HOME & DESIGN
AN ARTIST’S EYE BY MARY SHUSTACK
The cream, as they say, rises to the top. That concept was proven once again recently when information about The Vale London arrived at WAG amid the routine flood of emails. The introduction to the company launched by Melinda Marquardt in 2017 was intriguing from the start. A London-based artist who, we would learn, had worked in sales for an American textile company, she decided to create a business that would pair her education in fine art with her years of experience in sales. The Vale London would be dedicated to creating and providing textiles and wallpapers for the luxury interiors market. Once we saw the designs, we were hooked by her reinterpretation of the classics — first, the romantic patterns inspired by English gardens and then, the bolder work inspired by travel farther afield. All, we note, share her dedication to time-honored techniques that focus on fine hand drawings, lavish watercolors and what she calls the “lost art” of Asian marbling, the last being an approach shared with Venetian style. Soon after our first look, we reached out to Marquardt who graciously took time to tell us more about The Vale London, which has made its American debut. Please tell us a bit about your background and training. “Growing up in England, the school system allows you to concentrate on the subjects that you love from the age of 16. I chose textiles, fine art and business and never looked back. I attended university in upstate New York at Skidmore College and majored in fine art with a business minor. After graduation, I immediately got a job at Fabricut in New York City. I fell in love with textiles and worked my way up to sales manager of Europe and Russia. After seven years at Fabricut, I had the opportunity to design a pattern for the New York Botanical (Garden) collection with Vervain. I fell in love with textile design and decided to partner my education in fine art with my experience in the textile world. “In early 2014 I returned to London (after being promoted to the sales manager of EU/Russia) as I needed to be closer to my territory. I (now) house my design studio in my flat that I share with my pup, Milo.”
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WAGMAG.COM
FEBRUARY 2020
The Lion Toile pattern from The Vale London. Photographs courtesy The Vale London.
