Stores

6 Ways To Shop At Heal’s

At Heal’s there are many ways you can shop with us. From visiting one of our showrooms to booking a virtual consultation, our team is here to finesse your shopping experience. In this article we talk you through the six different ways you can shop at Heal’s. Via Heals.com Our website is the place to go to see all our lighting, furniture and accessories in one place. When shopping online you can personalise your experience in many ways. For example, use our upholstery tool to design your own sofa or armchair. Similarly, you can create your own table design by combining different legs and tabletops to suit your home. The only part of the shopping process that involves contact is the delivery. To keep them as safe as possible, we’ve made sure all our deliveries are socially distanced. Via the Heal's online chat Our in-store advisors are here to help throughout the working day via online chat. Our anonymous messaging service can be found in the bottom right-hand corner when you’re using your desktop. Every member of the team is based in one of our stores and can communicate with you via chat, photos and live video. Want to see a product in more detail without booking an appointment? Online chat is a good choice. Via our Telesales team Whether you’re looking for more information about an item or need advice our Telesales team is ready to help. This is a great choice if you’d rather speak to someone on the phone as they’re there to help throughout the working day. Plus, you don’t need to schedule an appointment. Get in touch with our Telesales team here. Via virtual consultations We have introduced virtual consultations so that you can experience our stores without leaving the comfort of your home. During your virtual consultation, a member of our design team will tour you around the store via video chat. They can zoom in closer to any details you’d like to inspect or give their recommendations for what you need. Like what you hear? Book yours now. Visit a Heal's store Visiting one of our showrooms means you can really interact with our designs in a safe environment. Plus, our consultants are on hand to offer you as much, or as little, help as you need. If you wish to try a piece of furniture like a mattress or sofa, we have ways to do so safely. This includes placing a plastic sheet between your and the furniture which is then disposed of once you’ve finished. Want to know more about what we’re doing to keep you safe? You can find a full list of our social distancing measures here. Via private consultations Private consultations are ideal if you’d like to visit one of our showrooms outside of busier hours. We’ve reserved the first hour of every day for these private consultations. Each appointment is one hour long and available from 11am until 12pm before our store opens. A member of our specialist design team will greet you and assist you throughout the store in the safest possible conditions. This means you can peruse our offering without encountering queues along the way. But hurry! There are only five appointments available each day, so book yours soon.

Events

Dinner With The Designers 2019

Kicking off London Design Festival 2019 in epic proportions, the 7th annual Dinner with the Designers saw industry behemoths wined and dined at the Heal’s flagship store. For one night only, the Tottenham Court Road showroom was transformed to celebrate the best in British design. The event saw a host of internationally renowned designers including Tom Raffield, Lucy Kurrein, Matthew Hilton and Magnus Long gather under one roof. Who Eighty specially selected journalists and influencers from the interiors and art world rubbed shoulders with Heal’s designers, past and present, to celebrate a year of innovation. Dinner with the Designers presents the rare opportunity to gather so many of the world’s best-known designers and emerging talents in one room. Furthermore, artists featured in the Heal’s x Slade collaboration were also on hand to answer questions about their artwork. What First, guests were greeted with a champagne reception and the chance to view the Heal’s x Slade installation after hours. Secondly, seated on Philippe Starck’s iconic Ghost Chairs, they were treated to a four course meal by Milli Taylor. The impeccably laid table was adorned with bouquets from Highgate Flowers that were specially designed to complement the surrounding art. Finally, entertainment was provided in the form of live music from jazz trio The Night & Day Collective. When Unfortunately London Design Festival is now over until next year. For 2019, Dinner with the Designers accompanied our Heal’s x Slade exhibition. Set in the entrance of our London store, the installation exhibited work by Slade School of Fine Art graduates. The installation featured paintings, sculpture and even the columns at the front of the Tottenham Court Road store were dressed in fabric designed by Boon & Baum. Find out more information about the featured artists here.

