A pretty blonde girl rummages through the rubbish at Winchester tip.

Her eyes sparkle as they alight on a forlorn looking item discarded by its owner.

It may look like a piece of rubbish to you or I but to designer Emily Tyers this is treasure – a story waiting to be told.

“I’m a bit of a collector,” says Emily, 28, who runs her interior design business, Etre, from premises in Eastgate Street, Winchester.

“I think it’s just inherent in me. I have thousands of buttons and more fabrics than clothes. And I’ve got 17 sewing machines!

Emily – a Winchester School of Art graduate – takes inspiration from everyday objects, throwaway items and historic artefacts to create stylish fabrics and wallpapers for her online homeware store The Letter M. “I’ve always loved vintage things and spend most of my time wishing I knew their stories – where, how, when, who… “I practically live at the tip searching for inspiration. It makes me sad that people would throw away such beautiful things.

“This [she holds aloft a brown, cylindrical roll] is one of my greatest finds!”

Emily unfurls the object to reveal a strip of aged brown paper marked by patterns of perforations.

“It’s a piano roll!” she declares triumphantly. “They were used in player pianos or pianolas and the patterns of dots and dashes correspond to different notes. I found a whole box of them at the tip and an expert told me this particular roll plays Farewell to the Piano by Beethoven.

“I love the amazing graphic of the rolls and have faithfully recreated them onto fabrics and papers – so you could have Chopin on your curtains! It also works beautifully as a lamp because the light shines through the holes.”

Every one of Emily’s designs, she says, has a story worth telling.

“I don’t like design for design’s sake so there has to be meaning behind what I do. I love vintage but I want to do something that’s a departure from what’s already out there – not yet another vintage floral or stripe.

“I’m interested in the story and history behind objects and how we can reflect that in design.”

Her latest project stems from her growing frustration at today’s throwaway society.

“When the ink in my printer ran out I realised it was cheaper to buy a whole new printer than a new ink cartridge.

“So everywhere people are just chucking out their old printers and buying new ones.

“I find the whole thing so frustrating.

I was so annoyed I took the entire printer apart and photographed all its parts. I’ve put them together in a repeat pattern and I’m going to do something with it.

“My work is about drawing attention to things.”

Emily’s unique designs – which go under the name The Letter M – have caught the attention of the design gurus behind Grand Designs Live, the consumer show based on the hit Channel4 self-build series.

Emily and her design assistant Jody Myerscough-Walker have been invited to showcase their work in a special area of the show set up to champion emerging designers.

“We’re very excited to be asked to get involved with something this big,” says Emily. “We’re going to be exhibiting miniature versions of our collections in a doll’s house which we hope will grab people’s attention.”