Southbank Series show #3 on the 19th July was our special Interior and lifestyle event. Guests were welcomed by the sweet scent of patchouli & grapefruit, and greeted with colourful bursts of print, pattern and embroidery from Esme Winter, Wick & Tallow, PIPÉT and Daisy Biswell.
Wick & Tallow
Daisy Biswell
PIPÉT Interiors
Esme Winter
The show was indeed quite quintessentially British - with each company living, designing and making their products in and around London and the UK.
Meet the SBS show #3 designers - Daisy (Daisy Biswell), Gina (PIPÉT), James and Tom (Wick & Tallow), Esme and Richard (Esme Winter).
The sunshine was out, and so were lots of friendly faces to the show:
Great styling and big smiles from Lynne in her 'Verona' scarf - Soo very 'Pretty Woman'!
Sian and Andrew choosing their favourite Wick & Tallow scents!
Talking shop - our designers hard at work!
Meet the designers...
PIPÉT Interior
The showroom was a great opportunity for visitors to discover up-close my range of printed silk interior accessories and learn about the prints and processes involved.
With the emphasis on handmade, there is lots of attention to detail that goes into making each cushion.
Let me share with you a little bit about how they are made...
A great deal of time is spent between the printers and production house checking both the quality of the print, and making sure each design is perfectly placed on the cushion. As soon as the fabrics are back from the printers I check every meter for any small impurities, before sending to the production house.
Only when all the trims, components and specially made pads are delivered will production start, so I have to make sure this is ordered well in advance! Each fine silk panel of the cushions are individually cut and lined by hand before sewing, protecting the delicate silks from any sharp feathers. Once finished, these are ticketed, plumped and wrapped ready for each customer.
The designs in the range all focus around my Mézières print collection which takes its inspiration from the Parisienne architecture of Les Halles, the story if it's origins, and the architects involved.
The range was designed as a mix of eclectic sizes that compliment each other. Whether you cherish your individual cushion, or lavishly choose one for every seat, these will become the statement pieces and talking points to your home!
The cushions were really well received, and alongside these guest could also pick up one of my popular cotton canvas purses and ipad sleeves, or printed note cards as a momentum of the day!
Esme Winter
Esme and Richard are the duo behind the label, designing and running their stationery line from their studio in North East London.
Chatting to Esme about what really drives her, she is a girl after my own heart! Important to her that each piece maintains a certain level of high quality, Esme is often down at her printers checking over her production - making sure each sheet of paper is printed with precision. This even means ensuring the exact amount of ink is used each time to achieve their consistent high finish and detail that their products are about.
This my friends, is what handmade in Britain is all about!
On hand for the day we also had little Etta, who did a great job at welcoming all our guests!
Daisy Biswell
Joining us we had printed and embroidered cushions and bags by CSM designer Daisy Williams. Daisy and I used to work together in the Liberty of London design studio a few years back, and it was fantastic to see her London inspired collection.
Screen printing the items herself, Daisy prints each panel, before embroidering with various stitch techniques to give a very tactile feel to her pieces. No two pieces are exactly the same, meaning your item is individual and unique.
Trimmed with multi coloured pompoms and neon tassels you can really pick a Daisy Biswell accessory out from the crowd!
These 'London' bags were picked especially for the Southbank Series POP UPs - and this one went perfectly with my own PIPÉT scarf!
Wick & Tallow
Filling the showroom with their gorgeous colourful fragrances were waxsmiths Tom and James of the Wick & Tallow trio (James's fiancée Alice is also part of the company with them).
Coming from a background of product design, and a love for traditional products, Wick & Tallow have an emphatically British style with an eccentric sophistication. They are challenging the market with great fragrances, bringing about a youthful dynamism to the industry.
I love the meaning behind names and descriptions given to items, and was interested to find out where 'Wick & Tallow' originated from. James explained that 'Tallow' is a derivative from animal fats once used as an alternative to wax to make candles in historical times. Of course, Wick & Tallow candles use only the finest ingredients in their luxurious candles, and each one is hand poured by England's top candle makers.
It was tempting to light every candle on the shelf, but I chose Patchouli & Grapefruit as the perfect summery scent for the showroom.
I was very lucky to have a sneak preview... and I can't wait for the new fragrances they are launching in their next range!
The fourth and final Southbank Series: Designer POP UP is on Saturday 2nd August and will feature fashion, accessories and jewellery from:
Shenair Designs - bespoke M&W's fashion | Solomon Appollo - handbags | Vicky Davies - fine contemporary jewellery | PIPÉT - Archive collection scarves | Clover Lewis Swimwear - confidence boosting swimwear for women following breast cancer surgery.
The events are open to all, and if you appreciate great design and items that are tailored just for you then please do come along, say hi and support our designers.
8 Aquinas Street, Waterloo, SE1 8AE
Open hours: 10-6pm.
See our events page and follow us on Twitter #southbankseries #SBS
See you again soon!
Gina X
