Past meets Present: Ark Paper Studio officially launches its dreamy interiors line The Ark Papers design platform celebrates the beauty of archived illustration and curates sublime home apparel collections.
“African Paradise”
Cape Town, 2018 Ark Paper Studio, the aesthetic label transforming long-lost illustration archives into living design, launches on their maiden voyage of discovery! The figurative meaning of the word “ark” is a place of refuge and salvation, prevention from extinction, a chance to live again. Fantastical animal and botanical graphics, salvaged from local and global library collections, adorn Ark’s locally produced soft furnishings and stationery line. Inspired by elegant depictions of nature’s bounty in historical archives. Ark is pioneering the interiors trend for “past meets present” with exciting surface pattern and curated design. The small brand has been growing steadily from its conception just over one year ago, with international exposure by several interior decorators who use the brand to inject colour and pattern.
Creating in the digital era, Fine Art graduate and entrepreneur Lyndsay Catherine founded Ark Paper Studio upon her nostalgia for the rich art of the paper age. The marriage between elements within the designs are based on colour and form making them appear as if they were always entwined. Embracing modern printing techniques combined with ancient paper illustrations, the studio endeavors to acknowledge the talents of a host of pre-nineteenth-century artists; and at the same time bring their art into the present with fresh new surface pattern. A continuous collaboration and curation from different centuries and artist’s, brings about a fresh take on heritage artwork.
“Spirit of Africa” Lyndsay recalls where it all began: “I started rescuing old books from the rubbish dump and realized how many beautiful images would never be seen again if we didn’t revive them. We now live in a digital age where books and
libraries are no longer our first port of call. I wanted to showcase the beauty of what lies between the pages of forgotten papers” Ark’s vibrant curations e ach tell a unique story and follows the journey of their creators, providing a fascinating insight into papers past. The label’s platform invites visitors on a design adventure, a journey of exploration where curious art and design lovers can access the original untouched images behind the finished products. Here they are directed back in time to the original source and provide a short synopsis of each artwork such as artist, date, publication and other interesting facts. Working closely with a writer and researcher, this mammoth task is concisely presented to make navigation effortless and accessible to all. “We want to advance the concept of design, where it becomes more accessible, meaningful and also educational to the man on the street. A meeting place of art, science and history in a range of quality products.”
“EDEN”
Ark preserves the illustrative wonders of pen and paper by reflecting the true original colors and forms of historical artworks, never manipulating the illustrations in any way. They champion quality handmade local production, and work closely with their expert printing house partners to produce the best representation of the original papers, brought to you in limited edition of quality home furnishings. DECOREX LONDON 2018 The design studio is excited to share that they are currently housing a collaboration range with UK interior designer Sarah Fortescue Design. A capsule collection of wallpaper and fabric will be showcased at the Decorex Show from the 16th -19th September (Booth E18) in Syon Park, London. Ark has also been invited to design a print for her Blue Ocean Range, inspired by David Attenboroughs’ Blue Ocean II BBC documentary which focuses specifically on the contamination of the ocean by plastic waste. £1 from each sale will be donated to his charity fighting this plight.
Elements from Ark Papers “Fortescue Bay”
INFORMATION Ark Paper Studio is a design platform that resurrects the papers of the past, celebrates their makers and brings them into the present with fresh design. To find out more visit; Instagram: @arkpapers For comments/interviews/collaborations with Ark Paper Studio please get in touch using the details below. Media/Sales Contact: helloarkpapers@gmail.com Email: arkpaperstudio@gmail.com UK
Sarah Fortescue Design Kings Road, Chelsea, London Email sarah@sarahfortescue.com Instagram @sarahfortescuedesign Contact tel 07540 652 488 www.sarahfortescue.com