CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME From nurses’ stations and recovery centres to soup kitchens and emergency housing, the creative talents in London’s design studios are moonlighting their skills for the sake of various charitable and social endeavours, finds Arabella Youens
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cross the interior design spectrum there are many heart-warming examples of decorators taking the opportunity to channel their expertise, influence or buying power (in some cases, all three) to support causes that have no financial impact on their own company’s bottom line. The range of work is far-reaching. For example, Christopher Farr co-founder, Matthew Bourne, is enabling traditional hand weavers in Afghanistan to target the high-end rug design industry via HRH Prince Charles’ initiative, Turquoise Mountain. Ilse Crawford has redesigned a soup kitchen in Earl’s Court, where food is prepared using supermarket surplus – she’s created a serene and welcoming space with a design that can easily be replicated in similar venues elsewhere. Then there’s Emma Deterding, who’s leaning on her contacts to get support for her mission to furnish and decorate a new children’s hospice in East Anglia, and Rachel Chudley, who put together the interiors for a pop-up restaurant in London that supports children in Aleppo. We’ve spoken to some of London’s top interior designers to see what else goes on behind the scenes in their studios.
Tim Gosling’s triennial panto, here starring Trevor Pickett, is a, design calendar highlight as well as a charity fundraiser
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