If your idea of a festive table is a little more ruffles and candlelight than matching sets and perfect symmetry, you’re going to love Amy Eld.
After years in luxury retail with Selfridges, Penhaligon’s and Daylesford, Amy founded Rock The Heirloom to bring together her love of antiques, colour and sustainable living. Her tables are joyful, collected and full of personality, with handmade ruffled linens, vintage treasures and not a whiff of “too much.”
This week, Amy is bringing Colour, Candlelight & Ruffles to our Bath shop. Ahead of her visit, we asked her how to create a Christmas table that feels like a celebration in itself.
1. You spent years at Selfridges, Penhaligon's and Daylesford before starting Rock The Heirloom. What made you take the leap?
After years in luxury retail with Selfridges, Penhaligon’s and Daylesford, I wanted to bring my love of antiques, colour and sustainable living together and create something of my own. Rock the Heirloom was born from that passion.
2. Where do you begin when you're styling a festive table?
Always with the feeling I want to create. Then I build around colour, beautiful linens, collected pieces and plenty of personality.
3. You're known for bold, confident colour. How can someone bring more personality to their Christmas table without it feeling chaotic?
Don't be afraid of colour! Choose a palette you love and repeat it through flowers, linens and ceramics. Mix patterns, textures and old with new. The trick is confidence rather than perfection.
4. How do you think about scent, candlelight and texture when you're creating a festive setting?
They're the details that create atmosphere. Beautiful scent, flickering candlelight, tactile fabrics and natural elements make a table feel warm, inviting and wonderfully immersive.
5. What thoughtful touches can turn each place setting into a little gift for guests?
It's all in the thoughtful details. A little posy, handwritten name card, beautiful ribbon or a tiny vintage treasure. Something unexpected that makes each guest feel special.
6. What's one simple tablescaping trick anyone can try this Christmas, whatever their budget?
Use what you already have! Layer your plates, mix your glasses, add garden foliage and lots of candlelight. You don't need to buy everything new – some of the loveliest tables are collected, not decorated.
We love Amy’s reminder that the loveliest tables are “collected, not decorated.” A posy here, a handwritten name card there, a mix of old and new, and plenty of flickering candlelight: it’s less about perfection and more about making every guest feel special.
Come and meet Amy
Rock The Heirloom is in residence at Bramley, 41 Milsom Street, Shires Yard, Bath, from Wednesday 11 to Sunday 15 November. Amy will be in the shop in person all day on Wednesday 11 November, sharing her secrets for a joyful Christmas table, and her handmade linens, festive bows and vintage pieces are yours to discover all week. No booking needed, so drop in and bring a friend!
Can’t make it to Bath? Find Rock The Heirloom online here and on Instagram. And for the finishing touch Amy swears by, the scent and glow of candlelight, discover our Starry Nights Christmas collection.
