BY SIBELLA COURT
THE SOCIETY INC
edition 1
Pirate Portrait | Captain and The Gypsy Kid & Steve Baccon Illustration | Christina Banos @homedrawn
Editor’s letter I have always fancied having my own newspaper. A place to voice The Society inc discoveries, share trade secrets, reveal some hidden treasure and celebrate the talented clever craftsmen that surround me. In our first ever issue we are going to [un] cover the foundations & philosophy of The Society inc, revealing my love affair with history & my go-to era, my inspirations & favourite things as well as introducing The Stylist’s Guide to the Globe (also follow my adventures as they happen on instagram @sibellacourt #thestylistsguidetotheglobe). I am going to cram in all that there is to know about how & why I started The Society inc, our design process, a little of my history, a hand full of magic, a pinch of fantasy and a whole lot of storytelling on behind the scenes at The Society inc, why & where I travel & how we come up with the things we do! P.S. sign up for a beautiful weekly newsletter that keeps you up-to-date & behind-the-scenes at The Society inc. www.thesocietyinc.com.au
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Typography | Like Minded Studios
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C o nt ent s 03
Editor’s letter
Ahoy from The Society inc captain, Sibella Court
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The Society inc Philosophy
My histories and philosophy to the membership of The Society inc
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Colour Hunting
Traversing the globe, teasing out colour palettes from anywhere & everywhere
08 - 09
Collections
Seeking the unusual & hard-to-find museums & fleamarkets in faraway lands
10 - 11
The Stylist’s Guide to Sydney
My favourite haunts & hideaways for my hometown Sydney
14 - 15
Dictionary of Forgotten Trades
A long held dictionary of the forgotten trades; my blackbook of master craftsmen
16 - 17
Making Magic
The imagining & crafting of the Henry Mercer hardware collection 2016
18 - 19
The Stylist’s Guide To Delhi
Eat & drink, sleep, shop, explore. My go-to’s for the hustle & bustle of the madcap city of Delhi
20 - 23
Design Studio
Our storytelling and journey of creating magical spaces
THE SOCIETY INC P h ilosop h y
Prior to residing in New York, I would stay at The Gramercy Park Hotel (pre-Julian Schnabels
other world-altering events. This was a great time of change, excitement, experiment, discovery and
refurb!) for long stints whilst working on photo shoots and loved to wander this old-fashioned leafy
imagination; the world & how it was viewed was in the process of changing forever!
pocket of NYC. Even though I didn’t have a key to the park (still desperately want one!) I would
Upon returning home to Australia after 10 years in NYC I found & bought a beautiful 1860’s corner
peer in the huge first floor parlour windows of the brown stones that line it - many of them are old
terrace in Paddington, the perfect clubhouse for The Society inc. It housed my shop downstairs &
members clubs and you could see people milling, scheming & conspiring- I wanted to create a
my design studio upstairs. Today The Society inc is to be found in a rambling 300m2 warehouse and
‘society’ where people of the same ilk could come & go, exchange ideas, experiment & toss around
imaginarium that plays host to my shop which hawks my favourite treasures as well as our very own
crazy ideas, more imaginarium than brownstone, forever changing & never finished, full of magic &
product ranges: furniture, textiles, books, homewares, art, oddities&curiosites are sourced locally
fantasy.
& by traversing the globe seeking treasure. I celebrate the master craftsman. I seek them out &
My love of history, particularly the year 1856, The Royal Society & its ‘experimental gentlemen’ are
pop them in my pocket; I showcase their wares in my shop, collaborate with them to make an idea
key in the concept of The Society inc. They include some of my favourite historical figures : Charles
outstanding and constantly admire their fine skills on my building sites. Throughout any given day
Darwin, Joseph Banks, William Dampier, John Bartram & Peter Collinson, who were either members
visitors from far&wide visit the store, as well as my ‘members’ stopping by: my blacksmith dropping
or were desperate to be members!
off my new sign, a draper showing me apron samples, the signwriter finishing his gold leafing on a
At The Society inc you do not have to be independently wealthy or be a gentleman, our membership
mirror, dyers & I nutting out the process of painting leather, samples arriving from India, all hand-
is free & everyone is invited - it’s BYO ideas, outlandish as possible please , however you do have to
tinkered & smithed amongst many, many other people & projects. It’s part hardware store, part
adhere to The Royal Society’s motto ‘Nullius in verba’ meaning ‘take nobody’s word for it’.
haberdashery and total make-believe.
