Poppy Elliott is the granddaughter of passionate campaigner John Connell OBE who started the Noise Abatement Society in the 1960’s. A successful artist and actress starring in both Hollywood movies and popular UK TV drama she is also a film producer, currently creating her first feature film and continuing her work as a voice over artist.

She is tirelessly passionate about Quiet Mark which quietly encourages and rewards world’s industry leaders for making life a little quieter and less stressful. Already she has an army of successful companies around her winning and wanting to win Quiet Marks, from Hollywood film companies to fork lift truck manufacturers. 

One word that describes you? 

Passionate

In your own words, what do you do?  

Sound is our family business, we find practical peace-making solutions to big noise problems.

Quiet Mark is new and it’s important. It’s the international not-for-profit kite-mark award programme for the world’s quietest-designs of machines, products and places, the next generation commercial arm of the Noise Abatement Society. A simple label to help you know you are buying one of most low-noise quality products available.

We have a Quiet Mark on-line directory too. It’s the first global brand showcase of quiet-product design, a one-stop-shop for consumers to buy everyday quiet products, www.quietmark.com.

To validate the quietness of products we have a team of sound experts at ANC – UK’s leading acousticians. Luxury brands from Lexus to Twentieth Century Fox are joining together with us in a practical peace-making mission to find solutions with sound across every industry sector.

My grand-father started the Noise Abatement Society charity in the 1950s when he noticed everything was getting very loud after World War 2. He wrote a letter to the Daily Telegraph asking if anyone felt the same and received sack-fulls of letters (since this was in the days before e-mails) then lobbied the Noise Act through Parliament. My mother is now CE of the charity and I run Quiet Mark.

Sound deeply affects us, so much more than we maybe understand, it plays on our emotions, effects our moods, from the tone of our voice, to orchestrated music, to silence, to the sound of machines which surround us and which symbolise the civilisation in which we live and yet it often goes un-noticed as cause of stress, illness, broken relationships.

Ten years ago you did not see nearly every other person with a pair of massive head-phones on walking down the street, what’s happened, there is a battle on to desperately escape from the natural sounds around us and to control the sound going into our ears, minds, hearts.

Never has there been a more significant mass movement to escape the aural connection of the world around us with sales of noise-cancellation head-sets booming, we can now choose to block-off stressful urban noise, to protect our focus and concentration or even run away from the reality of the world we have created, to find comfort and pleasure in sounds reflecting our heart’s desire.

A mega-trend for noise-reduction is here and everyone has a part to play, so how creative can we be with this, who cares and why do we need it? I believe it all boils down to learning the art of Loving Your Neighbour.

Who is your greatest influence in your career/life? 

I really admire missionary leaders and great intercessors Smith Wigglesworth, William Booth (who founded the Salvation Army) Reece Howells , Derek Prince, Jackie Pullinger who provides rehabilitation homes for prostitutes and drug addicts in Hong Kong.