Fromental: Objects Collection
Known for their lavish, handcrafted wallcoverings, London-based design studio Fromental ventures into the world of art and accessories with the launch of their ‘Objects’ collection.
‘Objects’ is a collection that consists of cushions, wall hangings and decorative artworks, the brand’s first solo foray into the world of decorative objects. The concept for the collection came during the Covid-19 lockdowns when Fromental co-founder and design director Lizzie Deshayes unexpectedly found herself with the time and space to indulge a long-held passion for needlepoint.
“Needlepoint is seen as a very domestic craft, but I became obsessed with the idea of elevating it to something very special. I knew the time was right when two needlepoint furniture pieces by Pierre Chareau and Jean Lurçat fetched eye-watering prices at Christie’s. That was the green light to really go for it.” – Lizzie Deshayes
Designed in London by Deshayes, and meticulously handcrafted by the studio’s partners in Calcutta, the cushion and wall-hanging designs draw inspiration from a wide range of sources, including archive prints, 14th-century tapestries and the Japanese-influence European ceramics.
This theme of Euro-Asian cultural exchange – already a hallmark of the brand’s wallcovering designs – is continued in a series of bird paintings, hand-rendered onto silk and presented in gilded bamboo frames. Having acquired around 400 coloured prints of European birds created from paintings by French ornithological artists in the 1950s, Fromental co-founder Tim Butcher selected his favourites to be interpreted by Fromental’s artists at their studios in Wuxi, China.
“These paintings are our homage to the great Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian Jesuit missionary who served as an artist at the imperial court in 18th-century China and who pioneered the fusion of European and Chinese traditions. What we were looking for was a reasonably faithful interpretation of the original ornithological prints, but through a Chinese lens.” – Tim Butcher
This first collection of objects encapsulates all the things Fromental has become known for exceptional artistry, remarkable quality, and the witty use of historical references. Handmade by the studio’s team of extraordinary craftsmen, the pieces are available in limited numbers from the brand’s website. https://fromental.co.uk/