Why Henry Holland became a potter

And what it teaches us about business growth and dreams coming true but then no longer feeling like 'the dream'.

Henry Holland became a fashion designer by accident.

He was working for a teen gossip mag and had seen these slogan t-shirts coming out of the US with lines about Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan and others.

He loved them.

One afternoon, he was with a group of mates in Camden (Agyness Deyn and the likes) and they started making up rhymes about people in the fashion industry:

CAUSE ME PAIN HEDI SLIMANE

DO ME DAILY CHRISTOPHER BAILEY

UHU GARETH PUGH

GET YOUR FREAK ON GILES DEACON

He turned them into slogan tees and suddenly, everyone wanted them.

Not least because those fashion designers themselves started wearing them.

Soon, he was pulling all-nighters to put together his first fashion show.

Everyone loved it and in 2006, House of Holland was born.

It grew, the collections became more than just t-shirts and he hired a team to help him run his fashion label.

At first, they were winging it - and loving it.

As the opportunities flew in - new shops wanted to stock them; Anna Wintour took him under her wing - they rolled with it.

He and his mates wanted to make their mark on the world and it felt like this was now happening.

But fast growth, bills to pay, a growing team needing their wages paid and no real business plan meant the pressure mounted.

In 2020, during the pandemic - which was bad for business - House of Holland went into administration.

And Henry himself decided to take some time out to recalibrate.

While slowing down and thinking of ways to return to the hands-on creativity he’d loved when producing those first t-shirts, he started making ceramics.

This felt like a calmer, more meditative way to spend his time than running a high-octane fashion label.

He decided this would be his new path.

Now, his collections are stocked in Liberty and he’s collaborating with Paul Smith, amongst others.

It’s a tale of having a dream come true and discovering the reality isn’t quite what you imagined it would be.

And also: a reminder that you can divert your path when it’s no longer serving you.

The dream can change while you’re on the journey.

Your dreams:

• How many of your career dreams have come true?

• How has it felt?

• Are you ‘living your dream’, career-wise, right now?

• If not, what would the dream be?

• How about at home: what would the dream home-life look like?

Annie x

Ps. Don’t forget to join my course if you’d like to do some guided dreaming with me (work towards one specific goal, over four weeks). Early-bird discount (£299 instead of £500) ends tomorrow. Course starts Monday.