A few weeks a go I assisted a photo shoot taking place at a colleagues house who manages and buys for our flagship store on Kings Road. Every time I walk into the shop I love taking the time to pay attention to all the details on exhibit and covet owning them, however, I’ve always been aware that it’s not always practical in a home, and, although I appreciate the overall visual that it achieves for display, I was realistic that it was, just that. Until recently..
The companies art direction at the store extended itself to Mark’s interior decor. At first glance I found it very ‘try hard’ it was like walking onto the set of Alice In Wonderland surrounded by an extensive collection of taxidermy and odd ceramic sculptures. It all felt very theatrical, slightly uncomfortable, but there was also so much character in his space.
Marks’ house pointed to a growing popularity for incorporating 20th century curios within our interior design spaces. The fairy-tale window displays usually seen behind glass on Dover street are now, not only being replicated in gastro pubs, but also within our homes. I realised I was wrong to critique Mark, although his home was extreme, I too am known to love finding unique pieces in antique shops and counting down the days until the next Kempton market, but it got me thinking, just who was I really doing it for?
The Financial Times picked up on this very culture in their November 3rd edition in an article called ‘Curiouser & Curiouser’. It has gone from collecting ‘Vintage’ to ‘art, antiques & attire’ and we, the public, are now drawn to shops & spaces that are now deemed ‘cool’ because they are filled with old commercial lettering, paintings, flags and…neon.
‘Many pieces started out life as shop or commercial fittings; their battered edges speak of years decades or robust use’. Much of the sourcing is a case of rummaging and falling in love with something you never knew you wanted. My favourite stomping ground is the previously mentioned Antiques Market in Kempton Park, Lillie Road in London and Auction houses such as the one on Lots Road, in Chelsea.
So I guess we are doing it for ourselves, it’s the joy in finding something charming and imagining the evocative tale behind it, whilst also making your space unique, especially for you, but, also, admittedly for your guests. (I did have to draw the line, however, when I found myself at a till with a stuffed owl as seen at Mark’s house!) I do now see that it’s the pieces that were never intended for the home or that trigger a certain nostalgia that are the key to the aesthetic. ‘it may have exhausted its original use, but its dynamic visual energy can be channeled into a new context’.
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