Events

What To See At LDF 2019

The most anticipated citywide celebration of design is back for its seventeenth year. Kicking off on the 14th September, London Design Festival celebrates the best art and design our capital has to offer. A highlight of the design lovers’ calendar, LDF 2019 was as exciting as ever. To ensure you did’t miss out, we handpicked some of the most exciting events, installations and exhibitions to see during London Design Festival. Beazley Designs of the Year at London Design Museum West Kensington Design District Every year, London Design Museum plays host to the Beazley Designs of the Year competition. Selecting the world’s most innovative designs from the past year, the exhibition features graphics, fashion, digital, architecture, product and transport. Running from 11th September 2019 until 9th February 2020, this exhibition is a must-see during LDF 2019. Discover more about the exhibition here. ‘A Second Life’ by sketch and Matter of Stuff Mayfair Design District In 2019, everyone’s favourite Mayfair restaurant, sketch, was transformed by design and manufacturing consultant, Matter of Stuff. Running throughout LDF and until November, the exhibition, entitled ‘A Second Life’, showcased designs made using salvaged wooden dowels. As part of the exhibition, the restaurant’s entrance featured an installation by RIBA award-winning architects PiM.Studio. Find out more about the installation and sketch’s accompanying cocktail list here. Heal's x Slade at the Mansard Gallery Tottenham Court Road To celebrate LDF 2019, Heal’s collaborated with Slade School of Fine Art to showcase artwork by its recent graduates. The carefully curated exhibition was set in the former location of the Mansard Gallery on Tottenham Court Road. Paintings, sculptures and textile designs by up-and-coming designers were available to view throughout the week. Head over to the Blog to discover more about the artists featured in the installation. ‘Please Be Seated’ by Paul Cocksedge Shoreditch Design Triangle In honour of LDF 2019, Finsbury Avenue Square was transformed by British designer Paul Cocksedge. The large-scale installation, entitled ‘Please Be Seated’, was crafted using disused scaffolding planks. Created to enhance the pedestrianized neighbourhood, its curved design provided seating, shelter and shade. See the installation and find out more about the inspiration behind it here. 'Disco Carbonara' at Coal Drops Yard King's Cross Design District For LDF 2019, King’s Cross’ renewed neighbourhood, Coal Drop’s Yard, became home to an epic installation by Martino Gamper. Specifically designed to adorn the building’s façade, the design offered a fresh take on traditional cladding. Gamper’s design was inspired by Potemkin villages from the 1700s, which consisted of ‘fake buildings’ built to feign a prosperous Russian empire. Celebratory drinks were held at Samsung KX on Wednesday 18th September. Unfortunately LDF is now over until next year. Sign up to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss out on upcoming events, competitions and exclusive launches again.

Events

Heal’s X Slade: Meet The Artists

For LDF19, Heal’s collaborated with Slade School of Fine Art to create a curated exhibition in its Mansard Gallery. The exhibition showcased a selection of work by some of Slade’s recent graduates. Based in the Tottenham Court Road gallery, it featured painting, sculpture as well as textile designs. We dug deep to find out a little more about the innovative artists and designers behind the exhibition. CASSANDRE GREENBERG A writer as well as an artist, Cassandre Greenberg combines both mediums in her work. By fusing literature, crafting methods and technology, Greenberg’s work has earned its place in exhibitions across the United Kingdom. Her work has been featured in the Institute of Contemporary Arts, the IMT Gallery, SPACE Studios and Auto Italia South East. FEIYI WEN This accomplished artist boasts a multifaceted approach to design, working with photographs, moving image, sound and installation. With a focus on Eastern Asian aesthetics, her photography recently won her the LensCulture Black and White award. With a master’s in Fine Art Photography from the RCA, Wen is currently completing her PhD at the Slade. JOHNNY IZATT-LOWRY Living and working in London, Johnny Izatt-Lowry graduated from the Slade in 2019. His portfolio of distinctive drawings and paintings expresses his fascination with everyday objects. SARAH TEW Sarah Tew’s unique approach to art explores the physical interaction between different materials. Her portfolio includes reinventing urban spaces and a visual exploration into landscape painting. Her art has been exhibited across London and in her native Cumbria. JOHANNA BADOU With a degree in Fine Art from Central St. Martins and a master's from Slade, Johanna Badou was a natural choice for the LDF installation. Her art questions the world around her and focuses on topics such as her relationship to time and space. She has worked, lived and exhibited in the cities of São Paulo, Marseille, London, Madrid, Munich and Beijing. HARRIET TAYLOR A recent graduate of the Slade, British artist Harriet Taylor now lives and works in London. The innovative artist uses colour and a subjective gaze to create the illusion of a parallel reality. Primarily working with oil paint on canvas, Taylor’s work evokes an emotional response. ARTHUR POUJOIS-CHRETIEN Now living and working in Paris, Slade graduate Arthur Poujois-Chretien also studied at the New York Studio School and the Sorbonne. The multifaceted sculptor, painter and writer is fascinated by the complexity of the self and the imaginary. He seeks to expose the viewer to linked memories and feelings through his artwork. “My work is an ongoing process, which begins from writing, drawing, collecting images and photographing” Arthur Poujois-Chretien. JAVIER MONDRAGON SANCHEZ Mexico-born artist Javier Mondragon Sanchez has perfected his art by studying at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions. Having graduated from Slade this year, he is continuing his studies at The Courtauld Institute. Mondragon Sanchez 's work on display reflects his multi-disciplinary approach to art. GAL SCHINDLER Born in Tel Aviv but living and working in London, Gal Schindler graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art with a first-class degree in 2019. The skilled painter works primarily with oil on canvas and was the recipient of the Henry Tonks Prize in 2017. Above all, this prestigious award recognises Schindler’s excellence and achievement in drawing. JIONE CHOI South Korean artist Jione Choi is inspired by the human relationships she encountered in her youth. Through her art, Choi cleverly examines the complexity of emotions and their interaction with others. Living far away from her family, her art also focuses on concepts such as physical and psychological distance between people. “I create art about human relationships, memory and emotions. The human mind is like a mixture of various emotions, and we can absorb all of them.” Jione Choi. PAMELA BARTLETT Since graduating with a degree in Fine Art from Slade, Bartlett has gone on to study for an MA at the RCA. Her work on display at the Mansard Gallery demonstrates perfectly her skillful way of working with oil paints. The Heal’s LDF installation is just one of the exhibitions Bartlett’s work has been featured in across the globe. Her paintings have been displayed in Helsinki, Amsterdam and Moscow, as well as London. BOON & BAUM Joe Boon and Anna Baumgart form collaborative duo Boon & Baum. They draw upon their shared experience in fashion design to explore society and identity. Despite using fashion design as their main medium, the duo also works with performance, video and sculptural interventions. Unfortunately LDF is now over until next year. Sign up to our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss out on upcoming events, competitions and exclusive launches again.

