Objects with a Past, Spaces with a Story
A Summer edit of collectible objects, gallery highlights, and antiques that inspire.
Hello dear reader,
For new readers: I’m Anna, a London-based interior designer and gallery owner, located at 39 Old Church Street, with a passion for thoughtful design, craftsmanship, and storytelling. Sharing my world here…
Summer in London reminds me of why I love this city. Every day as I stroll to and from the gallery, I pass my favourite buildings along the Chelsea embankment that are filled with history and interesting facts.
We are lucky to be able to admire The Wright’s Dairy from the window of our gallery on a daily basis, a quirky artefact left from the late 1800s, when cows once grazed behind the shop to supply Chelsea’s freshest milk. Over time, the dairy evolved from a bustling family business into something quite unexpected: in the 1960s, the old slate-lined building was transformed into a recording studio - Sound Techniques Ltd, we touched on this last month - where artists like Pink Floyd and Elton John captured some of their earliest work.
I love the legacy of creativity that lives on our beautiful street!
From Our Collection
On the lower ground floor of our gallery, you’ll find a small composition of pieces that I find whimsical and wonderful. The vintage Ukrainian ceramic horses are one of my favourite decorative objects, and very collectible. These charming figures were mainly produced in the 1960s, and horse figures remain very popular in Ukraine. The horse as a motif has inspired everyone from folk artists to Picasso.
Below you can see how lovely they look among our other accessories and paintings by SOC.I.A.
In the salon area of the gallery, you’ll find another collaborative cushion created with SOC.I.A (the first I featured last month). The dynamic artist duo is one of my favourite artists at the moment, and their paintings are on view throughout our space.
They describe their art process as “a sensual drawing of music,” inspired partly by the visual energy of Clockwork Orange, where sound and image collide into something almost hypnotic. I love how their work is so graphic, and translating it onto a cushion, layered with embroidery and texture, brings that same spirit into a more intimate scale.
The paintings themselves feel poetic and abstract, but also pleasing to the eye. A balance of colour and movement that makes them easy to live with, while still sparking curiosity. The cushion helps to integrate art into a room, making it look more cohesive.
Out and About
It’s been a perfect few weeks in London as the design activations piled up, almost every night of the week accounted for as I headed from event to event, catching up with old friends and neighbors from my days on Pimlico Road.
I spent an afternoon at the Treasure House Fair, and this year found myself more drawn to the specialist antiques on display than ever before. With everything going on in the world, I feel an even deeper appreciation for pieces shaped by history.
I kept imagining how these unique objects, with all their stories, could sit beautifully in a contemporary home.
Once again, I thank you, my dear readers and friends, for coming along on this month’s design journey. I hope you enjoyed it.
Anna
xxx
treasurehouse fair was a great one! Love that creepy owl