Interiors: Lesley Pugsley of Baigali Designs

August 7, 2023 | Homes & Gardens, Interiors

We speak to Lesley Pugsley of Baigali Designs about her cushions, runners and throws which are designed and handmade in Edinburgh.

As a teenager Lesley Pugsley lived in Paris, where she was taught by a retired Chanel seamstress, using a measuring tape, chalk, and a pair of scissors.

The experience grew into a love for designing with rich, colourful, textured, and luxurious fabrics.

Her creative embroidery studies in Edinburgh, mixed with early memories of growing up in the Scottish borders and family holidays in the highlands can all be found in her designs.

The textured Scottish tweeds and mostly natural fabrics Lesley uses in her designs can be traced to the original manufacturer, fabric/design house, weaver or woollen mill in Scotland and the UK.

She has a gift of mixing the colours of Scotland’s beautiful landscapes into her designs; from the rocky Cuillin range of mountains on the Isle of Skye and Rum to the three Eildon hills near Melrose in the Scottish borders where she grew up.

Her products contain beautiful soft wool fabric woven in the UK, mostly Scotland.

She uses wool as it is natural, renewable, and environmentally sustainable as well as being multi textured.

Lesley visits mills to source her fabric; from Moray in the North-East of Scotland to the Scottish Borders in the south and the islands such as Mull to the west.

She mixes in Scottish linen with pure wool and other quality fabrics such as velvets, faux fur, and damasks, many with a Scottish flair.

She loves to create unique products that you cannot find on the high street, and you will probably see her at many craft fairs at Castles across Scotland, including Balmoral.