Upholstered in Arden velvet

HAPPY 2013!

...bit of a slow blogging start to the year but I've been hibernating at my chilly studio through January, working on secret designs for the autumn.

Just to prove I'm still here I thought I'd share these photos sent by the lovely ladies at Östermalms Textilateljé a fabulous interiors showroom in Stockholm.

This is the eponymous Arden design from our Arden Collection which we launched with great success in 2012 with Zoffany (and pretty much all I blogged about last year too!)

The Stockholm team have upholstered this retro sofa for their showroom using the Venetian Red colourway of this luxurious velvet.

ABOUT THE DESIGN:

We adapted this enchanting forest scene from a mid 15^th century wall painting that was discovered in a house in Halifax in 1901. The house fell into ruin shortly afterwards and the painting was lost forever. The scene depicts a forest floor richly studded with clusters of small flowers, possibly wood anemones. In amongst the trees are rabbits, hedgehogs, horned sheep, squirrels, wild fowl, moles, deer and a handsome unicorn. The creatures were probably modeled on those found in popular medieval bestiaries. This style of wall painting, known as imitation tapestry, was fashionable all over Britain.

The Arden design is available printed on luxurious velvet and on linen.

Images from www.fabricsandpapers.com

It's nice to see a large sofa upholstered in Arden. The one we featured on the cover of the Arden brochure was a stylish 2 seater called Snooze by Ochre.

Arden brochure front cover

Snooze sofa by Ochre

Curiously the red background colour on the Swedish sofa and the brochure sofa looks very different but the Swedish sofa is much closer to the actual fabric - it is more burnt orange than deep red - weird that!

Thanks to the enthusiastic Stockholm team at Östermalms Textilateljé for keeping me updated.

You can read more about my visit to Stockholm in this post: ARDEN ON TOUR - Stockholm

Vote for Verdure! Elle Decor British Design Awards

We've been nominated!

The nominated VERDURE wallpaper is one of the designs from our Arden Collection created with Zoffany. For full details about the awards check out this month's Elle Decoration (out now) or see the Elle Decor website 

If you like this design and our collection please:

 

 (Voting ends September 24th)

Verdure wallpaper in tapestry green

The design comes digitally printed in two colourways on 140 cms wide, non-woven wallpaper (above). It is also available digitally printed on 100% linen (below in lead blue colourway)

Verdure upholstered chair 

About the Verdure Design

Verdure (from an old French word for greenery) is a design based on a late 17^th century English painted cloth. At the peak of their popularity these “stayned” linen cloths were nailed floor to ceiling around entire rooms. Shakespeare mentions painted cloths in several plays and Henry VIII lists them in his inventories proving that they were not "poor men's tapestries". 

Very few survive due to their fragile nature. The subject matter included religious themes, hunting scenes or pictorial subjects such as our lush pastoral landscape with a church and waterfall (better seen in this close up of the wallpaper).

Verdure with Verner Panton chair

The best surviving example of a verdure painted cloth can be found in its original setting at the magnificent  Owlpen Manor  in the Cotswolds. 

painted cloths at Owlpen Manor 

The wonderful Owlpen cloths tell the story of Joseph and his technicolour coat. A few years ago David and I were commissioned to reproduce them for a re-display project at Blakesley Hall museum in Birmingham:

our Blakesley Hall painted cloths

David and me installing the cloths

These Verdure designs are definitely my favourite of the period. The scenes are a joy to paint as they have such lovely painterly motifs and harmonious colours. I know David was very fond of these designs too.

It was an interesting challenge to put fragments of an original verdure into repeat. We then painted it on unbleached linen canvas with watery paints so that the weave would show through as in the "stayned" originals. 

Painting the original artwork for Verdure

With Zoffany we tried various colourways including a very odd purple one but it really worked best in its original emerald and earthy greens ("tapestry green") and in a faded, somewhat scandinavian "lead blue".

Verdure strikeoffs at Zoffany headquarters with other Arden designs

For a 350 year old design it is remarkably on trend today with its folksy, fairytale narrative.

A bucolic snapshot of Old England

Definitely one of my favourites....remember to vote if you like it too :)

Satyrs, Putti and Masks (oh my)

This recent commission for a painted wall hanging is a nice opportunity for me to show you one of my favourite examples of grotesquework. I love it for its dynamic, bold and playful subject matter.

This large scale design is one of the five we selected for The Anticke Collection. 
  

The Golden Cross wall hanging

It depicts a scrolling fantasy of arabesques, masks, satyrs, naked putti and pilasters.

This is an English variation on the Italian Renaissance decorative style which in turn is derived from Ancient Rome (the word grotesque coming from the Latin root "grotto" meaning a small cave or hollow where these types of design were discovered.)

Details of our painted cloth

Painting the cloth at the workshop. Close reference is made to photos of the original wall painting to capture the spirit of the artist who painted it nearly 500 years ago.

The original black and white wall painting of c1550 still survives in good condition in a 15th century inn. This is largely because it was preserved behind panelling until its discovery in the 1940's. The design was painted with lamp black and size on lime washed lime plaster.

Details of the original wall painting

Commissioning Fairlyte

As one of The Anticke Collection designs we can paint the Golden Cross Grotesque onto linen to be hung as a wall cloth, or by the metre for curtains and soft furnishings. Sections may also be painted as fresco secco panels. Please contact Fairlyte for details and pricing.

Painted cloths installed wall to wall in Shakespeare's Birthplace Museum.

Shakespeare's Birthplace Museum

Reopening in 2000 following an ambitious redisplay project this landmark museum commissioned us to paint the Golden Cross Grotesque onto stiffened linen to line the walls of the upstairs parlour. We also provided cloths for 3 other rooms.

VELVET DRAGONS

Supplied to The General Trading Company 

This world-famous department store has long been a favourite of the Queen and once held the wedding list for the Prince of Wales. In Spring the store relocated from Sloane Square to South Kensington introducing  new designers along the way.

I was invited to supply a collection of velvet cushions hand painted with a slightly fierce, slightly demure looking dragon head. This design is based on an Elizabethan grotesque wall painting found in a house in Surrey.

Elizabethan wall painting

Here are some shots I took at the workshop then in store later on.

Newly painted Dragon cushions at the Fairlyte workshop.

Dragon cushions piled up at the workshop before delivery to London

Dragon and pompom cushions amongst others at The General Trading Co. Store.

Cushions dotted around the store

Along with the Dragon cushions I also supplied unpainted pompom cushions and some linen cushions painted with leaves:

Pompom cushions in six colours. Pictured here at the workshop against one of my  fresco secco panels titled "Dragonfly tree"

Linen cushions with painted leaves in four shades pictured at workshop

It was good to have a large order like this from such a prestigious shop. The connection was made in November 2010 when The GTC hosted the first gathering of QEST scholars. Called The British Craft Fair this was an opportunity for craftsmen and women to sell their crafts to the public. I became a QEST scholar in 2007 when I was awarded a sum of money to carry out further research into Elizabethan painted interiors. Hopefully there'll be another show this year. I'll keep you posted.

As for the Dragon; I've been very fond of this dragon wall painting for a while now and as an aside, here's a fresco secco panel I painted recently:

 

Bagshot Dragon Fresco Secco

WHERE TO BUY:

Dragon, Pompom and Leaf Cushions
Available uniquely from The General Trading Company. Priced variously between £90 and £185

Bagshot Dragon fresco secco panel
30cm2, £170 from Early Oak Reproductions

Dragonfly Tree fresco secco panel
w122cm x h92cm, £950. Available directly from the Fairlyte Workshop - Contact Melissa: info@fairlyte.co.uk