The mid-1800s were a-changing with the understanding of kerbing scurvy, sophisticated new
My design studio is at the end of the warehouse, to visit you must walk through the shop & get
navigation tools & the charting of the tradewinds led to a flurry of English seafaring exploration
immersed into my world on the way. A sense of discovery & adventure is what I always hope for, &
from the mid 18th century onwards. The oddities&curiosities, botanicals, animals & bird specimens
strive to build it for people to enjoy in any of the spaces I create. In the studio is where we make the
& other treasures that were carefully transported back, began to spark the imaginations of the
magic. We specialise in hospitality interiors, product development, branding & global sourcing. It’s
general public as well as the exciting travel journals of seafaring adventures & far-flung exotic
elements of retail, wholesale, books & interior design and captained by me, Sibella Court.
places being published. The traditional religious understanding of how the world was created began
The chaos is my calm, it satisfies my part pirate, part gypsy spirit
to be questioned with the opening of Kew Gardens in 1840, The Great Exhibition at the Crystal
www.thesocietyinc.com.au/about-us
palace in 1851 and the publishing of The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin in 1859 amongst
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COLOUR HUNTING P alette
Insp ir ati o n
In my next life I want to be a Botanical explorer BUT in the meantime I am on just as an exciting adventure of exploring the globe Colour Hunting. It is full of unexpected elements and you most definitely need a super cool outfit whilst out scouting! On opening The Society inc I teamed up with Australian boutique paint company, Murobond & created a paint range. I would come up with my palettes based on Greek myths, F.Scott Fitzgerald books, the Ballet Russes, paper, stones, feathers & shells, notion&haberdashery, forgotten trades and all the other things that make up my 10 palettes: Foundation, Indigo Blues, Tradewinds, Paperwhites, Tales of a Sea gypsy, Merchants&Traders, Tender is the Night, North by NorthWest, Atelier, Objet Trouvé. I would supply a colour box of bits n’bobs that related to my story & we would colour match them to make up my 10 colour palette. And then I looked through my very own dictionary (that I am constantly adding to) and named all my paint colours. I collect colour & all its combinations on a daily basis & largely through my many globetrotting adventures. I mostly record this on my cameras: iPhone, Canon G16 & Canon 5D as well as souvenirs. This makes up my extensive photo library that we draw from & use for all of our blogs, Instagram pics, storyboards and general inspiration we need to create of detail orientated spaces and products.
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COLLECTIONS
C ollec ting
T hings
Yo u
Illustration | Christina Banos @homedrawn 8
Love
C o l l ect io ns Since I can remember, I have been a collector of all things fascinating. I have been referred to as a bowerbird, and like to think of myself as a finder, keeper & curator of collections & beautiful things.
My first collections from around the age of three or four (which I still possess) were shells, sequins, beads and ribbons. They encapsulate my childhood, my mother, our holiday house, early school years, solitary moments, playing with my siblings and other lovely fleeting thoughts.
All objects, once held, have a memory or story where, when (sometimes a bit vague) and who you were with when you found them. I have a better memory of such things and none for last week’s incidents. I am renowned for my extensive collections and draw on them constantly for inspiration to create paint colours, give my books layers & texture, style shoots, shop displays and my own home, as inspiration for stationery and graphic design work and the commercial interiors I design. I enjoy having my things around me: out on show and ready for their story to be told; as rotating objects & treasures; available to touch & turn over.
Although the word collection is defined as one or more things, I believe you can start a collection with one thing. Don’t be formal – if you like rope, you can start with a braided lanyard with a bottle opener on the bottom. Maybe it’s the material that’s the collection, although it doesn’t need to be the same format – you can put together things made of rope, string and twine. Or it could be an idea – things that fly for example. There doesn’t have to be any reason for it, a collection doesn’t need to be justified beyond the desire to have it and keep it. Collections are simply an attraction (over & over again) to the same object, or shape, or colour, or texture.
