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NOTEBOOK

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SPOTLIGHT ON…

Sunshine Design Duet

English interiors icon Kit Kemp has collaborated with American design doyenne Annie Selke on a charming new collection of cushions, rugs, bedding and ottomans inspired by Barbados, New York and London – Kit’s favourite destinations. “I think we can all do with a good splash of British eccentricity and style,” says Kit, who is founder and creative director of Firmdale Hotels. “We’re known for adding character and style to interiors to make rooms look magical and sing. The opportunity to work with Annie Selke gives us a chance to create rug collections and lifestyle products for wherever in the world you live.”

Dash & Albert founder Annie says: “This collection embodies the magic of Kit Kemp and the transformative spaces and experiences she creates.” Collection available from 7 March via shopkitkemp.com & andrewmartin.co.uk (For more design insights from Kit Kemp listen to Epiode 3 of The English Home podcast at podcast.theenglishhome.co.uk)

Cut From The Same Cloth

A Rum Fellow and Roger Oates Design collaborate

Colour as expression and escapism is key to the magic of a new runners and rugs collaboration from A Rum Fellow and Roger Oates Design. Woven in England using a new diamond pattern, and versatile due to deft pattern layering and colour placement, with vivid brights to muted tones and fine textures to bold stripes, four designs add 10 new hues to the Roger Oates palette.

“We both wanted a playful collection bringing bright and highly patterned design into the home – there was no space for neutrals in this collaboration!” says Roger Oates’ head of design Andy Guard. “The diamond is at the heart of the collaboration. It was central to our first meetings, it challenged us to bring a whole new structure to Roger Oates flatweave, and it has rightly become the symbol of this collection.” Founders of A Rum Fellow Caroline Lindsell and Dylan O’Shea say: “When Andy told us about the development of the diamond weave, and the goal to introduce more pattern, it was the spark that ignited talk of bringing our familiarity of geometric pattern together with this new adventure. The whole idea of collaborating was organic and unforced, much like our shared approach to design.” arumfellow.com; rogeroates.com

A Discerning Eye

Curated interiors edit by Vicky Edwards

Sourcing the rare, the beautiful and the unique is the mission – and passion – of interiors company Lesser Spotted, founded by Vicky Edwards.

A modern-day cabinet of curiosities, its website boasts a meticulously curated and ever-evolving collection of furniture, home accessories and objets d’art sourced from across the world.

“Keeping true to the name,” she says, “Lesser Spotted is a cornucopia of carefully selected one-off pieces sourced from an extensive network of vintage and antique dealers. In addition, its range is packed with delightful repeatable products from over 100 hand-picked designers and craftsmen chosen for their beautiful and unique qualities.”

Based in Staffordshire with a worldwide reach, Vicky is an experienced art consultant with a passion for interiors and craftsmanship plus vast knowledge, expertise and a network of contacts. She and her team also offer an interior design service and made-to-order bespoke options, as well as a complimentary sourcing service – Spotted For You. lesser-spotted.co.uk

Flights of Fancy: Beguiling Design

Kit Miles’ new wallpapers bring home a flora & fauna fantasy

At the height of its powers, design can stir the heart just as much as the eye, transporting us out of the everyday into new realms of endless possibility – all from the comfort of our own home.

Kit Miles expertly conjures this magic, which is beautifully exemplified by his imaginative new wallpaper collection, Mount Horai. Described as ‘a lovesong to nature’, it is a dazzling journey blending reality with imagination.

Jewel-coloured blooms and elaborate sinuous foliage set the stage for fluttering birds and butterflies, brightly coloured koi carp gliding in smooth curves through cool clear water, and serene ornamental forests.

Stand back, and the overall effect is akin to the cossetting calm of a walled garden. Look closer, and endless tiny and delightful details reveal themselves.

“The aim of this collection is simple,” explains Kit, “to create a moment of boundlessness and of possibility, helping to create beautiful interiors that lead us into the future. The designs are inspired by nature, yet appear vividly imagined at the same time, exploring a wondrous synthesis of lavishly drawn flowers, leaves and plants. The result is a complex and arresting series of designs that, I hope, enliven the senses and prompt us to wonder at the stupefying beauty of our organic surround.”

This collection elegantly emphasises the studio’s sustainable ethos and deep respect for our precious natural world.

During a two year Master’s degree at the Royal College of Art, Kit honed his aptitude for draughtsmanship and applied his skills to textile design.

Since founding his studio in 2013, Kit has become known for designing striking original wallpapers and fabrics of exceptional quality and meticulous attention to detail, playing with scale, colour and imagery in surprising ways.

The Furniture Makers’ Company recently awarded Kit The Design Guild Mark, which recognises the highest standards in the design of furnishings. kitmiles.co.uk 

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Many Moons Ago

185 proud years of textile manufacturing

Founded in 1837, the year Queen Victoria ascended the throne, textile weaver Abraham Moon & Sons has risen from humble beginnings to international renown in its 185-year history.

The company was started by Abraham Moon in the Yorkshire town of Guiseley – where it is still based today. Moon would pay local families to weave cloth at home on handlooms with yarn he supplied. When the cloth was ready, he would collect it, scour (wash) it, hang it out to dry in the surrounding fields, then take it to Leeds by horse and cart for sale in the market.

He prospered enough to have a three-storey mill built using an abundant source of soft local water for scouring and other textile manufacturing processes. Today the company still uses the water springs underneath its mill for scouring.

Thanks to the newly built nearby railway, the company expanded rapidly, exporting to Japan and Western Europe as early as the 1890s. After Abraham died in a tragic horse accident, his son Isaac took over, building a much larger, singlestorey, fully vertical mill, so that all manufacturing processes could take place on one site.

One of Britain’s last remaining vertical woollen mills, Moon proudly weaves 100 per cent wool fabric, furnishings and apparel. moons.co.uk

Diary

Visit London’s Two Temple Place to marvel at works by seminal Nigerian potter Ladi Kwali as part of the Body Vessel Clay exhibition, which spans 70 years of ceramics history. Until 24 April. twotempleplace.org

Royal commissions are showcased in the exhibition 150 Years of the Royal School of Needlework: Crown To Catwalk from 1 April to 4 September at the Fashion & Textile Museum. fashion textilemuseum.org

Walking Distance features Jill Hudson and Imogen Bones’ paintings of the same Cornish coastline at The Byre Gallery in Cornwall from 2–24 April. thebyregallery.co.uk n