BIRDIE FORTESCUE
THE MULAAYAM COLLECTION
CONTENTS Introduction Peach, Blush & Soft Coral Washed Denim, Aqua & Aegean Blue The Binga Basket On Lighting The Suzani Rug Shoot Diary Acknowledgements
INTRODUCTION In Hindi Mulaayam means ‘soft’ - a word that we feel embodies this collection. Created around the theme of a gentle, undulating wave, the shapes and textures are subtle, organic and understated. Mulaayam is a distillation of evocative colours and shapes seen in the pink city of Jaipur, in the soft pastels of spring flowers and the gentle shapes and forms of the English landscape. Tones of blush, peach, and apricot are a quiet reflection of Pantone’s colour of the year ‘Living Coral’ whilst our washed denims hint at the colours to come for Autumn/Winter. The delicate taupe picks up on the natural fibres in our linen cushions, the woven palm leaves in our new African baskets and the earthy honesty of the jute in our latest wave placemat. Each piece in our collection of linens is hand block printed on off-white linen/cotton to give a unique depth to the colours and softness to the shapes. New Pulegoso glass lamp bases are hand blown in organic shapes; the air bubbles created during the blowing process give the lamps an added dimension and texture that takes on an entirely new identity when illumintated. Our first collection of limited edition Suzani rugs is hand woven in remote villages in Northern Afghanistan and our African Binga baskets are all one-off pieces woven by artisans in Zimbabwe.
Peach, Blush & Soft Coral This season’s pink is warm and soft. Sitting between dusky rose and true coral it is an easy colour to mix in with blush tones, gentle ochres and natural textures. We styled our dining table with loosely tied tulips, frothy heads of Ammi Majus and delicate Ranunculus. The combination of our own peach-toned glass votives, hand blown glassware and antique confit pots tied the palette together and added texture to the scheme. Our table linens have been carefully designed to work cohesively as a complete set or as stand alone pieces. Our tablecloths have a delicate all over hessian design block print in a pale shade that is bordered by our signature wave in two stronger tones. Placemats and napkins keep the crisp off-white ground of the linen/cotton fabric for a clean look that contrasts with the texture of the tablecloth. New natural jute placemats are woven in a soft wave shape that echoes the printed borders of the tablecloths, placemats and napkins.
Peach, Blush & Soft Coral The Mulaayam cushion collection makes layering a sofa effortless. Large natural linen back cushions are designed to sit behind our block printed squares; the embroidered wave border of the larger playing against the printed wave of the smaller. Rectangular cushions are printed all over in our textural hessian design and finished with decorative ric rac for a playful twist. Here we have mixed our peach and blush tones with true pink, taupe and a strong coral for a look that is soft and summery.
A NOTE ON THE COLOUR OF THE YEAR
‘Living Coral’ has proven to be a controversial choice criticised for its over-optimism and brashness in the face of environmental disaster and political uncertainty. We hope that our soft approach to this colour is a more honest and conscientious reponse to this unique global climate.
Washed Denim, Aqua & Aegean Blue This season’s blues are true blues. The blues of denim, moody seas and washed indigo. Blues inspired by coastal weekends, piled pigments in the markets of Marrakech and Delhi and the translucency of watercolour paint on heavy paper. The colours we have chosen pair with taupes, with greys with aquas and gentle greens. Table linens are cool and fresh, transitioning from casual coastal lunches to smart dinners and cushions combine for a look that is relaxed and effortless.
ST YLE NOTES A dining table can be utterly transformed by carefully chosen flowers. Our wonderful florists created hand tied arrangements using cloudy hydrangeas in dappled blues and acid greens with delicate delphiniums and sculptural spikes of Moluccella Laevis. By cutting the stems to different heights and grouping in a range of vessels the table was soon filled with colour for a truly abundant summer look.
The Binga Basket Binga baskets are woven by the Tonga people in Northern Zimbabwe from palm leaves, dried grasses and small vines dyed with roots and bark. These baskets are still used for their traditional purpose of winnowing grain and a single basket can take days to complete. This is our first collection of Binga baskets and each one is completely unique. These work fantastically well arranged architecurally on a wall and look equally stylish collectively on a table filled with fruit or decorative objets.