Museum s & f le a ma rket s As collecting is a huge part of not only my job but my life, you will often find me scouring endless museums & flea markets, searching the globe for the best finds; whether it be for a commercial interior space I’m designing, for my cabinet of curiosities at The Society inc, for a friend or for my home.
I encourage you to hunt out any small museums in your local area or while you’re on holidays and trips. They’re often hidden, sometimes tiny and occasionally in private houses, often bypassed even by the locals. Put on your super sleuth hat and look for obscure signs (which may be handwritten). I look for museums that cover botanical & medicinal gardens (living museums), herbariums, zoology, shell or conchology, entomology, natural history, marine and bones, curiosity, history, historic houses and most things in-between. Inspiration comes in unexpected forms - I am often led to something by what a curator might have said, a small note on a plaque, donators’ names or an artist’s subject matter. Sometimes the thing you end up discovering was not what you set out for, which is just as exciting.
I have a library of museums I get lost in, but a few of my favourites would have to be; • Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature: 62 rue des Archives, 75003 Paris • Pitt Rivers Museum: South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3PP • The Mercer Museum: 84 South Pine Street, Doylestown, PA 18901 • The Museum of Jurassic Technology: 9341 Venice Boulevard, Culver City CA 90232 • Muséum Nationale d’Historie Naturelle, Galerie de paléontologie et d’anatomie comparée: Jardin des Planes, 2 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris.
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The
SYDNEY
Sty list’ s
G uide
to
S y dne y
I am Sydney born & bred, and believe it is the best city in the world! A beach at every turn, fresh seasonal food and amazing coffee - this is just a teaser for the beauty of this watery city.
eat drink
The Boathouse - One of The Boathouse’s harbourside locations (all great, all perfectly Sydney) at the gorgeous harbour beach, Balmoral Beach. Bursting with cut flowers & flourishing plants and fresh Australian fare . I love daytime visits to soak up the spectacular setting by the sea baths (www.theboathousebb.com.au). Mr Wong - Located on Abercrombie Lane, this is a modern take on Chinese food in a converted warehouse over 2 floors. Tip: get here before noon opening on the weekends to get a spot! Interiors by The Society inc (www.merivale.com.au/mrwong). Palmer & Co - Down an unassuming historical lane in Sydney’s CBD, Palmer&Co is located in a 1850’s brick vaulted basement of an old warehouse, all raw convict brick and the feel of a speakeasy with a discrete entry way that once found you then enter through a forgotten locker room before the transformed space is revealed often with a jazz band playing - a place that these ‘crooks’ may have been found conspiring in a dimly lit corner. Interiors by The Society inc (www.merivale.com.au/palmerandco). 10 William - My go-to restaurant of choice in Paddington. A narrow one way street of shops housed in terraces. This is a village in itself & this is the local kitchen & bar - it’s small, cramped, noisy & perfectly designed. Sit where you can & be served by boys with a smile & a glint in their eye who have a wicked wine list & mostly Italian inspired fare (www.10williamst.com.au). The Cook & Baker - Hands down the best croissants in Sydney. It’s a hole in the wall, more kitchen than cafe, a curated offering of sandwiches, frittatas, coffee and the most delightful sweet treats of bite-size desserts, to die-for cakes, slices - yum yum - I buy all my cakes here, pop some flowers on them & totally claim the praise! Swing by in the morning or grab some stuff for the Centennial Park picnic across the road (www.thecookandbaker.com.au).
