Meet The Team

About Us

Lotus Belle tents was founded by British designer Harriet Seddon in 2012.

The flagship product the 'Lotus Belle' is a unique canvas tent design that boasts all the portability and usability of a standard bell tent whilst affording the roomy luxuriousness of a yurt.

The 5 meter model has 18 square meters of standing space inside with 1.8m of headroom all the way to the edge. This means it can be fitted out with standard height beds and normal household furniture.

Outward curving wall poles are the secret behind the expansive interior space but these also give the structure a rigidity and shape that makes it highly tolerant to strong wind.

The entire tent packs into a bag 40cm x 40cm x 130cm requiring minimal storage space off-season which fits easily in the boot of a car.

Pitching the tent is very quick and easy, a one-person job that takes around 20 minutes.

The tent is hand made from 360-gram canvas so it ‘breathes’ staying cool on warm summer mornings. Naturally the material has all the latest high tech water, rot and fire retardant treatments.

The tent includes a ‘bath tub' style ground sheet that curves up 4 inches all round the edge so that even if the tent is pitched directly onto the ground, the tent remains dry in spite of very heavy rain and/or an already water logged field.

Glampsites in the UK have been using Lotus Belles since they first came to market in 2013 and are still going strong. The tents can be cleaned and repaired easily if necessary.

They come with a one-year no quibble guarantee however even with heavy use the tent should last for many years.

Since its inception Lotus Belle has rapidly come to represent the very essence of boutique camping, defining the Glamping movement and transforming the landscape of festival VIP accommodation.

HARRIET SEDDON - MD & PRODUCT DESIGN

Harriet Seddon was born on a Midsummer's day in Oxford [UK], 1983, and grew up in the South West of England. She spent much of her childhood camping with her family and with Forest School Camps.

Resonating with the gypsy lifestyle, as a young teenager, she took to living in a tent throughout the summer months. Hari's mum would often wake her in the mornings from her 'tent bedroom' so she wouldn't be late for school. At 19 Harriet began the first year of her design degree where she first drew the initial ideas for the 'onion dome' that later became known as the Lotus Belle tent.

In 2012 Lotus Belle went into its first year of commercial production. Lotus Belle now has licensed distributorships in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, South Korea, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland with the UK currently handling everywhere else.

ALEX MULHOLLAND : LOTUS BELLE TENTS OCEANIA

Born in Auckland, Alex grew up in both Aotearoa and the UK. After finishing uni she moved to the UK and spent the next fifteen years living and working there, in everything from theatre and festivals to cooking, writing and most recently publishing.

During this time she found her way into the world of Lotus Belle through best bud and founder of the brand, Hari Seddon and spent several years immersed in all things canvas.

Now she is finally returning home to Ōtautahi Christchurch to spend more time with whānau and to set up and run the exciting new project that is Lotus Belle Oceania.

WILLIAM SI : LOTUS BELLE TENTS CHINA

Office Location: Fujian Province

William is originally from Mongolia (home of the Yurt) but emigrated South into mainland China looking for opportunity as a young man. After a series of entrepreneurial successes he realised the potential for Glamping in China and has helped champion its adoption across the Far East.

William was on board ever since Lotus Belle first came to market in 2012. He works directly with the team in the UK, overseeing all sales and marketing operations in China and helps to combat the constant threat to our IP from 'copy cat' manufactures in the region.