Heritage

Heal’s And 100 Years Of Bauhaus

2019 marks 100 years since the founding of the Bauhaus, one of art and design's most influential movements. Characterised by clean, streamlined design, it's had a lasting and widespread impact on everything from architecture to furniture design. Heal's was one of the first retailers to introduce Bauhaus to the UK under the guidance to of Ambrose Heal. In this blog, we’re taking a look back at our close ties with the Bauhaus and its influence on design today. What was the Bauhaus? The Bauhaus was a German art school established by Walter Gropius in 1919. His vision was to bridge the gap between art and industry by combining architecture, sculpture, and painting into a single creative expression. Prior to his way of thinking, architecture and design were held in higher esteem that craftsmanship and production, but Gropius wanted to reimagine the material world to reflect the unity of all the arts. Its slogan, “Art into Industry”, highlights the key concepts of Bauhaus design – functional and simple designs that have been stripped down to their basic elements making them suited to mass production. Teachers and students from the Bauhaus school designed some of the 20th century’s most iconic pieces of furniture, including the Barcelona, Wassily, and Brno chairs. Heal’s and the Bauhaus The Bauhaus spearheaded a wave of experimental design that swept across northern Europe throughout the following decade. Meanwhile, in the UK, many homes were stuck in the Edwardian and Victorian era with highly decorative furnishings and heavy wallpapers and colours. However, ever the innovator, Ambrose Heal was determined to bring this new wave of international style to the UK and was one of the first retailers to do so. Through a series of exhibitions entitled ‘Modern Tendencies’, held within the stores Mansard Gallery, Ambrose Heal set about showcasing what was for many visitors their first taste of modernist furniture. The caption reads: "Mies Van Der Rohe's famous Barcelona chair at a new price! Now in chromium plated mild steel, to the designer's own specification - over £100 cheaper than the original stainless steel version. Presented for the first time in this country, at Heal's. That isn’t to say this new modernist style of furniture was an instant hit with UK audiences. There was an enormous hostility in Britain to the Bauhaus. Frank Pick, the famous design director of London Transport, once said, “Let us leave the continent to pursue their own tricks and go our own way traditionally," when discussing the design of the British Pavilion at the Paris Expo of 1937. Nevertheless, with each exhibition Heal’s spirit of innovation became more emboldened. In the midst of the Great Depression, Ambrose continued to champion the economy and efficiency of industrially styled furniture. He invested in nationwide promotional campaigns that championed ‘economy furniture’, one of which was ‘Economy with a Difference at Heal’s 1933’ which took a clear step in the Bauhaus direction. The catalogue featured chromium-plated steel furniture, including this chair designed by Mies van der Rohe which sold for £2 9s 6d. Magnus Englund, director and co-founder of Skandium, describes how Heal was very much ahead of his time. “What was interesting with the product was to see how on trend Heal’s has been through the years. They were the place to go for Arts & Crafts but they also embraced Modernism and quite a stark modernism early on in the late 1920s and early 1930s with black gloss paint and tubular steel, which wasn’t to everyone’s taste at the time.” The taste for modernist furniture had well and truly been established at Heal's and, in many ways, the store became a showcase for the movement. By 1936 an exhibition entitled ‘Contemporary Furniture by Seven Architects’ featured the work of another former Bauhaus professor Marcel Breuer. Having fled to London to escape the oppressive climate of Nazi Germany, Breuer began designing for progressive British manufacturer Isokon – whose head of design also happened to be the founder of the Bauhaus, Walter Gropius – with a number of these iconic pieces such as his Long Chair sold at Heal’s. The Bauhaus was eventually forced to close after 14 years with the rise of the Nazi regime. Yet the movement continued to influence designers for generations to come including some of the most recognised names today - Tom Dixon, Matthew Hilton and Philippe Starck's work all reference elements of the distinctive Bauhaus style. Heal's played an important part in the introduction of the Bauhaus to Britain, cementing its place in the design movement's history. We continue to champion new design styles to this day and take inspiration from Ambrose Heal, who saw the beauty of Bauhaus style before many others. For a deeper dive into the history of the Bauhaus, take a look at our Bauhaus100 Timeline.

