shirts, with cotton dresses and skirts launching for spring/summer.

‘Everything that I’m trying to do, I’m trying to make really comfortable as well. I really hate tight things, I’m trying to go more for the casual but pretty look,’ she says.

‘They’re not mass produced. I was really keen to keep it quite small and they’re made by artisans and families who I’ve worked with for years doing different things,’ she continues. ‘We do quite a lot of embroidered fabric on the backs of chairs and things like that, so this is just a little bit of a diversion.

‘All of the embroidered jackets are one of a kind, literally no two will ever be the same.

‘And the shirts are really beautiful. They’re what they call paper silk in India, and it’s

Cute beaded bracelets by Serruchi. (Image: Conitributed by Imi Communications)

40 ounce silk. Again, no two are ever the same, they are screen-printed, by an incredibly talented woman, and she cuts out all the different fabrics and uses it in different ways. They’ll all have different cuffs.

‘Also, they’re very easy to look after because you can just wash them and then hang them up on a hanger and they literally dry overnight. I love mine, I live in them.’

Which brings Emma to something else she is passionate about – wearing and getting enjoyment from your clothes by wearing them every day rather than saving them for best.

‘I just want people to wear it – there’s nothing more disappointing than having a beautiful thing in the cupboard which you can never wear. Please, wash it, wear it, enjoy it, don’t worry about it.’

She says everything you add to your wardrobe should be bought to wear and keep, rather than fast fashion one-season wonders.

Emma has curated a beatiful collection of statement silk shirts and jewellery. Photo: contributed by Imi Communications (Image: Conitributed by Imi Communications)

‘I’d rather have things that are really classic, I don’t want people throwing things out every year,’ she says. ‘They should be nice things that can be worn forever and you can bring out every year if you want to. I want it to be affordable enough that you don’t think: “I can only wear this on high days and holidays.” I want people to go for dog walks in the velvet jacket because the velvet jackets wash like a dream, the shirts wash like a dream, people should live in this kit and use it.’

Emma’s love affair with India began when she travelled there for work almost 20 years ago.

‘I first went to India at the beginning of 2007, because I had an amazing Indian client and we were doing a lot of work for them in London and then in India. We built this amazing house in central Delhi and so I was going backwards and forwards for four or five years, and it grew on me and I travelled more and more as I went. It’s a country that the deeper you get into it the more you discover and it’s endlessly fascinating and it’s really bright and colourful and big and joyful and soulful,’ she says.

Coming back to colour, has she got any tips for someone who wants to wear bolder shades, but would describe themselves as a shrinking violet?

Emma loves jewellery which makes a statement. (Image: Conitributed by Imi Communications)

‘The braver you get with colour, the more you want it. It’s just those initial first steps that make it difficult. People are so scared they’re going to get it wrong and now I frankly don’t care if I do get it wrong,’ says Emma.

‘I think as you get older you get braver. I’m of the age where I really do not care what anyone thinks of me and it’s so much easier. And you become more confident,’ she says..

See the collection at Kelling Home, Creake Abbey or go online to serucchi.com

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