20_ Objects
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camilla franks 03
top 5 objects
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02
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Regarded as the queen of all things bohemian – beading, embellishment and printed swathes of colour filled silk – Camilla Franks is one of Sydney’s most loved fashion designers. With Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Harrods and Selfridges stocking her designs, she is also clearly well-loved internationally. In fact, with a current portfolio of over 200 international retailers, she may be our best export. 01. Metal painted Milagro charm from Etsy— I am obsessed with Mexican artefacts and culture, and one of my lifelong inspirations is Frida Kahlo. This embossed metal and paintwork piece is beautiful; it’s like my lucky charm. I have many pieces I find in my travels and I’m particularly drawn to charms and little objects that have an energy to them. 02. Birdcage from The Country Trader— This cage adds an unexpected element to the garden. I like to put a bunch of
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them together. There is something a little disconcerting about an empty birdcage, but also very freeing. I love to decorate my outside space as much as the inside of my home – all pieces have a special importance and mean a lot to me. 03. Holy Kitsch skulls— These are quirky and actually very intricately detailed. I like their mix of macabre and kitsch. I love objects that are unique blends or you have elements that you think wouldn’t naturally work together – I love this!
04. [Stanislaw] Borowski sculpture—I love this work. It’s sentimental as a vase and was a gift from my parents. It is also so ‘out there’ that I fell in love with it… 05. Plenty More: Vibrant Vegetable Cooking from London’s Ottolenghi—I love entertaining and this book is a bible for me – so many fresh and inspiring ways to cook vegetables and not just as a side dish; they really play the starring role. As does this book, which is currently on my coffee table.
11/03/15 3:18 PM
22_ Read
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anouska hempel
Getting notoriety out of the way early, Marcus Binney (architectural correspondent of The Times, London) commences his introduction with an acknowledgement of the prima donna tendencies of Anouska Hempel, aka Lady Weinberg. “Never mind her incandescent temper, her impatience, her contempt towards those who cannot keep up with her or no longer amuse her, she has an untiring energy, an unquenchable appetite for work and for pastures new,” writes Binney. In confirming rather than denying her oft-reported temper, Binney claims it as a fact, marches straight over it and gets on with discussing the projects. A task he does exceedingly well. One of the most striking things about Binney’s observation of Hempel’s oeuvre is the proclivity for dark, dark interiors. Layered and saturated with antiquities, art, reflections and textural nuance of embroidery, tapestry, textiles and deep luscious colour, her interiors are ostentatiously imbued with the richness and grandeur of truly deep pockets. Indeed, the lead project, Cole Park – Hempel’s own Wiltshire estate – is a palace by most standards, with grounds to match. Cole Park is also an exemplar case study for how her interiors work. Effectively, she not only layers within a room, but uses rooms as layers within the whole. To this end, where one room is practically jostling with objects, in shades of red, gold and dark timber, the
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next will be a serene composition of the same timber with symmetric urns and drapes of eau de Nil, ferns and botanical illustrations. Granted, the second room would appear busy in most interiors, but with scale comes the ability to create tableaux. A landing provides another specific insight. Rather than leave the expansive thoroughfare as a dead zone, Hempel has filled the wall between richly draped windows with floor-to-ceiling Elizabethan portraits. In front of each is a low red velvet divan. Defined by a border of gold embroidery, a foot rug and heavily embroidered cushions, the whole works, because every colour in the room, as Binney notes, is drawn from the portraits. A huge Moroccan brass lamp anchors the room and stops the window and portrait line from becoming a dimension-shifting device. This is further brought home by the quirk of another portrait inserted below the window, which within the scale of the room looks small, but is in fact about a metre square. While Hempel’s most recent interiors are in many ways antithetical to the Australian lifestyle (The Hempel Hotel, London 1997, is perhaps the sunniest of her interiors), her design acumen is not to be quibbled with. Australian interiors tend to transition interior to exterior with very subtle demarcation; Hempel makes this difference extreme. Wellsuited to Europe, her dark interiors make a
fantastically rich frame for the extraordinary gardens they look onto. Sumptuously contrasted, both the interior and exterior feel warmer during summer, while the beauty of winter, particularly when snow covered, is made extreme. Mushroom shaped topiaries add just the right hillocky softness under snow, while gravelled oblongs become framed expanses contrasting black and white. And, while Cole Park dominates, the projects are richly varied with inclusions ranging from the white on white of the aforementioned The Hempel to the stark contrasts of Blakes, Amsterdam (now called The Dylan Hotel). The incredible window designs and green marble floor of Addison Road are simply breathtaking, while her own boat, Beluga 1, a traditional Turkish gulet, is among the most beautiful. Beluga 1 is also a splendid example of her obsessive attention to detail that sees every embroidered napkin, bespoke teak deck chair, raffia blind and calfskin travel trunk just so. The book itself is as rich as her interiors with lavishly opulent images highlighting the diversity of her work well. Binney’s text is lively, unabashed and as insightful as it is wryly amused. Author: Marcus Binney Publisher: Thames & Hudson Distributor: Thames & Hudson RRP: $90
10/03/15 4:21 PM
32_ In Review
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unveiled
below—Detail: Catching Breath, 2014, designed by Brook Andrew, woven by Chris Cochius, Pamela Joyce and Milena Paplinska at the Australian Tapestry Workshop. Materials: wool, cotton, Lurex. Photography Jeremy Weihrauch. right—Brook Andrew holding tapestry sample against the tapestry cartoon. Photography Australian Tapestry Workshop. opposite—Catching Breath completed tapestry on the loom at the Australian Tapestry Workshop. Photography Jeremy Weihrauch.
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10/03/15 4:31 PM
48_ Discourse
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jonathan adler — When you’re about to kick the bucket, you don’t want to look back and remember an endless sea of beige.
text_ Jan Henderson
A man for all design seasons, Jonathan Adler is ahead of his time in the world of objets, furniture and interiors. Co-editor Jan Henderson talks with Adler about his influences and plans for the future.
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10/03/15 4:52 PM
insight: touch
wood
text_Peter Davies
Few things age as well as timber. Wine, perhaps, or some robust cheeses – but neither accrues that beautiful patina in the way a timber surface can. Hand-me-down furniture often carries with it the scuffs and habits of a previous life, while timber floors proudly display the footfalls of generations past. While the warmth, durability and availability that has made timber such a popular construction material persist, advances in materials technology have seen some savvy suppliers exploring new ways of using timber in contemporary interiors.
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11/03/15 3:13 PM