Habitat has announced a new head of product design as its creative director departs from the home interiors and furniture chain.
Polly Dickens is set to step down from her current position as creative director at the end of January 2018, after six years with retailer.
She said she plans to spend some time travelling with her husband after spending 30 years in the industry.
“I count myself extremely lucky to have been given the once in a lifetime opportunity to take on such an extraordinary brand with the remit of re-building it to the Habitat that everyone imagines and loves,” she said in a statement.
“This has been a wonderful 6 years and I’m so proud of our achievements.”
Dickens will be succeeded by Habitat’s current senior design manager Kate Butler, who will take on the role of head of product design.
Butler, who has been with the retailer’s in-house design studio since 2013, will be responsible for overseeing Habitat’s product development and its seasonal collections.
“The Habitat Design Studio is an iconic institution, creating some of the UK’s most important interior designs and designers throughout its 50-year history,” she said in a statement.
“I’m thrilled to be continuing to evolve the studio’s creative output and championing the legacy that comes with it. Habitat was founded on the principles of bringing inspiring, forward thinking products to everyone and today we continue to do exactly that.
“We’ve seen our collection grow to over 4500 products in the last five years, mixing traditional handcrafts from around the globe alongside cool British design and technology to create products that are unexpected, confident and designed with a sense of fun.
“It’s a genuinely exciting prospect of where we take the Design Studio next, working with our designers and emerging talent to ensure that stylistically we continue to stay ahead of an increasingly competitive market and build on our design authority within the industry.”