shop
The Society inc - My very own shop housed in a 300m2 rambling warehouse of an old paint factory in Sydney’s St Peters. It is my imaginarium that plays host to the treasures I find on my travels, locally crafted wares, oddities&curiosites with old & new, installations & art exhibitions; a one-stop shop for all things interiors. Part hardware, part haberdashery but all magic & make-believe; a space that feels as though you are walking through one of the pages of my books. It is located within Precinct 75, an offering of retail & studios. Whilst perusing the shop, grab a wine at Urban Winery or a beer from Willy the Boatman, a coffee from Sample Roasters or even try your hand at axe throwing! www.thesocietyinc.com.au @sibellacourt @thesocietyinc
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sleep
Hotel Palisade - I re-imagined this iconic harbourside building in 2015 from the ground floor public bar to the Henry Deane lounge bar up the top. The accommodation spills over the middle 3 levels offering a choice of 9 rooms, a boutique experience where each room is different with a spectacular view over Sydney’s skyline. This is where the past meets the present, where each room is named after a local character from the Rocks’ layered past: Arnt Andersen, Alice Musket, Sydney Long, Surgeon White amongst others. Materials are a mix of old and new shapes, found & foraged but with all the necessary mod cons and the beauty of Australian-made products from blankets to furniture to custom paint colours from The Society inc by Murobond range. Generous rooms where the luxury is in the details, with jewel box bathrooms full of old fashioned fixtures and indulgent Aesop products guarantee a superior experience. Feather filled beds, linen layers & Tasmanian milled woollen blankets sit in front of seascape murals inspired by the magic Sydney Harbour by artist, Neil Mallard. More home than hotel, Hotel Palisade invites you to stay as long as you like! The Old Clare - A 62 room hotel re-imagined stretching across two iconic heritage-listed buildings – The Clare Hotel pub and the Carlton & United Breweries Administration Building – the 62 room boutique hotel has been constructed with obsessive attention to aesthetics and concern for retaining the interesting features of both buildings. Situated along the re-developed Kensington Street precinct, The Old Clare Hotel is the first Australian hotel from the unconventional Unlisted Collection. With its rich, varied history and architecture, Chippendale has become the home of choice for dozens of art galleries, production houses, graphic and fashion design studios, plus Sydney’s most exciting new restaurants, cafés and bars. Book one of the showroom suites which has salvaged & repurposed the beautiful old joinery & bar. Situated conveniently close to the city & great access to public transport & all expressways.
explore
Carriageworks & Saturday markets - Housed in the 19th century Eveleigh rail yards where the former railway carriage and blacksmith workshops have been retained and today supports the largest multi-arts centre in Australia. There is always something fabulous on & be sure to go on a Saturday to coincide with the weekly farmers markets - try Billy Kwong’s famous pancake (www. carriageworks.com.au). Bondi to Bronte Coast Walk - Start with a coffee to-go from Icebergs Terrace & finish with a steam & ocean dip in Icebergs pool or a mid-walk swim at the nature rock pool on Bronte Beach. I never tire of this as the sea changes with each new day & weather pattern. You can make this magnificent coastal walk as energetic or leisurely as you desire but take your camera & your bathers! Be sure to catch Sculptures by the Sea from Oct 20-Nov 6th 2016. Seasonal Concepts - This shop is truly magic. The store is a two-storey Georgian style house built in 1856 and now is a world of curiosities lovingly restored by Ken Wallis & his partner TR. They seek out all things wonderful from Australian colonial furniture, taxidermy, flowers, shells, ceramics, props, seafaring paraphernalia and remnants from another time. www.seasonalconcpets.com.au @seasonalconcepts
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Of
DICTIONARY For gotten
Tr a de s
A long held dictionary of the forgotten trades; my blackbook of master crafstmen
Illustration | Christina Banos @homedrawn
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dictionary I collect words. I write them down, just as people might tear a page from a magazine, to inspire me at a later time or to use in my interiors as artistic embellishment – scribbled on a chalkboard, painted on a wall, mounted in a frame. I use them in my styling and seek them out in different typefaces, fonts and collections of brilliant words.
F
N
Falconer - n. one that breeds and trains falcons. | One that
Napier -n. servant in charge of table linens in a large
hunts with falcons. Feather collections a many.
household. A keeper of Royal family secrets!
Farrier - n. a maker and fitter of horseshoes. Nippers, hammer, rasp and hoof knives are never far astray.
A
archer - n. a person who is skilled in the use of a bow and arrow. Admiration of the schematics in an arrow shaft glimmer in one’s eye.