The Suzani Rug Our new Suzani rugs form one of our first limited edition collections. These collections will consist of products that are either one-offs or are only available in very limited quantities. In this case each rug is completely unique and has been hand selected by Birdie for its specific combination of colours, motifs and patterns to balance with the collection as a whole. Made entirely by hand in the remote villages of Mazar Sharif and Andkhoi in Northern Afghanistan, these flat weave kilims are hand woven on wooden frame looms in 100% natural wool. Each rug is first woven as a single colour piece which is then over-embroidered with traditional patterns making every rug unique.
On Lighting Our new Mulaayam lamp bases are rendered in hand-blown, coloured Pulegoso glass. Larger and more substantial than their Piyush counterparts, these bases have been designed in two new soft and organic shapes. The Peach, Lead and Smoke tones sit perfectly alongside the corresponding Mulaayam cushions but have been designed to slot in easily with any existing scheme. The real beauty of these lamps is in the delicately textured glass that changes colour throughout the day depending on the natural light and which is tranformed completely when illuminated.
ST YLE NOTES Our new lamp bases pair with either a 40 or 45 cm base diameter lamp shade. This season our hessian design block printed lamp shades work particularly well, adding extra texture and interest when the lamp is off and picking up on the detail of the Pulegoso bubbles when lit.
SHOOT DIARY: THE BYLAUGH STORY We feel very privileged to have been able to work in some incredible locations for our photoshoots and this season’s Mulaayam shoot was no exception. For four days we were kindly hosted by Ben and Helen Budworth, Publisher and Managing Director of The Lady and new owners of Bylaugh Hall. Bylaugh is an intriguing house with a tumultuous history that has seen it stripped of its assets, requisitioned, ruined and partially restored before finally falling into sympathetic hands in recent years. The house was built to fulfil the much contested instructions of a family will to a design that, although innovative, was not in the style originally prescribed. The house that was eventually built by Charles Barry Jr and Robert Richardson Banks bore a striking resemblance to Barry Sr’s Highclere Castle (of Downton Abbey fame) and was surrounded by expansive woods and parkland overlooking the Wensum Valley. In its heyday Bylaugh was one of the largest estates in Norfolk but by the advent of the First World War its future was becoming uncertain. In the years following the end of the war the estate was auctioned off, with
the house occupied by various families before being requisitioned as the headquarters of the 100 Bomber Support Group. It was at Bylaugh that the first Allied Bombing Raid was planned and the first mission which took off from nearby Swanton Morley on 29th June 1942 was attended by both Winston Churchill and the President of the United States of America, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The period following the Second World War saw the end of a great many houses across the country as social and economic structures shifted. In 1950 a demolition sale was held at Bylaugh after which the building was de-roofed and stripped of its remaining contents and architectural features. For the next fifty years the house gradually fell into an increasing state of ruination and by 1990 it was nothing more than a gutted, windowless shell. In 1999 Bylaugh was sold again and partially restored but the project remained largely unfinished. Ben and Helen Budworth’s acquisition of Bylaugh represents one of the most exciting chapters in the building’s history. With a thorough program of sympathetic work already underway, the house has
now become home to the specialist recruitment division of The Lady. Future plans will see the house developed into a centre of excellence for the training and accreditation of staff, an extension to The Lady brand, along with sumptuously appointed holiday accommodation. The charm of the house at this point in its life cycle is that it is a palimpsest of remarkable clarity. As work continues to sympathetically restore and mend, every layer of the building’s history is clear to see. From the supporting steel framework jutting out of the ruined block to the exposed brick structure of the internal arches and the layers of original paint visible under successive finishes. The beauty of the building today lies in its scarred imperfections. To be able to shoot in such an extraordinary building was an absolute privilege and we are so thankful to Ben and Helen for their kindness. We look forward to observing a much happier chapter in Bylaugh’s history.
WITH THANKS TO
lady.co.uk LOCATION
Ben & Helen Budworth
FLOWERS
Hellyer & Salter
PHOTOGRAPHY
Beth Philpott
CONTACT Birdie Fortescue, Clipbush Business Park, Hawthorn Way, Fakenham, Norfolk, NR21 8SX birdiefortescue.co.uk