Emilio Pimentel-Reid — Arren Williams

And… suddenly it’s Fall.

I don’t know about you, but those last few days of summer felt especially poignant this year. Soon we’ll be well and truly bundled up, socially distancing outside, but until then there are still a few softening glimmers of sunlight to remind us of warmer days.

Cheers, Arren

Despite, well, the way things are Paris Design Week still managed to inspire earlier this month. I totally stan for India Mahdavi, and this wildly bright, fun and entirely OTT space from her did not disappoint. You’ll most likely know Mahdavi’s work by Sketch restaurant in London, but puh-lease don’t judge her for it’s pretty-in-pink Insta success.

Here she’s altogether more esoteric and artistic, mixing Chris Wolston’s utterly crazy/fab anthropomorphic Nalgona Colombian wicker chairs, fabric from textile artists Les Crafties, lighting by WonderGlass and a tile-topped table from Maximilien Pellet. It’s basically a fever dream of design fabulosity.

I spent a thoroughly fascinating time peeking behind the curtain on the work, inspirations and point of view of design firm Campbell-Rey today when they were interviewed by M. Emilio Pimentel-Reid for Interiors Academy. Helmed by Duncan Campbell and Charlotte Rey, the young award-winning firm tackles both interiors and product design with aplomb.

Their Francesco side table is definitely deserving of ooh-ooh-aahs with it’s mix of Connemara green marble, yellow travertine and patinated brass-on-steel legs. First commissioned from Campbell-Rey by interior designer Francis Sultana, the pert piece is now part of their ongoing furniture collection, which they let slip in the interview they have plans to grow.

Oh, and that snap below? Well, let’s just say that paired with The Rug Comapny’s Key Shadow carpet, the Francesco table looks all the more stunning.

Watch the IGTV interview here.

Post-reno we’re in the midst of rejigging our double-height gallery wall. The walls are freshly painted (hello Benjamin Moore White Dove) but the question is, what will stay, and what will go, and what could replace those bits and bobs that have fallen out of favour? Definitely these!

The items in question are Abstract Masks from People of the Sun, an award winning social enterprise in Malawi that connects traditional artisans with a world wide design audience. A collab with designer and artist Julia Gamborg Nielsen, these stunners are a graphic interpretation of African masks, skillfully woven of palm leaves. I. Want. Them. ALL.

There’s lots more must-haves from People of the Sun to check out right here.

Elizara, one of the master weavers behind the Abstract Masks collection

Part of the fun for me in putting these posts together is the hunt. Trawling through everything that’s out there to find the creativity that makes me think, yeah, there is so much great stuff worth digging into. So, I hope you’re enjoying reading these missives as much as I enjoy pulling the threads on the things that I find inspiring.

Scroll up! Today we leap between the creative scenes in London and Paris, and then finish up with a little something in Montreal.

Cheers, Arren

Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of Bold British Design from photographer Sarah Hogan and writer and creative director Emilio Pimentel-Reid. It’s chockablock with creative talents and inspiring interiors and a must-have for any design-driven bookshelf or well-appointed coffee table.

Pimentel-Reid captured exactly why this book’s theme resonates with me in an interview with interior designer Kit Kemp for her blog, “The designers are bold not just in the sense of being colourful or quirky like illustrator Camilla Perkins, they are deeply original, fearless in their interior choices, either breaking the mould or pushing the boundaries of creativity. Designer and environmentalist, Sebastian Cox, for example has his own woodland from which he harvests timber for his furniture and even grows light shades out of fungus.

They are also bold in personal ways, often unconstrained by rules, joyful (none more so than British Nigerian Yinka Ilori) and courageous both in how an individual product is made or how disparate elements are combined in a room. They also each exemplify many of the characteristics that make this country unique: a sense of humour and an appreciation for history, craft and modernity.”

While you can definitely snap up a copy on Amazon, please support your local independent bookstore!

I’ll always applaud a well edited vignette, and this one is - excuse my French - some next level shit. It’s found in the Parisian Directoire period apartment of fashion designer Alexis Mabille, and is actually in the kitchen - Can you even? A close perusal of the shelf reveals a collection that includes artwork by Adrien Dirand and Louis-Marie de Castelbajac, along with two Alberto Giacometti plaster heads. But the pop, if you will, is that surprising slew of classic blue Wedgwood Jasperware. Grandmothers beware, your china cabinet may imminently get raided…

With interiors by go-to French architecture and design firm, Humbert & Poyet, you’ll definitely want to see more. Head here to AD for the full reveal, then click here to see a more relaxed, personal take on the space by The Socialite Family.

You can count me as a new fan of Montreal-based design firm, Anthology Creative Studio. Helmed by Kathia Lagacé-Nadon & Karim Guelmi, the firm’s interiors feel perfectly layered and collected over time, and are a natural fit with the #slowdesign movement.

And this kitchen? Well, it’s a stunner, with acres of countertops and dark blue cabinetry, not to mention all the copper fixturing. While copper has long been touted as a hot metal tone for interiors, it’s rare to see it used so well. I know you want to see more, so click here to see the rest of what Anthology Creative Studio has dubbed their Bohemian Vintage apartment.

Bold, Blue, Boho

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