Hello, I'm Paula Roworth.

My love for making, art, and design have been there for as long as I can remember. I have always been creative; it just comes naturally. It started with mud and environmental objects. I loved being outdoors when I was younger, and my playground was the moors, the woodland and streams where I grew up. I first learned to sew when I was at primary school, using my mum’s old Singer sewing machine. Not only did I love sewing but I loved the machine, the history, the iron work surrounding the belt and the treadle. The combination of history, functional and decorative have always appealed to me. Based at the foot of the West Pennine Moors in Lancashire Withnell takes inspiration from the old parish name for the cluster of villages where I grew up. and still live. Withnell is an amalgamation of all my life experiences. I am deeply inspired by my love of nature and the landscape, and am utilising skills from my experience in both the clothing industry and from teaching. Withnell offers timeless handmade slow fashion garments for women, each designed to be an investment piece that is made to last and be passed on. Everything from design ideas, sourcing fabrics and trims, creating patterns and sample garments is done by me. Each piece is woven with stories of history, heritage and a celebration of the local Pennine environment. I take my design responsibility seriously and I am always keeping a firm eye on the environmental responsibilities we have in the 21st Century.