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Victoria Woodcock

@craftacularuk

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“Time travelling is my favourite fantasy,” says Geoff Howell.

I can’t think of a better introduction to Geoff (@detailsdiary), whose remarkable home in Athens, New York, was the subject of a recent story I wrote for @fthtsi

Geoff’s fascination with antiques began in childhood. At six or seven, he claimed a marble sculpture discovered in the basement, inscribing his name on it in ballpoint pen. His great-aunt Dolly, with a South Orange apartment filled with treasures and stories from her ‘party girl’ days, introduced him to the word ‘ormolu’, a memory he still recalls with great affection.

These early encounters informed his lifelong curiosity about objects and the histories they hold. His 1866 Italianate is filled with these dossiers. A kitchen stove that belonged to his mother, bedrooms devoted to the matriarchs who informed his sensibilities, and countless objects acquired through friendships and chance encounters, like the stained-glass panel purchased on eBay that allegedly belonged to a film star. “Needless to say, a day doesn’t go by when I don’t wonder who it was.” he says.

What stayed with me most was Geoff’s description of the pleasure he takes in his home, even after more than twenty years. He still pinches himself walking downstairs in the morning. I find that enormously moving. His home is a love letter to the people who have shaped his life, and to remain so delighted by the world he’s built is an inspiring accomplishment. 🤍
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Words and image styling: @lizgrdnr
Photography: @taylorhallobrien
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Special thanks to @jellison22 @craftacularuk @katiefcwebb

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In 2021, brothers Robbe and Nik Vandewyngaerde left their respective jobs in architecture to launch, alongside friend Oskar Eryatmaz, a “platform” for artists. “We always say that this is a passion project that got out of hand,” says Eryatmaz of @objectswithnarratives, as the trio prepare to open their new space. @francescaperry_editorwriter steps inside ahead of its public unveiling at the link in bio. ⁠
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📸: @frederik_vercruysse⁠
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#objectswithnarratives #antwerp⁠

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Artists and designers are rediscovering the wonder of the fifth wall, trading white paint for colourful murals. At the link in bio, @ali__morris__writes looks up at soulful skycapes and cubist landscapes. ⁠
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📸: (1, 3) © Fife Arms (2) © @tessnewallstudio ⁠
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#ceilingmural #interiordesign ⁠

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“Time travelling is my favourite fantasy,” says Geoff Howell (@detailsdiary) whose Italianate home in Athens, upstate New York, is a cache of eclectic finds. Howell is the founder of @geoffhowellstudio - a visual merchandising and design business that, over the past 43 years, has created sets for cultural institutions including the Whitney Museum and the American Museum of Natural History and brands such as Gucci and Tiffany & Co. But his home is a dense canvas of antiques, curios and ephemera in which each room takes on the character of a still life. @lizgrdnr writes about it in this weekend’s @fthtsi. Pictures by @taylorhallobrien

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The home of the late, great Harriet Raymond is a “whimsically layered world“, writes @jacnyc of the interior designer's former house in Los Angeles. “Almost every surface is adorned with fanciful objects: west African figures, pieces of coral and Dalí-esque hand sculptures.“ Raymond, who furnished homes for much of Hollywood including Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, died last year. At the link in bio, her granddaughter @kateklau opens the doors to the property one last time before it changes hands. ⁠
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📸: (1,3,4,5) Harriet Raymond’s Beverly Hills home © @rogerdaviesphotography /OTTO, (2) Harriet Raymond and her business partner Diane Keith in their antiques store, 1972 ⁠
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#Interiors #HarrietRaymond #LosAngeles #BeverlyHills

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To the manor reborn.

In this week’s @fthtsi @craftacularuk explores the renovation of a dishevelled 17th-century Wiltshire manor by @richardparrassociates for social historian Tamsin Wimhurst and her husband Mike Muller.

Respectfully restoring deteriorated historic elements, and uncovering lost ones; modern, crafted additions include a walled pool garden and the creation of a new stair hall, which connects two previously separated wings of the manor.

Garden by @arnemaynardgardendesign
Photography by @edrollitt
With thanks to @jellison22 @katiefcwebb

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Tamsin Wimhurst has a thing for saving houses. Her latest rescue? A dishevelled 17th-century Wiltshire manor complete with avocado bathrooms, a dodgy Elizabethan staircase and, fortunately, very good bones. Five years later, it has a 20m pool, a “Christmas wing” for 20 family members and a larder for pickling homegrown vegetables – but its history remains firmly intact thanks to @richardparrassociates . @craftacularuk steps inside the home Wimhurst and her husband Mike Muller have made fit for another 100 years, at the link in bio.⁠
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📸: @edward_rollitt⁠
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#manorhouse #interiors #Wiltshire

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Pinch me🍀 My-maybe biased-insight on Japanese homes is in the @fthtsi sumptuous, substantial New Heritage design issue. Thank you gazillion @jellison22 and @craftacularuk for carving out precious 2 pages for me.
Picture by Ben Richards and Kenta Hasegawa

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For @fthtsi I went behind the scenes at @royalcopenhagen, to see how this 251-year-old porcelain house is navigating the task of preserving heritage while challenging itself to respond to the evolving culture and consumer habits of today. As creative director @jaspertoronnielsen told me, people are “emotionally invested” in Royal Copenhagen; “it’s part of the fabric of Denmark.” I toured its factory on the outskirts of the Danish capital in June, observing the painstaking detail and astonishing skill at play in the production process. I talked to craftspeople that had been there for decades. “It’s like a family,” said Bo Jørgensen, who has only just retired after 51 years as a master modeller in the factory. His parents also worked there.

I loved lifting the (hand-painted and glazed) lid on this particular world of heritage craftsmanship, and am so thrilled to be part of HTSI’s autumn design special (and featured on the contributors’ page too!). Thank you to @craftacularuk for the commission and expert edit (what a stellar job on this bumper issue, wowow), to @katie___richardson for bringing this opportunity to me, to @lirvaganaid for coordinating visits and navigating my endless questions, to @stineholtejensen for sharing insights and stories, and of course to @jaspertoronnielsen, and to @jellison22. Please enjoy the sumptuous photos by @mathias.eis too! 🤍🫖🤍

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Interior designer @_thurstan offers us a guide to the Provençal town of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, an interior Mecca boasting more than 300 permanent antique dealers. His advice? Get there early, look at everything and don’t make rash decisions. “You have to be mindful that by about 11am most people are having a glass of red,” he tells @craftacularuk “and joining in is one of the perks. Dealers will force you to sit down and drink some cheap but amazing wine. It’s all very un-English – and makes the whole process really enjoyable.” Read more at @fthtsi
Pictures by @clairegaby

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The atelier of Roberto Fumagalli and Mario Dossi, the makers of the largest gipsoteca (from the Greek gypsos – plaster – and teca – collection or repository) in Italy, and one of the last remaining. Today @gipsotecafumagallidossi is the largest provider of plaster casts to the country’s arts schools. They also make sculptors for private collectors, set designers and fashion houses, when the need arises. @mariashollenbarger checks out the heads of Achilles, Niobe and Nike; the Ancient Greek physique of the British Museum’s 2,500-year-old Strangford Apollo; the birth of Aphrodite from the Ludovisi Throne, and a 460BC marble bas-relief now in the Palazzo Altemps museum in Rome among other plaster treasures. Full story in this weekend’s paper. Pictures by @stefangiftthaler

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In Print | Financial Times | The Chelsea Collection

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