B
G Glazier - n. a careful craftsman that handles, cuts & fits glass, skilled in the techniques of hammered, cathedral, narrowline
P
etc. Natural habitat is a high-ceilinged light-filled workshop.
Peddlar -n. a travelling vendor of goods. Pertains a specific
H
talent in loud chanting.
Blacksmith -n. cousin to the farrier, one that forges and
S
shapes iron with an anvil and hammer. Often broad shouldered with a patient temperament. Butler - n. i definitely need one of these – A multitalented head domestic in a household who is usually in charge of food service, the care of silverware, and the deportment
Haberdasher - n. a merchant dealing in all essential sewing
Signwriter - n. a specialty painter keen on typography,
needs & notions, such as buttons, needles, ribbons &
creating signs on buildings exterior & interior. A collector
thread. A proud member of the Worshipful Company of
of brushes with a steady hand and sharp eye. Takes delight
Haberdashers.
in a well-kerned title.
of the other servants. Fiercely loyal and intolerant of imperfection.
C
Chandler - n. a maker or seller of tallow or wax candles
I
Iron forger - n. one who works with flame to tame metal, by heating in a bloomery and beating or hammering into shape. Favourite possession is a well-worn compass.
and usually soap | a retail dealer in provisions and supplies or equipment of a specified kind.Dripping wax fairyscapes adorn the workshop floor. Cooper - n. one that makes or repairs wooden barrels and tubs. May be spotted after hours, glass of Oak wine atop
.
the workbench.
M
Magician - n. a sorcerer; a wizard. | One who performs magic
Shipwright - n. one that builds, repairs and launches ships,
for entertainment or diversion. | One whose formidable skill
or assists with carpentry on iron and steel vessels. A lover
or art seems to be magical.Wands, moonshadow, cauldrons
of the seas.
etc. Mapmaker -n. a person who makes maps; a cartographer.
T
Longitude & latitudes unveil spatial wonders & the pathways
Tanner - n. a curer of animal hides, transforming them into
to hidden treasures of the globe.
leather. An odoriferous trade; oak and salt scents linger. Tinsmith - n. aka whitesmith; finesses, makes & repairs things of light metal. Ply their trade from the back of a
Cutler - n. derived from the old French word ‘coutel’
gypsy caravan.
meaning knife; who makes, repairs, or sells knives, scissors
Turner - n. a person who turns & shapes wood. The lathe;
and other such sharp cutting instruments. Scarred hands
a best friend. Worn hands which smell of Maple, Oregon
work the whetstone.
& Cedar.
D Draper -n.
a dealer and merchant of textiles, cloth or
clothing, and dry goods. Rarely seen without tape measure in hand.
Merchant -n.
a person who buys and sells goods, a
shopkeeper. Often spotted crossing the cobblestone streets brown paper & twine in hand. Monger - n. someone who purchases and maintains an inventory of goods to be sold; A dealer in a specific commodity. Eg. A fishmonger can often be observed hanging fine cane baskets out to dry after the market trade in the early morning.
MAKING MAGIC
2016
Har dwar e
Ran g e
P r od u ct De sig n My first forage into serious product design (i.e not the stuff done on a daily basis for shoots that doesn’t go into production!) was on a trip to India with US retailer, Anthropologie. I had started travelling with the very small home design team to all sorts of far-flung romantic places around the globe. It was usually about 3-4 of us gallivanting & looking for inspiration; me for my books & hospitality interiors, Anthropologie for their upcoming seasonal collections. Whilst rummaging around a dusty warehouse full of antiques & hardware, I penciled up some ideas for a decorative hardware range & launched with great success through the Anthropologie stores. It was born! India appeals to me greatly, it continues to have all the arcane trades I so admire: tinsmiths, leather braiders, sail makers, iron forgers, whittlers, turners, blacksmiths - hand-tooling, tinkering, stitching & casting; all your imagination can procure and beyond.