Events

The Crown Costume Exhibition At Heal's

For the first time in the UK, costumes from the second season of the acclaimed series, The Crown, will be on display exclusively at Heal's Tottenham Court Road. Featuring five different designs from Season 2, visitors will be able to take a closer look at the pieces worn by Claire Foy, Vanessa Kirby, Lia Williams, Jodi Balfour and Alex Jennings in some of their most memorable scenes. Join us on the evening of Thursday 13th December for an exclusive discussion between The Crown Season 2's Costume Designer, Jane Petrie, and The Telegraph's Claire Cohen. Tickets are £5 and include a glass of prosecco on arrival at our Tottenham Court Road store. Book here > Ever since The Crown first hit television screens back in 2016, audiences around the world have been hooked to the royal drama with ever-increasing enthusiasm. Season 2 delivered a masterpiece in historical storytelling, blending the private and public events of the Royals through its dramatic instalments. Beginning with soldiers in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces fighting an illegal war in Egypt and ending with the downfall of her third Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, after a devastating scandal, the second season bears witness to the end of the age of deference, and ushers in the revolutionary era of the 1960s. Costume design played a vital part in the storytelling of Season 2 and it gave Emmy® award-winning Costume Designer, Jane Petrie, the opportunity to explore and reflect a transitional time in Queen Elizabeth’s life and marriage. The series plays out throughout the early 60s, a time when fashion and social attitudes were widely changing and the ‘out-of-touch’ monarchy had to adapt. Jane was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to talk to us about her experience of working on The Crown. Having worked on a number of feature films (The Constant Gardner, Suffragette) and TV series (Black Mirror, Top Boy), she joined The Crown for its second season. Five of Season 2's costumes are on display at our Tottenham Court Road store Research was key to her preparation for tackling Season 2, not just in terms of the royals but also the social backdrop of the time. “I had about 20 weeks of preparation before filming started to study the script and get prepared. I didn’t start by researching the Royal Family but instead read as much as I could about the state of the nation to get an idea of what was happening in the country at the time... Andrew Marr’s ‘The Making of Modern Britain’ was particularly useful. Once I had a good grounding I moved on to the characters and the storyline. I considered the characters within the script, worked on the tone and colours with the directors and worked out what was needed for each episode.” Season 2 brings some iconic fashion moments into focus with some of the era’s most stylish women taking centre stage - Wallis Simpson (Lia Williams) makes a return, and we get the first visit from Jacqueline Kennedy (Jodi Balfour) as well as inside look into Princess Margaret’s (Vanessa Kirby) royal wedding. Jane and her team managed to seamlessly weave costume design into the narrative by using both historically accurate representations of the clothing as well as their own interpretations. “The Crown is unique because the original outfits are so famous. You wouldn’t even entertain the idea of changing some of them – for example, Princess Margaret’s Butterfly dress or her wedding dress. With others, you can take creative liberties and instead channel the essence of the character. We wanted to use black in a few of Princess Margaret’s clothes, for example, which they wouldn’t really have done at the time as it’s not a traditional colour. But we trusted our instincts and believed it reflected her personality and desire to break out and explore the jazz clubs of Soho.” Similarly, Jackie Kennedy’s yellow and black evening gown, currently on display at Heal’s, is very similar to the one she wore at a 1961 White House state dinner. In reality, she wore white gloves, but Jane decided to give her black ones as it added more drama and looked better for the story they were trying to tell. Costumes worn by Claire Foy, Vannesa Kirby, Alex Jennings, Jodi Balfour and Lia Williams are all on display A key element of Season 2 is the difficult relationship between Elizabeth and Margaret. Jane was able to reinforce this storyline throughout her costumes. When asked about Queen Elizabeth’s aesthetic, Jane recalls, “She seemed to really find her style around this. We didn’t have to do much within the costume design to highlight the differences between her and Margaret. Elizabeth was pregnant at the time, very conservative and focused on her family. She was dressing for a very different stage of her life compared to Margaret.” With such a big cast and an ever-changing script, there are many challenges to be faced on a set like The Crown. “Life on the set is so fast and so busy. My team and I came out feeling that if we could do that we could do anything. It was absolutely thrilling as we had to respond to changes in the script every day and much of our work was in flux. But I loved having the opportunity to improve and change things, and it’s so satisfying to see the finished designs on screen.”