![[Interview] Natalie Mudd, Co-Founder & Creative Director at Knot & Grain](https://www.theretailbulletin.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Natalie-KnotGrain.png)
[Interview] Natalie Mudd, Co-Founder & Creative Director at Knot & Grain
Can you tell us a bit about your background and what inspired you to co-found Knot & Grain?
I grew up in Nottinghamshire and went on to study at the University of Birmingham. In my previous career, I worked within creative agencies, helping to build new brands. I loved the creativity this allowed me and learned a lot about my strengths. I’ve always had a natural entrepreneurial spirit and a love for interior design.
Flooring has been a significant part of my and my husband Dave’s (co-founder) journey for many years. During this time, we have both become quite the connoisseurs. Initially, we worked with customers in our showrooms and later moved the business online with the boom of e-commerce.
Bringing together our talent and passion for woodwork and interiors felt like a natural step after I left my previous career in marketing to have our first child. My creative background, combined with my showroom experience talking to customers over the years, has proved invaluable in creating Knot & Grain.
What does your business focus on, and how has it evolved since its inception?
Knot & Grain is the latest flooring brand set to disrupt the industry by redefining how customers shop for their floors. We are unlike anything else on the market right now—our mission is to empower our customers with the freedom to design a bespoke wood floor that is uniquely theirs. We’re simplifying the customisation process without the hefty price tag typically associated with such a bespoke offering. It’s a total game-changer!
The seed for Knot & Grain was born from our desire to move away from the traditional model of shopping for flooring. Through our experience in showrooms and selling branded floors online, we learned that offering thousands of mass-produced, imported floors only leads to inflated pricing and an overly complicated buying experience.
We recognised a clear gap in the market to offer something completely bespoke, producing flooring right here in the UK while keeping it accessible. This allows us to provide a nationwide service through an e-commerce platform, cutting out the middleman.
What does a typical day in the life of a Creative Director and Co-Founder at Knot & Grain look like for you?
Producing and dispatching samples for online orders is the first task each morning. Our finishing machines are fired up, and our production team gets to work brushing and colouring flooring for our online and in-store orders.
As directors of a small business, we’re all very hands-on. Most often, we’re the ones answering phones, advising customers in our Design Studio, and responding to emails. We’re also constantly procuring and managing stock as our orders continue to grow each month.
Other than that, we’re always developing new ideas—whether formulating new colours for our collection, creating content for social media, directing photo shoots, or refining our online store. It’s exciting to create a new brand from scratch and bring everything we’ve learned from our experience in the flooring industry to the table. There’s never a dull moment, which is just the way we like it!
Knot & Grain takes a tailored approach to the flooring market. How do you and your team ensure that this personal touch resonates with each customer while still maintaining an attainable and affordable service?
Although we offer a bespoke service, our goal is to simplify the complexity and declutter the choices when it comes to buying wood flooring. From previous experience selling wood flooring, it was apparent that many customers don’t know where to start and struggle to see what differentiates one wood floor from another, or why one is more expensive.
There are so many variables to consider—wood grade, plank size, colour, surface finish—and searching online can make the process feel overwhelming.
We aim to bring the personalised experience of shopping in a showroom to an online platform. Customers are in the driving seat, selecting the features they need with transparent pricing that clearly reflects their choices.
By cutting out the middleman, we deliver bespoke flooring at highly competitive prices, producing the floors here in the UK directly for the consumer.
What are some of the key challenges you face in managing the customer journey, and how do you ensure that the personal connection you and your team build with clients is maintained throughout the process?
With a bespoke product sold online, visuals are incredibly important. Wood is a very tactile material, and we want customers to feel as though they can almost touch the products through their screens. That’s why we are constantly improving the online shopping experience. Soon, we’ll introduce 3D spins of our flooring planks and various lifestyle images, allowing customers to see their chosen floors in different lighting and environments.
Alongside our online shop, we also have a bricks-and-mortar store where we love meeting our customers in person. Additionally, we invite customers to watch their bespoke flooring being made in real time via our website or through the ‘viewing window’ in our showroom, which overlooks our production lines.
From initial samples to regular updates on production and delivery, we keep clients informed at every stage of the journey, adding a personal touch throughout.
How have you seen customer preferences and trends in the flooring market evolve, especially with the rise of sustainability and eco-conscious design? How has Knot & Grain adapted to these shifts?
We’ve noticed a gradual shift from man-made products to natural materials. The popularity of LVT floors during the early 2000s is now giving way to more eco-friendly options, such as tiles without plastics and raw materials.
We take great pride in the materials we use, sourcing sustainable premium oak from France and handcrafting it in the UK. Each floor is as unique as its customer. We believe bespoke flooring is a considered purchase, designed to last and be enjoyed for years. From minimising waste during manufacturing to selecting sustainable woods and finishes, our goal is to create beautiful, durable flooring while reducing environmental impact wherever possible.
With such a strong focus on design and renovation, how do you keep your team motivated and inspired to deliver the best possible experience to your customers?
We are a small, passionate, and motivated team who put the customer at the heart of everything we do. Each customer has complete autonomy over their wood flooring, making individual choices to suit their interior style.
From the production team to the founders (myself, Dave, and Sam), we truly care about what we do. Our fresh take on the industry inspires our team to push boundaries with us. By combining our expertise and enthusiasm for wood flooring with the team’s dedication to providing unparalleled service, we enhance both customer satisfaction and team satisfaction. It’s a win-win!
When it comes to home renovation, customers often want to ‘see and feel’ products before making a decision. How does Knot & Grain address this, especially with the growing shift towards online shopping?
We offer free colour samples, and our bespoke plank samples are available for an affordable £15 each. This allows customers to view their favourite designs at home, giving them a better sense of the grade, colour, and texture.
In addition to welcoming customers to our showroom, we also offer virtual consultations and tours of the studio via video calls. This allows customers to see the planks up close and ask any questions in real time.
