I’m Caroline King, and Katrina Hampton is a brand I built, but it did not begin with me. It began with my grandmother, on a market stall, selling fabric she had chosen herself. This is the story of how that stall became a brand, and how I ended up carrying it forward as the third generation of my family to work in textiles.
Where It All Started
My grandmother left mill work to set up her own market stall business selling fabric. She was supported by her daughters, who stood beside her as the business found its feet. In 1972, my dad made a decision of his own: he left a career in engineering to join the family firm, branching out by selling fabric at markets across the North of England.
My mum soon joined my gran on the market too. Dad went on to establish a wholesale fabric business, and was joined by his brother in law not long after. What had started as one woman and a stall had become a real family affair, each generation building on what the last one had started.
Joining the Family Business and Founding Katrina Hampton
I joined the firm in 2003, with Dad, Mum and my uncle still very much involved. Within a few months, I had established Katrina Hampton as a brand within the company. In May 2004 we attended our first exhibition, and a second followed quickly after. From there, we built a genuinely established brand, with customers ranging from department store groups and garden centres to TKMaxx, high street names, fast developing internet brands, independent boutiques and interior designers.
Some of those early customers have been with us from the very start. Many others are no longer in business at all. Our own business has had to adapt and evolve with the changing market in exactly the same way, and one of the clearest examples of that shift is how we sell today. We still supply our branded products to small businesses, but increasingly, even small independents are choosing to buy own label instead, and Katrina Hampton has grown to meet that demand rather than resist it.
Throughout all of it, our products have always been made in Manchester, and I am proud that Katrina Hampton continues to support British manufacturing.
A Decision Twenty-One Years in the Making
By 2024, I had been commuting from Sheffield to Manchester for 21 years. I had two children, a home and a family to support, and something had to give. Leaving the family firm was not an easy decision, but I was very lucky to be able to take my brand baby, Katrina Hampton, with me.
I now work from my home office, with a unit not far away where our made up products are stored and shipped from. Very little has changed in terms of the manufacturing process, the fabric supply or the packaging. What has changed is that I now do a lot more of it myself. I am marketing, sales, picker, packer and, on occasion, the delivery driver too.
Who Supports Katrina Hampton and Me
No brand is ever really built alone, and Katrina Hampton is no exception.
My manufacturing team of skilled people cut, sew, innovate and pack every piece we make. We have worked together for 16 years, and it remains a genuinely great relationship. Ambassador Textiles, my old work home, is where I honed my skills, and the connection between us runs deeper than any standard business relationship ever could. My photographers, super Paul and Adam at HDTWO, have worked with me for many, many years. It takes Paul’s great skill to ensure our faux fur products look so sensational, both on screen and in print.
My family remain a huge part of this too. My parents are still involved. I may have left their family business, but they are still a key part of mine, with the occasional drop off or pick up of fabric, and, as ever, Dad is my sounding board.
My partner James is ever supportive, and always happy to lend a van from Gateford Motor Co when one is needed. My children have their own role too. Who doesn’t like sticking on labels and going to the post office with parcels? And my friends are always generous with their honest product feedback, which is always welcome.
More recently, Arise have joined the story as our internet support and marketing partners, and we are working together to make sure Katrina Hampton can reach its 25th year in business, and many more beyond it.
Our Products
We select only the most stylish and desirable faux fur fabrics. Faux fur no longer has a reputation for being shaggy or cheap. Our luxury throws, cushions and accessories are sought after for the softness and warmth they bring to living and bedroom spaces, and that reputation has been built one exhibition, one customer and one collection at a time.
Why UK Manufacturing Matters to Me
Manufacturing in the UK is not simply a point of pride for me, it is also what allows Katrina Hampton to work the way it does. Tighter stock control means we can be far more reactive to size and demand as fashion shifts. We hold stock of the fabric ourselves and make in smaller batches, which means faster turnaround times on re-orders when a colour or style takes off.
It also means we can offer more designs and a greater choice of colours and specifics, whether that is plain, animal print, stripe or long hair. UK manufacturing gives us the scope to offer exclusives and own label branding, even to smaller businesses that could never access that kind of flexibility from an overseas supplier.
At Katrina Hampton, we believe in sleeping soundly at night, quite literally. Our beanbags are made using only FR inherent fabrics, and comply with UK law associated with BS5852. We are also happy to supply throws and cushions to hospitality clients that meet Crib5. Much of our photography is based around the bedroom for exactly this reason, as we prefer to stay complicit with the recommendations of BS5852 in how we present our products.
Three Generations, One Thread
From a market stall to a wholesale business, and from a wholesale business to a brand I now run from my own home office, the thread running through Katrina Hampton has never really changed. It is a story of family, of adapting when the market demands it, and of doing the work yourself when that is what it takes.
Every throw, cushion and accessory we make carries a little of that history with it, made in Britain, by people I trust, for customers who are increasingly looking for brands they can actually believe in.