G ath er i ng I de a s I traverse the world in search of inspiration. I find the most hidden of museums (natural history are my favourite variety), cabinets of curiosities, markets, shops, hotels, restaurants & even just walking the streets. Inspiration comes in endless shapes & forms. It can be an object at a fleamarket, a street sign, a pattern of a tile, or patina from a palimpsest of times past, a relic at a museum, a pile of shellfish at a seaside port, painted stone work, textiles out drying, landscape or even a sound or scent. A product starts with an idea, then gets a shape then layered with an emotion, a mix of materials, its own patina, some debossing and a hint of grit & age. I will seek out special markets and travel to far-flung places & after 20+ years in the styling world I have amassed an enormous amount of samples & objects that make up my incredible reference library from antique hardware from Damascus, stones I pocket at most ports, objet trouvé, notions, ribbons, buttons etc - I wrote a book called Bowerbird to record all of these humble collections! I have everything at my fingers tips, that I have bought, souvenired, shipped around the world, curated & loved that is at the ready to be used as reference for any of our cunning ideas! www.thesocietyinc.com.au
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Honest & H u mble My favourite materials are those that patina with age & a little tough love, and look better with
on an 1800’s galleon manilla on seafaring explorations to far-flung lands or equipment required for
repairs. The ones that get marked, stained, crack, change colour and look better which each story &
collecting botanical specimens in unexplored jungles: canvas, leather, hardwoods, steel, brass, cork,
layer of history and if you listened closely enough you might hear a snippet of a conversation, catch
rope, zinc, glass, bone, ceramic.
a scent of a time gone-by or a remnant of a whistled sea shanty. Materials that you may have found
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DELHI The
S tylist’ s
G uide
to
D e lhi
After traveling to this madcap city for work for years, I look for the quiet moments in the madness; The gardens, makers studios & ancient layers that give Delhi its richness of history & sense of adventure
shop
The Grey Garden - Located in Hauz Khas. It’s notoriously hard to find anything here but The Grey Garden is located next to Smokehouse Deli showcasing the fashion wares of 11:11 and Korra. 11:11 is devoted to ‘seed to stitch’ philosophy with a 100% handmade range largely using khadi & silk and experiments with shibori, embroidery & marbling (or whatever takes their fancy). Korra is all about having your jeans custom-made from start to finish; choosing a style & your organic denim then being measured and having one tailor making your bespoke jeans from start to finish and finishing with a hand embroidered signature, his own maker’s mark. This is all about empowerment of craft tailoring & low wastage - even the labelling & mailing bag are made from scraps. They also have some airbnb stays in HK where you will have access to their very own travel guide of favourite haunts & even an Indian itinerary to follow the journey of your piece of clothing from seed to stitch. www.11-11.in @1111clothing @korrajeans Nappa Dori - Nappa Dori ‘translates to leather & thread. A harp back to the time of slow travel, journeys & exotic ports. Canvas & leather trunks are the showcase pieces with a accompanying range of beautifully crafted totes, duffels, overnighters & everything a modern day traveller requires with the romance of days gone-by. I am coveting a Steamer biscuit trunk & Nautic no.1. Available from their store in Hauz Khas and The Lodi shop. www.nappadori.com @nappadori Péro - Recently moved to a 4 floor shop, showroom, offices, archives & workrooms for the cutters, embroiders, quilters, sewers, beadworkers - Péro is now under one roof. Aneeth’s signature is hand-woven khadi, intricate detail, embellishment, layering & unexpected fun. Her embroidery on sheers, fine seed bead work, covered & enamel buttons, hand-stitched button holes, button bags & tassels all using up her scraps are snapped up worldwide. Be ready to walk out in head to toe Péro for the whole family. @ilovepero Anouki - Set in Santushti Shopping village, a grouping of sweet shops in immaculate gardens of sweet pea hedges with pansy & marigold borders. Visit Anouki for fun wood block prints on children clothes, bedding, cloth bound books and staple boxer shorts & PJ pants. Whilst you are there pop your head into Oadgen for great Indian fashion and check out Kapas for fine neddleworked clothes and branded khaki towels. www.anouki.com Serendipity - Housed in a beautiful light-filled haveli, that has been lovingly restored & curated by the textile & furniture designer, Kuldeep Kaur. All seven rooms are set up with textiles, upholstered pieces, vintage lighting & other must-haves for the home from around the globe. Take in the historic views of Meherauli area from the rooftop cafe @serendipitydelhi
