As a young child Sophie Harding loved knitting, sewing, drawing and painting and immersing herself in a creative world of her own making. She says that it was apparent that she was destined to have a creative career and she was very much encouraged in this direction by both her school teachers and family. At school she won prizes and cups for her art, which further fuelled her passions for all creative things. She had her first paid illustration commission at the age of 14. The work involved the illustration of a brochure of summer events that were taking place where she was growing up in Swanage. When she was 16, Sophie arranged her first exhibition of work in her parents’ home – her mother very generously let her have the use of the sitting room for this event.
She was able to sell lots of the paintings; in clip frames, oil on paper, mainly inspired by her family holiday to the South of France. She says the sale was a great earning for the summer holidays and proved that she would be able to make money from her art. She did her foundation course at Poole College of Art and Design and Bournemouth. After this, she was accepted at Central St Martins School of Art where she enrolled on a 4r-year Bachelor of Arts degree course studying printed textiles and fashion design. In the third year, she was allowed to work and gain experience within the industry. The Style Council in New York offered her a placement and she worked there as a textile designer.
