Melinda pulled me back to the quest at hand with espresso and seriously delicious homemade Apple & Pecan Cake (what doesn’t this woman do??), then proceeded to share in Technicolor detail, what’s hot in textiles this year.
If you’re home doesn’t have a dash of Where the Wild Things Are, then you are definitely not on-trend. Tribal textiles are handmade in some of the most remote villages of the world, using ancient techniques handed down over generations. Exquisitely chameleon in the way they are equally at home in a Burmese bamboo hut or Nigella Lawson's Edwardian home with Charles Saatchi in London. I really should borrow a Tribal piece from Topham Trading to test this theory in my little Daylesford cottage.
I’ve particularly fallen in love with Melinda's Kazakh felt rugs. The felt originates from flocks of sheep raised in the Kazakhstan Mountains by nomadic communities high. Intricate hand appliqué techniques are used to cut felt into complex patterns, then added to contrasting backgrounds. The rugs are so thick; they're like woollen central heating. If ever there was a beautiful example of provenance and Rural Couture, this is it!
Linen has and always will be the Grace Kelly of textiles. Timeless elegance that transcends eras, cultures and continents. With a quiet sophistication that evokes dreams of living in a castle, reading high brow books and marrying a Prince. Although, that could just be me projecting desperate hopefulness. In Paris, one of my favourite sights are the Literati sitting in Café de Flore, infamous second home for many an intellectual (including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Pablo Picasso), attired in well-worn linen shirts, rumpled and crumpled, taking on a certain languor and ease that comes with linen. In the linen kingdom, Belgian Linen is the Princess with Movie Star status. It has a crispness, finish, body and weave that are pure luxury.
I recently met Libeco (one of the oldest Belgian Linen Mills) and was taken through their Melbourne showroom. The classic naturalness and textures of their fabric is absolutely stunning. Whether used as upholstery, sheets or curtains, it oozes style. And as Coco Chanel says, “Style never goes out of Fashion.”
ART & CRAFTTextiles have always had their arty side, but the recent myriad of art and textile mergers has the stylish set turning their homes into mini textile art galleries. Usually I'm up there with the trendsetters, but in this instance I will quietly admit that my front room isn’t exactly the Guggenheim. However, it’s one step closer today after getting some striking Margo Selby cushions onto my sofa.
Margo Selby’s decorative work is the talk of stylistas from one end of Avenue des Champs-Élysées to the other; recognisable for its three-dimensional structure, striking colour and geometric pattern. The fabrics are all hand created by Margo on a handloom in her London studio then woven up by silk mills in the UK. Interestingly, Margo was able to open her studio in 2003 with the help of a development grant from the UK Crafts Council. Previously I thought of craft as lady toilet roll holders made by Granma Knitting Groups. Not any more.
Now having dipped my toe in the wonderful world of interiors...can see an entire house make-over coming on. Wonder if Margo would consider exchanging Tweed Tea & Wellie books for cushions? Must ask.
Aside: All items pictured at Topham Traders, Daylesford
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