Friday Forage | Fine Cell Work

(Illustrations by Caroline Jenkinson, The Interiors Almanac)

This Friday’s forage profiles Fine Cell Work, a social enterprise which endeavor’s to teach prisoners the artisanal craft of creative needlework. In doing so, prisoners learn key skills of discipline and improved confidence. They also earn a living from the sampling they craft, which enables them to save for their future. 

Fine Cell Work is carried out in 20 prisons over the UK, with 300 prisoners to date. Many designers have provided designs for the trust, collaborations include; Fine artist Gavin Turk, textile designers, Cath Kidston, William Yeoward and Allegra Hicks. 

Beautifully hand crafted cushions can take up to 90 hours of work, an average of 5 months to complete.

Find out a little more about this wonderful trust & treat yourself to a cushion or two… visit Fine Cell Work.

Divine Inspiration... Maison et Objet 2014 | Best in show

(Illustrations by Caroline Jenkinson, The Interiors Almanac)

Divine Inspiration! We all need a little, to break up the mid week monotony... This weeks offering, is a round up of the best in show at Maison et Objet, the Interior design fair in Paris! Ooh la la, take a look... 2014 is the year of artisanal crafts, natural materials & pastel shades.

1. Cote Bastide   

A French emporium, based in Aix en Province, which specialises in linen and fragrance of the highest quality. 

2. Utopia and Utility
These beautifully hand crafted stacking vessels were created by London based Product designer Pia Wustenberg.

3. Sfera
Water jugs, designed by creative director, Shigeo Mashiro. The Japanese design house was established in 2001, Sfera has a base in Kyoto & Milan, you can also shop online.

4. Ferm Living

This Danish home-wares company have a wholesome collection, their products range from wallpapers to kitchen utensils. Be bold with geometries and an eclectic mix of materials.

Chelsea, London boutique | Sigmar

Situated in the centre of the smart interiors hub of Chelsea, Sigmar are unique, not only in their Scandinavian aesthetic but in ethos too. Ebba Thott & Nina Hertig founded Sigmar 10 years ago and have been making waves within the area. Offering one off pieces of furniture and trinkets alongside an Interior design service.

How would you describe Sigmar and what services do you offer?

  

Sigmar was founded on the idea of creating an alternative to the large mass production companies dominating the market. Quality to be a driver for everything to mean something in some way.  We do everything from a single piece in the shop, to designing full houses.  We are two, with two different skill sets. one a dealer; a specialist on objects and one a designer; a specialist in putting it all together. 

Your design gallery is brimming with mid century pieces, what aspect of this aesthetic are you drawn to?

We love things that are beautifully made and this is why we end up in the century we deal a lot in. 

Do you showcase contemporary designers alongside the mid century furniture? 

Yes, there is nothing wrong with new production as long as it is well made.

How do you choose the designs that fit into your gallery?

Hopefully the more you see and educate yourself the better you will be at responding to what you see, there is no other way of describing how you choose pieces.  Just like a good artist or solicitor, experience and ideas are the key to everything. 

What is your price range?

From £70.

What are the store opening hours?

10-6 monday - saturday 

12-5 sunday 

To view the Sigmar collection & Interior projects, visit Sigmar

North London interiors store | Future & Found

Hello... welcome to the interiors almanac. For my debut post future & found have welcomed my questions and opened up their sumptuous Tufnell park interiors haunt!

enjoy...

How would you describe Future & Found and what

services do you offer?

Future & Found brings you a carefully curated collection of beautiful things for your home. Our collection presents our expanding range of own designs alongside things we love from designers around the world and vintage market finds. All have a design aesthetic in common. They are simple, stylish and thoughtfully designed.

Alongside, and to complement, our retail offer we also offer an interior design & styling service. We have a very relaxed, modern approach to interior design which means projects are done but never overdone.

The shop very much feels like a curated space, is it important to display the furniture & objet in a home interior setting?

It’s certainly easier to visualise what items will look like in your own home if you see them in an appropriate setting. Here in the shop, we allow each product a little space to breathe so customers are able to consider each piece and imagine how it would look in their own home. Likewise for online, we shoot products in a simple but graphic way so customers aren’t distracted by the styling.

What is your design aesthetic?

Simple, stylish and intelligent. And with a little bit of humour.

Is your home a continuation of the Future & Found shop?

Yes completely, it’s hard not to buy one of everything when you are surrounded by so many beautiful things.

How did you fall into the Interiors trade?

My first job out of university was as an admin assistant at House of Fraser head office on their dining department. I hated it for around three weeks then suddenly got the bug and shortly afterwards moved into buying within the home interiors categories. I’ve covered just about every product area over the years which has been a fantastic learning experience.

Do you currently have a favourite item in store?

Well I’m (not so secretly) hoping for a few kaleido trays

(see below) for Christmas so they’re definitely up there in my favourites at the

moment.

What is your price range?

£10.00 - £175.00 at the moment but this will broaden as we move

forwards into furniture and lighting next year.

We firmly believe that good design can be found across all price ranges and simply select products that suit our aesthetic.

What are the shop opening hours?

Monday        10am - 6:30pm   

Tuesday       10am - 6:30pm

Wednesday     10am - 6:30pm

Thursday         10am - 7pm

Friday        10am - 6:30pm

Saturday         10am - 6pm

Sunday           11am - 6pm

If there’s a certain something that catches your eye, you can get in touch with future & found; info@futureandfound.com, or peruse their online shop; Future and Found