About


Hi, I'm Jackie, founder of Ostara Home Interiors. 

I live in Surrey with my husband and two children.

Ostara Home has been quietly brewing inside me for many years. Originally from the United States, I've lived and worked across four continents, with countless adventures off the beaten path. Through my travels, I've collected pieces that still fill our home today. All are a memory, a feeling, an essence. 

So, I suppose I've always lived with a belief that beautiful, soulful homes aren't created overnight. They're instead gathered thoughtfully over time, with pieces selected for their craftsmanship, character and the stories they carry. 

I first began refinishing furniture for our own home in 2012, but my appreciation for restoration and repurposing began in an unexpected place years earlier.  

In 2005, I travelled to Southern Thailand to volunteer in the aftermath of the Boxing Day Tsunami. I joined a remarkable initiative called Thaikea, a project founded by volunteer carpenters who repurposed unused plywood coffins to make basic furniture in the displacement camps. By the time I arrived, the project had evolved into a workshop in a newly rebuilt coastal village, where I worked alongside Thai locals - many of them women - and international volunteers. Together, we built tables, chairs and storage furniture while local families learned new skills, regained confidence and created something lasting for their new homes. For some fishermen and shrimp farmers who lost their livelihoods to the Tsunami, professional furniture building turned out to be their new calling. 

After Thaikea, I remained in Thailand, working in the international development sector to support long-term recovery across the region. I also met my husband there in 2007, and as they say, the rest is history!  I moved to the UK in 2008. 

Throughout my 20-year career in international development and the UK charity sector, I always yearned to one day have my own creative business.  

In 2023, I founded Ostara Home Interiors alongside my day job. Today, I'm fortunate to devote myself to it full-time, building a business based on my values of sustainability, repurposing, using the highest quality, environementally-safe products and always honouring the history of a vintage piece in the most authentic way possible. 

Taking inspiration from my travels and having a real love for texture, natual materials and whimsical details, I believe the most meaningful interiors are collected and created slowly and intentionally, reflecting the people who live there, rather than the latest trend. 

The name Ostara comes from the ancient celebration of Spring, a season of renewal, growth and new beginnings. To me, it represents the belief that furniture and vintage pieces can have many lives; such a better alternative than sending furnture to the tip or compromising on quality by buying new. 

You're welcome to visit my studio based at Brightleigh Farm in Outwood, Surrey, just a short drive from Reigate and Redhill.  Please get in touch if you would like to come visit, see a piece in person or to discuss your vision. I'd love to meet you! 

Jackie x