Well we had an incredibly eventful May! It was one of those months where you look back and realise just how much ground was actually covered, and wonder how on earth you managed. It was a real mixture of Studio work and travel, and that combination always seems to set the pace for our team amongst everything else. We now have several new projects properly underway. Some are still in the very early stages – concepts, mood, site understanding. This is one of my favourite moments, imagining and shaping things in real time. Other projects are moving into more detailed phases, where we are seeing designs being realised, and feel the structure of the initial idea becoming clearer. Excitingly, following the official launches in Milan, we also have our Pinetti and THG Paris collaborations now out in the world and available for purchase – something I am extremely proud of. As always, travel has played a big part of the month with our team taking trips to Italy, Scotland and Croatia to visit some of our projects. We were also in Monaco for the Historic Grand Prix – where we will be returning this weekend for the F1 Grand Prix, in collaboration with Burgess.
Back in London, one of the real highlights of the month was attending the RHS Chelsea Flower Show before opening hours. A big thank you to Randle Siddeley. There is something quite extraordinary about seeing it in that brief window before the public arrives – so calm and still. It feels less like a big event and more like a working landscape coming into focus and you notice things you would never normally see. It was wonderful to see the Lady Garden Foundation awarded both a ‘Gold Medal’ and the ‘Best Construction’ for their ‘Silent No More’ display, a garden ‘designed to captivate, spark curiosity and open up uninhibited conversations about gynaecological health.’ It aims to break down stigma and enable conversation by creating both intimate and more open spaces for people to talk. I am so proud to be associated with their incredible work as an Ambassador for the organisation. The Incredible work by Darren Hawkes; ‘As a husband, father, and son to important women in my life, I want to help expand awareness amongst men and women, break taboos and shatter the silence to help save the lives of women in future generations.’ Afterwards, walking through Chelsea in Bloom felt like a natural continuation of that experience, where our Studio’s neighbourhood welcomes visitors from all over and the area transforms in such a playful, almost theatrical way. Shopfronts, façades and streets layered with flowers.
As we reach the middle of the year, the Studio is full and buzzing. Samples arriving, drawings being revised, conversations happening across desks: it feels active in the best way possible. There’s momentum, but also focus. And that’s where we are right now – between travel and work, observation and making, moving forward quite steadily into what’s next.
Katharine
