The Cut – Spring/Summer 23

By Stafford Collection

2 Years Ago

Here’s a selection of our favourite brands, events and things to do this season…

Launer

Royal Warrant holder Launer, has been established for more than 80 years. They are renowned for their exquisite leather bags and accessories, handcrafted in the heart of England in a Grade II listed building. The fine workmanship, exceptional leather and meticulous attention to detail are recognised by discerning customers who seek the very best in quiet luxury. Synonymous with crafting objects of desire featuring structured silhouettes and their signature twisted rope emblem, a recognisable sign of excellence.

Launer is a luxury online destination available by Made to Order with a Special Commissions showroom in the heart of the West End in Regent Street, strictly by appointment . The brand is also stocked at Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges in the UK and internationally in Japan, Korea, USA and Italy. The ultimate in refined luxury for men and women, since 1941.

launer.com

Sarah Monk Ceramics

Sarah Monk studied at Bath Spa University where she graduated with a BA (Hons) in Ceramics. She met fellow potter Jon Williams there, they married and set up their studio in 1994 at Eastnor Pottery, near Ledbury, in Herefordshire. Her designs are vibrant, delightful and functional. She makes small batch slipware, no more than eight items, keeping ideas fresh and her work highly individual.

She collaborates with her husband to offer pottery experiences from Eastnor Pottery & The Flying Potter. They run creative short courses and workshops which are open to individuals and groups of all ages and abilities.

sarahmonkceramics.co.uk

PickOne

After graduating from art school in 1993, James Donald established his handwoven label, PickOne, in 1997 and currently works from two studio spaces within the creative Coburg House Art Studios complex, based in the Shore area of Leith, in Edinburgh.

Current collections are based on the slow craft of sashiko stitching, a Japanese embroidery technique, where the “stitched marks” are woven into the fabric as part of the structure of the cloth. His preferred yarn of choice is British merino lambswool giving a rich, comforting and heritage aesthetic to the PickOne brand of Scottish-made handwoven products.

pickone.co.uk

Please & Thank You

Please & Thank You is a luxury British soap brand with in-built kindness. Beautiful little bars of everyday indulgence, with naturally derived ingredients, premium fragrances and triple refined for a luscious lather. Every soap is 100% vegan, cruelty-free and sustainably packaged. But that’s not all. For every one you buy, another is donated to someone in need.

Having a purpose and helping others is at the heart of Please & Thank You. The brand was created in the depths of lockdown by a group of soap-loving industry insiders with a shared desire that something positive should come out of 2020. Every fragrance is inspired by the gentle beauty of the British Isles. Bestsellers include ‘Breezy at the Beach,’ a delicately coastal scent with Marine and Sandalwood, and ‘Eat Your Greens,’ a surprisingly sophisticated ‘salad’ scented hand soap with notes of Melon, Lettuce and Cucumber.

pleaseandthankyou.co.uk

Irish Art Plus

Tucked away, just off the beaten track, and about 10 miles from the picturesque North Antrim Coast and the renowned Glens of Antrim, you will find one of Northern Ireland’s leading art galleries.

Based in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, Irish Art Plus are a family-run business, specialising in the promotion and supply of a fine array of highly desirable, original art created by a wide range of notable Irish artists past and present. Since their launch 25 years ago from their ever evolving physical gallery, the team at Irish Art Plus have, over the years, developed a strong online presence with a significant international following. Artworks are successfully shipped to a growing client base across the globe, mainly to the USA, Canada and Australia.

In more recent years, the gallery has successfully created their own framing division. All of the pieces sold are framed under the guidance of an expert in-house Fine Art Trade Guild certified Picture Framer. In many cases this is done with client input, on the choice of framing style and colouring. The gallery takes pride in ensuring that each piece of artwork purchased will be framed, packaged and dispatched with the utmost care, so that it will arrive at its destination in perfect condition.

irishartplus.com

Georg Jensen

Georg Jensen is proud to announce the opening of their new standalone Silver Gallery in London’s prestigious Grafton Street. The only Georg Jensen store in Europe that is entirely dedicated to silver homeware, it serves to highlight the superb craftsmanship and timeless design of the world-famous silversmiths. Silver, with its hard-wearing durability coupled with a unique seductive reflective quality, has always been central to the Georg Jensen world. Indeed, the master himself worked almost entirely in the precious metal in his Copenhagen-based smithy at the start of the 20th Century.

From Art Nouveau masterpieces like the spectacular grape-adorned wine coolers and candelabras to sleek and sculptural modernist bowls and bar accessories, the Gallery’s selection shows the rich heritage of Georg Jensen’s superb craftsmanship and extraordinary design skills.

Open by appointment only, the store features a separate lounge-like area allowing clients a relaxing and stylish environment in which they can select the perfect pieces to add to their homes.

georgjensen.com

Eva Cassidy

Prior to her death in 1996, aged just 33, the American singer Eva Cassidy was largely unknown — an independent artist performing covers at local venues with no notable success beyond her native Washington, D.C. More than a quarter of a century later, over 10 million albums have been bought worldwide, and Eva’s versions of songs such as Songbird, Time After Time, Autumn Leaves and Ain’t No Sunshine often overshadow the originals.

The latest chapter in an unparalleled posthumous career, I Can Only Be Me is a landmark new collaborative album with the London Symphony Orchestra to mark what should have been her 60th birthday.

Eva’s original vocal parts from the now legendary Blues Alley performance in ’96 are woven with stunning orchestral arrangements by the acclaimed composers Christopher Willis and William Ross. The result sees Eva’s vocals truly shine, as an overwhelming reminder of the enduring power of her voice.

evacassidy.lnk.to/ICanOnlyBeMe

Adèkó & Co

Adèkó & Co. is an independent, multi-disciplinary design studio that specialises in storytelling, often through space and materiality, founded and led by Tolù Adèkó. Stories are powerful, and strong brands are built around them. Every facet of every project is carefully considered and chosen for a reason—to tell a unique story. The Studio takes a holistic approach to design, collaborating with artisans, craftsmen, and makers to create a unified aesthetic that is timeless, yet globally contemporary.

Tolù is the visionary behind Adèkó & Co. He has worked on several prominent residential and international hospitality projects including: Maze Grill Restaurant; The Ritz, Edition, W, Hilton, and Marriott hotels; and MSC, Norwegian, and Viking cruise lines. Born in Nigeria, Tolù moved to London in 1995. In his teens, he was mentored by Sir Terence Conran on furniture design and honed his artistic flair at Camberwell College of Arts, London. He later attained his Interior Design BA Hons degree at Bournemouth University and developed a distinctive aesthetic characterised by classic luxury with attention to detail, craft, and functionality. Tolù is a proud member of the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) and The Society of British and International Interior Designers (SBID).

adeko.co

Nant Designs

Carole King of Nant Designs makes her hand-bound sketchbooks, notebooks and journals in her studio in west Wales where she has lived and worked for almost twenty years.

The rural landscape Carole is surrounded by inspires many of the patterns and designs used to cover her hand bound books. Initial drawings are developed into repeating patterns and transferred to silkscreens, with each colour then individually handprinted to produce multicolour designs on both paper and cloth. Each volume is hand-stitched and bound using traditional techniques and quality materials. Paper-covered books have cloth spines and corners to make them functional and long-lasting and many are enhanced with handsewn headbands or spines with decorative stitching.

Sizes range from pocket-sized mini books to chunky A5 sketchbooks and larger sizes. Commissions welcome.

nantdesigns.co.uk