Zoe trained as a hairdresser in Brighton after leaving school in her hometown of Lewes in East Sussex, became a young mum, a pub landlady in Shropshire and then retrained as a manicurist. As a manicurist she worked in top London hair salons which led to work in fashion (leading shows in London, New York, Paris and Sydney) editorial (in Vogue, Harpers and Grazia), and movies (Horrid Henry with Angelica Houston and Maleficent with Angelina Jolie). For Maleficent she was able to recreate her Louboutin manicure which she invented years earlier and was featured Grazia in 2007.
Zoe founded Muck N Brass in 2014 the day after being made redundant. It all started with small pieces of furniture from charity shops, painted and decoupaged on the dining table of her small London flat.
The name Muck N Brass comes from an expression from the era of heavy industry in the north of England, "Where there's muck, there's brass". Brass being slang for money.
Soon she moved the business into a high street shop in Brockley, South East London with a tiny workshop room behind.
It was here that during a discussion with collaborator and friend Jess Hitchenor they coined the term "Luxecycling" (sometimes lux-cycling) to describe her style of Upcycling with quality and finishes worthy of a place in the best department store and not of a place straight back in the skip where it came from. Zoe can take chic but has no tolerance of shabby.
Within a year the shop was bursting at the seams and the search for a new space began.
She found her dream workshop literally a few paces from the back of the original Muck N Brass shop. With space to expand and experiment she moved into new areas. Making statement lighting, designing luxury wallpaper and fabric, creating craft kits and small runs of clothing and curios all with the Muck N Brass signature twist.
Zoe leads regular workshops at Muck N Brass. Some fun, experience days like Kitsch Christmas Wreath workshops and others like this Table Manners workshop for building skill and confidence in Upcycling. She's really excited about her new Online Muck N Brass resin table course which is available everywhere.
