Dmitry Grishin: Let Me Paint Your Dreams

Exploring the finest British craftsmanship of luxury children's furniture and bespoke interior design, you come across one of the market's leading experts and providers: Dragons of Walton Street. In the heart of London, only a few minutes away from Harrods, you walk into the gorgeous neighbourhood of Chelsea. And if you head to the charming, vibrant Walton Street, you come across Dragons' showroom. You can't wait to enter and discover the curiosities showcased in the window. Work there is relentlessly ongoing: items come and go, and designers never stop hand-painting pieces. You can tell there's a sincere dedication to what they do.
It's time to discover who Dragons are and what's happening behind the scenes.

What's the story behind Dragons of Walton Street, and where did it all start from?

Dragons of Walton Street is a quintessentially British label that has been creating bespoke children's furniture for almost 40 years. Our designs combine traditional values with contemporary solutions, and we always offer impeccable service and exceptional care for our projects. Founded by Rosie Fisher in 1979, Dragons started off as an antique shop and pioneered the market for luxury children's furniture ever since. With a client list of celebrities from 70+ countries and a showroom in London, our mission is to produce innovative interiors, furniture, and artwork that manage to delight and inspire our clients, both parents, and children. We wish to gift our customers a lifetime of memories that they can cherish forever.

Why is it so vital for you to welcome clients in your showroom, and can you name a few?

We want to provide our customers with a holistic experience beyond buying furniture and expand it into creating joyful moments for them and their children. We like to understand our clients' needs, guide them through their dream designs, and go the extra mile to make those dreams come true. After all, we have a significant opportunity to give our children the happiest childhood and surround them with the utmost care for building their environment.

Usually, our customers are successful people who live by family values. One of the indicators of their success is family, along with their children, their education, and health. Digging a little deeper, Dragons of Walton Street's designs and works have long been the Royals' favourite. 

The privacy of our clients is one of our top priorities. Since we tremendously value their privacy, personal life, and safety, the first thing we do is sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect their personal data. It may occur that we don't even get to know the client's name as we also work through representatives or architectural firms. Of course, I am pleased to read the press and see mentions of our company that we made rooms in royal palaces or see our doll-house on the Instagram of a famous rock singer. And that's how we find out who they are eventually. It would be grand to assist them in person!

You claim to be the world's finest provider of hand-painted nursery sets and luxury children's furniture – what makes you so unique?

Beautifully crafted, hand-painted artwork is in our brand's DNA. We hold exclusive licenses for hand painting Beatrix Potter, Flower Fairies, Paddington Bear on children's furniture, which is available for every stage of a child's life, from new-borns right up to teenagers. Also, we know what excellent service is! We want to learn about our customers in and out – their names, their preferences, their children's birth dates, and much more. People come to us for family comfort, product reliability, and around-the-clock productivity. I'll never get tired of saying this: we want to craft emotions and dreams and build them to last. We want our products to be the carrier of memories and family heritage that can be passed on from one generation to another.

What's new in your collection, and can you give us an overview of your bespoke interior design services?

Only with Dragons can you have luxury products meet your and your children's wishes. Our team will inspire you with incredible ideas. Everything is possible here at Dragons! You can come up to our designers and make a request for something completely unusual – like that you want to wake up in a castle or fly a helicopter. We love to bring that imagination, a child's imagination, to life through our luxury bespoke beds, rocking horses, and murals. We offer a wide range of custom furniture, from fitted wardrobes to themed beds. 

What are your plans for the future, and how do you see the business evolving?

We have many ambitious projects. For one, even though we come from British-based artistry, we're gathering a team of bright, exciting, and young people ready to take risks and look at the world differently. They bring to our brand a diverse approach with their unique perspectives and quality service. One of our principles is to combine various elements to create the best product. Our goal is to carefully perpetuate the brand's British tradition whilst bringing in new technologies, functionalities, and contemporary designs – everything that parents expect to receive in this modern world. To do so, we are currently diversifying our product line by collaborating with the world's most innovative brands and by expanding internationally through both digital efforts and physical presence. The idea is to revive luxury for children by upgrading our production line to make a new history for Dragons. 

Expanding our reach is our goal! That's why we've been investing in our e-commerce platform so that we can be everywhere at once and in more showrooms worldwide. We don't mean to set up impersonal department stores for customers to walk in and out unnoticed. We want to have the opportunity to host themed events like baby showers, meetings with young parents, and even workout sessions for mums – and build a long-lasting relationship with our customers. This is Dragons of Walton Street. This is where we hand-paint your dreams. Dragons of Walton Street have quite a lot on their plate, and it sounds like they're all up and ready for the long run! For now, you can go and visit their showroom in Chelsea.