Coffee With Chrissie Rucker
of The White Company

Chrissie Rucker is founder of The White Company, the UK’s leading authority on all things bed and bath related. Still very much at the heart of the business today, Chrissie is also a dedicated working mother. She lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, Nick Wheeler of Charles Tyrwhitt, and their four children.

We had a coffee with Chrissie to find out what inspired her to set up her own business, dig deep about her shopping habits and discover where she likes to shop online.

What inspired you to create The White Company?
It all came about because my then boyfriend (now husband) bought a new house and I wanted to show him what good wife material I was so, I set off to kit out his house. From table linen to towels, everything I bought was white and I was quite shocked at how difficult it all was to find. There were two extremes, either fab designer or cheap Chinese - nothing in between.

So I set out to do the 'in between', produce good quality white products for the home, at affordable prices. We produce and manufacture the same as designers but we sell them at high street prices.

I genuinely love white things. White works whoever you are, wherever you are, in ultra modern houses or in pretty traditional houses.

What makes your product unique?
A combination of design, attention to detail and quality - all sold at high street prices.

How do you get a good work/life balance?
I think it's an eternal battle for every working mum. There are times when it works brilliantly and times when it just doesn’t go to plan at all.

Being my own boss helps because I can make work commitments around plans at home. I’ll always make it to school choir concerts and plays because I know I can pick my work up again when I get home.

What’s your best selling product/label?
It depends what time of the year it is. The heart of the business is built around bed linen so our best selling areas are linen and bed spreads but our scented range is also hugely popular, especially at this time of year. We'll sell hundreds of thousands of candles in the run up to Christmas.

How do you maintain the quality/control of your business now that it has grown so much?
Our goal in the business is to improve quality and keep prices lower or at the very least, the same year on year. As a team and as a business as a whole we are absolutely obsessive about quality and fanatical about detail.

If you could do it all again, would you do anything differently? Any advice for other young women entrepreneurs?
It’s hard because I think in a way part of growing a business successfully is about learning from things as you go.

I really think that you're only as good as the team around you and I have always believed in surrounding myself and employing people that are better than me. I can’t emphasise enough the importance of having the right people in the right jobs.

Our business has grown organically and I am so pleased we did it in that way.

How would you characterise your fashion style?
I think the key for me is having fabulous pieces that I can put on and know I’ll look and feel good in. I’m not so much into high fashion but more about pieces that fit, flatter and emphasise the right parts.

Who would you say is your style icon?
Oh god, I love all the clichés! I'm still mad about Audrey Hepburn but I also think Elle Macpherson always looks fabulous.

Who is your favourite designer?
So many! I'm a huge fan of Donna Karen, Sonia Rykiel, Stella McCartney and Temperley for their divine evening dresses.

Where do you buy your denim and why?
I love 7 for all Mankind but my greatest find recently is a pair of Topshop jeans. Their Edita Bootcut are only £40 and are the best fit ever!

Heels or flats and where do you buy them?
A bit of both actually. I love to wear heels when I don’t have to walk too far but I live in flats for doing store visits and at weekends.

LK Bennett is great and I have recently bought a pair of fabulous boots from Prada. They’re suede with a high chunky heel but they are so comfortable I can walk in them for hours. Sometimes for comfort you do really need to invest in a good pair and although it seemed a lot when I bought them, I really have worn them to death.

Where did you shop for your maternity wear?
I bought quite a bit from Formes and I did a lot of pinching of my husband’s shirts which I wore with leggings.

Where do you shop for your children’s clothes?
The Little White Company (of course!) and Boden has some great things for kids too.

Do you eat organic and live an eco-conscious lifestyle?
We always try to be as healthy as possible at home. We buy a lot of meat from the Well Hung Meat Company and now we’ve moved house we have a really fab kitchen garden so we try and grow as much as possible.

What beauty products are currently in your bathroom cabinet?
I used to be the assistant health and beauty editor at Harpers so I still really love the beauty side of things. I can’t live without my Eve Lom Cleanser, it’s just fantastic and you really do see a difference. I’ve also just started using the Natura Bisse Diamond Ice Lift which is great.

What’s your signature fragrance?
For the day time I adore our Flowers fragrance because it gives you a light floral fresh boost and for evening I love Hermes Caleche.

What are your three must-have make up products?
Benefit Speed Brow is great for shaping and setting eyebrows and Bobbi Brown’s Long Wear Eyeliner is fab for parties and getting extra special eyes. The other thing that makes a huge difference is Estee Lauders Lash Primer Plus; it really makes lashes longer without looking cloggy.

How would you describe the style of your home?
A total building site at the moment! The whole house is being completely redecorated but we move back in in five weeks time. It’s a combination of light earthy neutrals, whites and creams. The overall feel is calm and natural with touches of sparkle, lots of texture and dashes of bold colour to give it some strength.

Where do you buy your furniture and home accessories?
I love to mix antique pieces and painted French furniture in lovely soft greys with things from The White Company.

We have a fabulous merchandiser who goes to fairs all around the country looking for pieces for our stores and he has found me some absolute gems for my home on his travels.

What was the last thing you put on your credit card?
My husband is growing a moustache for Prostate Cancer Awareness. I have just sponsored him to shave it off!

And finally, where else do you love to indulge?
Amazon is brilliant for stocking fillers for the children, Net A Porter for when there’s no time to go shopping but I need something special, Bombay Duck for little hooks and Shire Equestrian... I have six horses!

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