'I started this business by fluke, in response to an event at a customer's house while doing interior design work. When I started I didn't have a plan, I didn't know about the world below wholesale or about the need for collections. I just used my common sense and worked hard. I listened to my customers and knew what to do from listening to them and myself,' Ms Gish says.

She began by creating a line of silk napkins and placemats that could be thrown into the washing machine. It wasn't long before she branched out into bedding.

'I got my first big break about a year after I first showed the napkins and placemats,' Ms Gish recalls. 'My representative came out with a metal bed and asked me to do the bedding. This was exciting. It was shot and appeared in Metropolitan Home. This was a big deal and even today, I get the occasional call [as a result of] the November 1991 issue! I felt like a dream had come true. It taught me that a fantasy can be a goal. It was magic.'

Today, Ms Gish is best known for her work with silk. Her collection embraces a wide range of bedding, decorative pillows and tabletops.

The signature Ann Gish line was established 14 years ago as a custom-order line with specially designed fabrics and silhouettes.

Until last year, to own an Ann Gish meant commissioning the bedding and then waiting 12 weeks for it to be created and delivered. But practical concerns forced her to withdraw the service. 'Over the past year we discontinued custom [service] as it got too big to handle and segued into a standard product line taken from the best of the best over the years. We are still considered the top of the top, but now the consumer can have it in a week instead of 12.'

Her second line, Ready-to-Bed, was also created for practical reasons. 'The line was done in response to the need to offer a bridge line price point and to take control of the business lost because of the endless knock-offs of my product. Even if it has significantly less styles, it does really well.'

Ms Gish is known for her use of innovative fabrics and designs but silk is her favourite material. 'I like it because of the way in which it appeals to all the senses. The touch is always interesting: it's not always slinky or smooth, it's sometimes rough, thick and heavy. I love the way colour works on silk because it takes dye so well. It even has a sound - which makes me think of taffeta. Silk answers to the senses.'

Ms Gish's long-time love affair with silk has catapulted her into what is a unique niche as bedding designer to Hollywood and its stars. Sometimes, as in the case of her dressing up a Sex and the City bedroom, the involvement is pure serendipity.

'Their set stylist came into ABC [Carpet & Home, New York] and just bought it. We had no contract. I think they liked it, as it stayed on the set a long time.

'We are in a lot of movies and TV shows. It is always a great feeling to see something on screen, especially when you least expect it,' she says.

She recalled an even more dramatic moment when she realised one of her creations featured prominently in a Clint Eastwood big-screen drama.

'When I saw Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, and saw my bedding in a big scene - unexpectedly - I screamed. It was very exciting.'

Ms Gish says some of the credit for her inspiration goes to her scenic tropical home.

'Barbados has the most beautiful water in the world. I keep trying to capture the colours of it all the time. Every hour of the day is different. There is a colour late in the afternoon, almost at sunset, where the water is an amazing pale aqua, almost silver, and when I see my hand through the water when I am in the sea, I am mesmerised. I wish I could get it onto a piece of fabric the way it is in life.

'There is another spot where the water is so turquoise it looks completely fake, like a paint colour run wild. I love our garden and the tranquillity when we are at home. There are a million greens and I am fascinated all the time.'

So far, Ann Gish's bedding has had a limited run at Lane Crawford but it has yet to make a reappearance in Hong Kong. Now, she says, she is not only interested in returning to the territory, but would like to debut in China as well.

That yet-to-be designed Ann Gish line will cater to the Chinese consumer interested in make his or her private space more western.

Ms Gish is confident that she has the perfect formula for success. 'I believe my product offers good value for money, and it offers clients real satisfaction in as many ways as possible. People aspire to the things that will make their surroundings more pleasurable, not so that they can keep up with the latest trends but for their own pleasure and satisfaction. That's why I think that home products are such a strong retail area'.