One Fox – Meet Illustrator and Shop Owner Kate Read

Step through the door of One Fox and it is almost impossible to know where to look first.

There are beautiful children’s books, unusual greetings cards, colourful craft kits, ceramics, toys, gifts and intriguing little finds everywhere. Paper butterflies flutter across a turquoise wall, shelves are packed with colour, and there is a warmth about this little Aylsham shop that makes you want to stop and look properly.

And that is exactly what owner Kate Read hopes you will do.

“Take your time,” she tells me. “Enjoy looking at everything and ask me questions.”

There is no pressure to hurry or even to know what you are looking for. Kate is perfectly happy for people to browse for as long as they like.

One Fox is a small shop with a lot to discover – and behind it is the story of a children’s book illustrator who has found a way to bring two sides of her creative life together.

The fox that started it all

One Fox takes its name from Kate’s first published children’s picture book, One Fox, which came out in 2019.

The idea arrived while Kate was completing a Master’s in children’s book illustration – and, as is often the case with her work, the picture came before the words.

“I just saw the picture and thought, ‘One Fox’,” she explains.

Then she went to do the washing up.

While she was away from her desk, the story began to form. The resulting book – a counting book with a thrilling twist – went on to win awards and has been published around the world. Kate is now sent copies in different languages, something she says still feels amazing.

It was the beginning of a growing collection of books Kate has written and/or illustrated, but One Fox remains particularly dear to her. So when she eventually opened a shop, she already had its name.

From painted paper to picture books

Creativity has always been part of Kate’s life. She originally trained as a theatre designer and went on to work with textiles and screen printing, making things and selling at markets before discovering children’s book illustration.

“It just clicked.”

Her distinctive illustrations are made using paper collage. Kate paints and mono-prints sheets of paper herself, creating different colours and textures, then cuts them into pieces to build the finished illustrations.

Upstairs at One Fox are drawers filled with coloured, textured papers waiting to become part of her next creation.

“I love colour,” she says. “You can tell from the shop.”

You certainly can.

That upstairs studio is an important part of the One Fox story. Kate continues to work professionally as an illustrator alongside running the shop, illustrating her own books and those of other authors as well as taking on illustration commissions.

Her work has included projects for the National Trust and, more recently, something rather different: a series of labels for Chilli’s Galore, a Norfolk brand. Kate particularly enjoyed the commission because it took her illustration work in an unexpected direction.

It means the person who comes downstairs to help you choose a birthday present may, moments earlier, have been upstairs creating an illustration for a new book, organisation or business.

How One Fox became a shop

For years Kate worked from a studio at home, including throughout Covid. Afterwards, she realised that very little about her working life had changed – she was still spending much of her time at home, largely on her own.

“I didn’t leave the house enough,” she says. “It wasn’t really very healthy.”

Having worked in retail before, Kate had always liked the idea of owning a shop. She was also accustomed to selling her books and cards directly to people at markets.

A shop offered the opportunity to bring those worlds together: somewhere to meet people and sell products she genuinely liked, with a studio above where she could continue her illustration career.

Kate outside One Fox – the Aylsham shop where she has brought her creative and retail worlds together.

Nearly three years later, that is One Fox.

“I just felt like I could bring something a little bit different.”

A colourful shop full of discoveries

Different is a good description.

One Fox isn’t quite a bookshop, toy shop, card shop or gift shop. It borrows a little from each and somehow feels entirely itself.

Kate’s own greetings cards sit alongside a gorgeous array of unusual designs by other creators. There are children’s books, ceramics, toys and gifts, with Kate particularly keen to include work from fellow Norfolk makers and artists wherever she can.

There are also carefully selected brands that can be difficult to find locally, including Maileg and Djeco. The Maileg pieces have the sort of detail that makes them feel rather special, while the Djeco craft kits invite you to stop and investigate. I particularly loved the paper dress-up activities with little tabs to cut and fold – they transported me straight back to childhood and the excitement of cutting similar dolls and outfits out of Twinkle comic.

That is part of the pleasure of One Fox. You keep spotting something else.

Kate chooses everything herself and knows the stock inside out.

“It’s partly what I love and want to include, and partly what I know my customers are going to get excited by.”

One Fox is filled with a colourful mix of books, cards, toys, ceramics, gifts and carefully chosen finds.

The result feels personal – a shop whose contents have been chosen rather than simply stocked. That knowledge is invaluable when someone comes in looking for a present. Customers sometimes arrive with wonderfully specific requirements for a particular child, and Kate enjoys helping them find something that fits.

“I can usually pin down what it is they want because I know the stock really well.”

Come in – and don’t feel you need to rush

One of the most appealing things about One Fox is the atmosphere Kate wants to create.

She knows a small independent shop can sometimes make people feel they need to buy something quickly or move on. She wants One Fox to feel quite the opposite.

“I want them to take their time and not feel intimidated by the small size,” she says. “Just ignore me and be absorbed by looking at all the nice things.”

Browse quietly, ask for advice, have a chat, look properly at the books and gifts – Kate is genuinely happy for people to stay and enjoy the shop.

One of her favourite memories came last Christmas when the little shop was packed with around eight or nine people, a pushchair and possibly a couple of dogs.

There seemed to be no room for anyone else – but nobody was in any hurry to leave.

“People were coming so that they could shop here,” she remembers. “It was lovely. It felt really good.”

Why Aylsham?

Kate is originally from Somerset but settled in Norfolk, where her daughters attended school locally and this part of the county became home.

For One Fox, Aylsham felt like the right fit.

“It’s not too big, it’s not too small, it’s got character,” she says. “It’s got quite an arty side as well.”

Then she finds a lovely way to describe something less tangible about the town.

“It’s got a gentleness, Aylsham.”

Kate also values the community of independent businesses around her, describing neighbouring shopkeepers as friendly, welcoming and willing to help one another.

“Aylsham does independent businesses really well, and I think that’s something to be celebrated.”

It is something visitors notice too. Kate sees people travelling into Aylsham to shop, particularly at Christmas, as well as loyal customers who return to One Fox again and again.

What’s next for Kate and One Fox?

There is plenty ahead on both sides of Kate’s working life.

She is developing an online shop for One Fox, which she hopes to have ready in time for Christmas, while her illustration work continues alongside it.

A Long Tail, written by Rebecca Atkinson and illustrated by Kate Read, is her latest book, with more projects already lined up for the months ahead.

When I ask Kate what she is most proud of, however, she doesn’t choose a particular book or commission. It is the fact that she has kept both sides of her working life going.

“I do feel really proud of doing both.”

One Fox is the result: part shop, part studio and unmistakably Kate.

So if you haven’t visited before, step through the door and have a proper look around. Ask Kate for advice if you want it, or simply enjoy discovering what is tucked away on the shelves.

And don’t feel you need to rush.

Kate really does mean it when she says you are welcome to take your time.

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