Last week was a busy one particularly as we were trying to catch a couple of exhibitions before they close and while also making a whistle stop tour of London Craft Week, all in one day!
So we headed East, to start with a morning of Josef Frank (1885 - 1967), a sensational exhibition, Patterns - Furniture - Painting, a celebration of his work, Frank is an Austrian architect and designer, at the Fashion and Textile Museum. Josef Frank is an inspiration and looking at his work today he was well ahead of his time in his bold use of colour and pattern - "Whose textile designs continue to inspire with their unabashed colour and optimism" Fashion and Textile Museum. It is a stunning collection and wonderful to many see things in situ, a complete living room recreated.
Bermondsey is an unknown part of London to me so after our morning at the Fashion and Textile Museum Annie and I went our separate ways and I decided to make my way to Pimlico Road on foot, passing a few exciting spaces on route.
'London Craft Week is an exciting new journey to the roots of creativity that will inspire vocations" Vachereon Constantin.
There is literally anything from glass blowing to bespoke tailoring, jewelry to military uniform, unusual spaces/studios tucked away in every corner of London who have opened their doors to the public for five days. An exciting hive of activity of creativity and craftsmanship.
My most exciting finds were a demonstration at Rose Uniacke (renowned interior designer and antiques dealer) with wallpaper historian and maker Allyson McDermott, meeting artistic silversmith, Hal Messel hosted by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler and Tom Raffield's installation of his sculptural steam-bent lights covering the trees of Orange Square.
Allyson McDermott demonstrated traditional methods of block printing alongside digital technologies to recreate and restore designs from the past three centuries.
Hal Messel exhibits the most incredible silver pieces, often one off commissions, combining silver and glass.
Having never seen Tom Raffield's lights in the flesh it was wonderful to see so many hung amongst the trees of varying sizes and designs, stunning.
Look out for our next chapter.