sleep
The Lodhi - At first glance The Lodi is an austere building forted by formed concrete screens softened inside by a revolving collection of modern art & furniture curated through the common rooms & gardens. We stayed in a sprawling room with a balcony & dip pool - the staff were impeccable & even organised a nanny. The modern take on the external purdah screens make the corridors dance with shadows & light offering a nurturing sanctuary from the madcap hustle & bustle of Delhi. The spa & pool are a must, or a game of tennis, and if you haven’t had time to go shopping, the well curated selection of modern Indian home & fashion products is noteworthy! www.thelodhi.com @thelodhidelhi
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eat drink
Craft Museum - A journey through India’s craft & textile history - if you are a beginner or an old-hand, the vast array of the intricacies & richness of craft application & skill throughout India is under one roof & breathtaking. I discovered the reference book, ‘the Journey of the kashmir shawl’ here & it is a great addition to any library. The cafe is a must (whether you get to the museum or not), sit in the quiet shaded courtyard and nibble on Indian snacks. I order anything from the vegetarian starters & there is no going wrong and then a walk around the courtyard stallholders for locally-made treasures. SodaBottleOpenerWala - A cafe reviving the lost traditions of Parsi & Irani specialities -Irani Café culture came to India with the Persians back in the 1950s. Traditionally famous for their inexpensive food, eccentric owners & distinctive menus, this is a modern take on the theme with layers of collections, clutter, fun, wonderfully chaotic & colourful over 2 floors and a rooftop. www.olivebarandkitchen.com Townhall rooftop - a busy vibrant restaurant that has the sushi chef from the Oberoi. But it’s all about the roof top bar! if you are dining make sure you make a reservation, otherwise just stop by for a drink at sundown. www.town-hall.in
explore
Lodhi Gardens - A perfect way to bookend the day & to have a break from Delhi. The gardens are scattered with light-filled monuments and heavy scented rose gardens. It’s fun to watch the various exercise activities as the green parrots duck & weave and the light-as-a-feather squirrels dart about. Old Delhi - Get a tour of the wonderful crazy that is Old Delhi with pradeep@ realitytoursandtravel.com (as per Fiona’s recommendation). Walk the meandering streets, look at forgotten trades, wonderful old havelis, the bird hospital and take in all the sights, sounds & scents. You will find everything & anything from trimmings, hardware, kites, textiles, ceramics, spices amongst everything else. Ask to go to the copper, hardware spice market & chilli building or anything you are interested in then finish up with a refreshing & restorative tea at Aap Ki Pasand. Love India concierge service & guides - On my recent trip to India, I called upon the knowledgeable author of the Indian Love Travel guide series, Fiona Caulfield. In addition to her must-have, go-to guides she is offering the ultimate concierge service to your Indian travels. Her concierge service ranges from a bespoke ‘end-to-end’ service beginning with your itinerary, all ground services & bookings and introductions to India’s most interesting, eccentric & extraordinary people & places. If you have the know-how and just require additional information ranging from dinner & hotel recommendations, sourcing, production contacts, itinerary planning & any other advice you can dream up, this too can be done. I chose the full service and our trip felt as though we had our fairy godmother watching out for us as we dined at the Taj Lake Palace, shared a tipple with the Maharaja amongst his vintage car collection, was fitted for bespoke jeans, had a private tour of an C.13th palace by an ancient key keeper, conversed with hotel owners and viewed ateliers & private collections. It was a trip of a lifetime! Please email fiona@lovetravelguides.com for all enquiries.
