14th December
This & Tat By Gabby Deeming, Founder of Daydress &
Former Creative Director Of House & Garden.
We haven't done This & Tat for a while but let's go out with a bang! Gabby Deeming is that bang. There are few people whose judgement I hold in higher regard. She was my boss for three and a half years at House & Garden, and I am not sure there could be a better interiors education. When she sent me the below, it felt like I received a bundle of beauty, and there is no surprise there as that is Gabby's USP!
Instagram @day.dress & Website www.daydress.co.uk
Buy it now, or regret it forever! The atelier in Jaipur of artist Brigitte Singh will cease block printing at the end of this year. Sad for the world of excellent textiles but exciting for Brigitte, I hope! I'm sure she has plans up her sleeve. Her amazing designs are treasured by those who know and love her work. The famous Mughal poppy design is in the V&A, and you'll recognise it, if not from the real thing, then from a million knock-offs on the streets of Jaipur! Available metrage can be ordered through Aleta
When I worked at House and Garden, I was often amazed at the price of some fabrics (especially if you need 20 metres to cover a sofa), which is why I love to promote the amazing hand-loomed cotton that Warris Vianni produce in South India. The shades are beautiful, and it's yarn-dyed, so there's a great depth to the colour and it's very well priced.
As of 2021, mere mortals can rent Jasper Conran's idyllic property in Lindos on
Rhodes. The interiors are a dream. Pick your favourite book set on a Greek
Island pre 1950's and pretend to be the heroine/hero. Heaven!
I discovered Lydia's work at House & Garden, quite a few years ago now. She had just graduated, and I remember her bringing a hand-pressed terracotta lampshade to Vogue House carefully wrapped up inside her rucksack. I have loved seeing her work evolve over the years. I really admire her playful restraint with pattern and colour.
Between Ahmedabad and Udaipur is the small town of Dungarpur and an
absolute treasure of an ancient palace. Built like a tower and as romantic as can be, every inch is covered in extraordinarily painted patterns and mirrors, and there's even a room of old willow pattern plates! Stay in the Udai Bilas palace hotel (new palace) and enjoy spotting a few upholstered props from a two decades-old World of Interiors shoot!
Jaipur-based designer, Marie-Anne Oudejan's decorative vision has had a
huge impact on interiors and fashion inside and outside of India. Stripes, zig
zags and Mughal blooms wrap themselves around every available surface and
her colour palette is a joyful punch in the face. This is the new hotel 'Villa
Palladio' in Jaipur.
Villa Palladio, Jaipur
About ten years ago, I found Makoto's pottery in a small gallery on Marylebone High St and fell in love at once! His designs are so pleasing, charming, and so simple. No easy task, let me tell you. His signature black glaze with coloured
flowers are my favourite piece. You can only buy through Messums in the UK, and they cost quite a lot more than they did all those years ago. I just enjoy the beautiful images he posts on Instagram.
Cawley Studio is a small made-to-order brand based in London. As well as
some lovely dresses, their sheepskin coats are just fabulous (and available to
buy straightaway). I bought myself one as a big treat, and I know I'll wear it
forever!
Cawley Studio
I split my time between London, Jaipur and Devon and the opening of Osteria
Emilia has really perked up the Devon end of things. Run by Clare Lattin and
Tom Hill of Duck Soup fame it's like the best tiny Italian you discover on your
holiday and can't believe your luck!
Osteria Emilia
I've been doing Daydress full-time for 1.5 years, and I finally feel like I'm making the sort of dresses I hoped to when I first began my Indian block print journey. The bamboo tower that the models are leaning on are everywhere in Jaipur, used by builders and painters as platforms for all sorts of work. I had three made and painted them white for the models to clamber over and I've painted another table height pair gloss red for our house in Jaipur.
Fabien makes these raffia lamps in his atelier in Paris. I love them all, but this
has been a favourite. If I had a house in Italy or the South of France, this lamp
would definitely have a spot somewhere.
