Jolly Red was set up by tapestry weaver Kelly Fletcher , shortly after her graduation from the Royal College of Art, London. While at the RCA, Kelly received a needlepoint commission from Hugh Ehrman for a cushion design. This sparked a personal interest in tapestry kits and noticing the absence of modern kits in the UK market at that time Kelly set about creating a small collection of her own, under the banner of Jolly Red.

Fast forward twenty-five years and Kelly is still creating all of Jolly Red’s designs herself. Having initially set out as a designer without any computer programmes (or even a computer), Jolly Red’s designs continue to evolve in a pencil and paper kind of a way, from sketchbooks through to graph paper and finally on to a computer so that each new design is ready to be stitched. This low tech way of working gives Jolly Red designs their slightly naive quality, and their relaxed friendly feel.

Jolly Red’s range of designs has grown from an initial six to over a hundred in 2018, and includes cushion kits, birth samplers, teacosies, starter kits and Christmas stockings.