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DESIGN STUDIO
Design
&
S tylin g
Interior Photography | Hugh Stewart
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creator of spaces Hotel Palisade
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T he Hist o ri c a l Sty li s t For all projects I start at the same in point - history. I coined the term The Historical Stylist and it seemed in align with my passions & history degree - although I never thought I would be a practicing historian, I followed a path that led me to the styling & design world before graduation. The research skills & knowledge I finessed throughout my degree I use on a daily as a part of my design philosophy. Whilst researching for my book, Bowerbird I was able to justify the time spent in the storage spaces & back vaults of Australian museums - the specimens collected by Sir Joseph Banks at the Herbarium, a first edition of The Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin, WH Smith Australian egg collection at NGV, Governor Macleay’s natural history collection at the Purpose built Macleay Museum at Sydney University, the butterfly collection of Frederick Parkhurst Dodd, The Butterfly Man of Kuranda at Qld Museum and on & on — Unfortunately I did have to curb this research once I finished the book (the intro was over 100 pages in its first draft!) but my love of research & history , libraries & museums is very much the starting point & core philosophy of my designs for hospitality spaces & products.
Interior Photography | Anson Smart & Chris Court
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S tor ytelli ng
H o w i t al l b e g an
On signing a project I determine when it was built (if it has any heritage at all) and run from there. My first point of
I accidentally landed in the most perfect job for me from the age of 20. I was at Sydney
call is usually the outstanding librarians at the Caroline Simpson Library. We locate all relevant information - it may
University studying history for my BA & my bestie, Edwina McCann was assisting at Vogue
be surveyors maps from the 1800’s, building catalogues from the 1920-30s for an art Deco pub, photographs of
(she is now the editor). She called me & I quickly came to understand fashion was not for
Crooks from the turn of the century or colonial journals of what fish where caught in the Georges River & Botany
me but over on the other side of the floor, Vogue Entertaining & Travel resided & that most
and have fun from there. This leads to my character. I create a person from my research, drawn from history, both
definitely was! Fast forward, after 16 years of styling for interior & food magazines, catalogues
real & imagined. This character has a life of his or her own; emotions, family & friends, likes & dislikes, hobbies, a
& advertising agencies all over the globe, I made a switch in homeland and styling temporary
portrait and even a scent. The character’s personality, alongside the history of the building become the storytelling
sets to designing permanent spaces; glue gun & blu-tack was replaced by nails & substrates.
of the new space that dictates what finishes, furniture, fabrics, colours, lighting, uniforms and even the bathroom soap. It is fun & creates a strong sense of personality that all those involved can relate to from the architect, all trades, suppliers, project managers, even council! As the character develops so too does the 3D storyboard. I gather from my extensive reference & sample library. Not just swatches & samples, but colour references that evoke an emotion like a shell or pebble I have picked up on my travels, a crumbled napkin from a restaurant, old taps or a leather knotted monkeys fist, branches & flowers from the markets - they are evocative, they become worlds within themselves for you & the client to lose yourself in & imagine where you will be sitting & what you will be drinking in the finished space. The concepting stage is so much fun, I live & breathe it as the story comes to life.
S o u r ci ng Then we source the world! I travel far & wide (& largely in my own backyard) gathering objects & finishes, visiting international design fairs, markets, auctions and adventuring into new frontiers. Local & International involvement is a passion, working with manufacturers & designers from around the world in celebration of their craft. I scour markets & auctions for found pieces to repurpose, we buy off-the-shelf pieces both high & low in design, as well as throwing ourselves into designing & orchestrating bespoke & custom pieces which are touched by many hands and have a layering of the skilled trades that produce them. We work with existing textiles & finishes and their creators to custom colour & showcase the latest & greatest in global products. The specialty trades weave their magic & we pull the space together as the install begins with furniture arranging, the artwork & props are put in place working on those all-important decisions that need to be made onsite so the pendant lights are at just the right height, all hardware is in the perfect spot, arranging flowers or finialising the perfect scent for the bathroom and all the other details that make a space special. I believe that to create a fluid considered space requires a curation from start to finish whether its the floor finishes to what the staff are wearing. And then we open the doors and have a stiff drink. www.thesocietyinc.com.au/blogs/project
T H AN K Y OU Printing | POD Sydney www.pod.sydney Signwriting | Lynes&Co www.lynesandco.com Illustration | Christina Banos @homedrawn