As part of our London Design Festival 2016 celebrations, we threw a feast of designer proportions bringing together Heal's designers past and present for a unique dining experience within our flagship store.
Design may be a global language but it's not often that you find some of the world's best known designers, alongside emerging talent, all in one room. Held within Heal's Tottenham Court Road store, our annual London Design Festival Dinner with the Designers event gives the designers, makers and facilitators behind our favourite pieces the chance to get together and celebrate another year of innovation.
Following a champagne reception amongst our new Designer Collections, guests were led to an impeccably laid grand dining table featuring glassware from LSA and a rainbow of Series 7 Chairs courtesy of Fritz Hansen. Amongst the guests were a number of internationally renowned designers including Anthony Dickens, Cressida Bell, Gareth Neal, Matthew Hilton, Sebastian Cox, Rob Scarlett and Sarah Kay plus upcoming talent in the form of our Heal's Discovers finalists Katy Goutefangea of Ola Studio, Tim Summers and Will Baugh.
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[ INSPIRATION ]
At Heal's
Experts in sleep since 1810, this week saw the launch of Heal's new Sleep Studio at our flagship store.
To celebrate the occasion we held a special day of exclusive press events including a Heal's themed 'Breakfast in Bed' and evening drinks all within the beautiful setting of our new mattress, beds and bedding department.
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Breakfast in Bed: to kick start the day there was an exclusive breakfast morning in which select members of the design press enojyed a specially curated menu in our new Sleep Studio.
Sonny side up: the beautifully prepared breakfast menu came courtesy of the Ambrose Café situated just a stone's throw away on the first floor of the flagship store.
A stitch in time: alongside the mornings feast one of our specialist mattress makers was on hand to demonstrate how a Heal's bed is filled and stitched throughout the day.
Nightcap: for the evenings event we thought it only right to get everyone in a relaxed mood with gin and tonics served by Sipsmith plus a sample of their new summer cup.
Rest assured: interior stylist Maxine Brady presented her top tips for a dreamy night’s sleep followed by a Q&A with the gathered bloggers, press and industry experts.
...and relax: with the drinks in full flow, our guests were also treated to massages from MILK Beauty to ensure they left feeling revitalised and de-stressed.
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The grass is most definitely greener at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and for this year's event we were delighted to see a few familiar Heal's pieces feature as part of Raymond Blanc's space at the event.
Following our competition to win a pair of tickets to his Le Jardin Blanc culinary experience, we popped down to the infamous flower show for the day to see the exhibitions in full bloom.
Alongside Raymond's foodie extravaganza were a host of stunning gardens including a beautiful display from the New Covent Garden Flower Market created especially for her Majesty's 90th birthday (pictured above).
Looking to spruce up your space with a fresh bouquet? Head over to Heal's online to browse our collection of gorgeous Vases and Faux Flowers and Contemporary Outdoor Lighting. Share your floral fancies via #HealsHome on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Everyman's Library, we're teaming up with this great literary institution to launch a series of exciting events for 2016.
The partnership will explore what a library means in the 21st century and how to create one in a modern home, where space is so often at a premium. Over the next six months running up until the anniversary in October, the Everyman’s Library and Heal’s will bring together authors, readers and designers to share their inspiration and to celebrate beautiful books and design.
Keep your eyes peeled for more details on talks, workshops and events, but in the meantime check out our recent photoshoot bringing together some of the Everyman’s classic titles with a few of our favourite storage pieces.
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Further Reading:
www.everymanslibrary.co.uk/
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The #GreatBodgingRace may be over, but now it's time for you to decide which is your favourite design.
Having produced an array of creative and crafty furniture designs, we the asked to Bodgers to whittle down their selection to just one piece for you to choose. Once you've chosen you're favourite from the images below, simply submit your entry using the following form.
As an added incentive, each vote will be automatically entered into our prize draw to win £100 in Heal’s gift vouchers!
Tray Table by Chris Eckersley
"I visited the Kaymet workshop last year as I have always been a fan of their classic trays. It seemed to me that it would be a good idea to bodge a simple table to fit exactly the recess under a tray making lift-off tray-table. Kaymet made up some square trays for me and this is the result. This could become a range of different sized trays in various finishes on tables of differing heights."
Rack Table by Gitta Gschwendtner
"I was inspired by the restriction of materials available on site and came up with this little magazine rack as I wanted to use the Bonners leather working skills. One edge of the frame is slightly wider to give you a space to rest your cup."
Owl Cabinet by Sarah Kay
"I wanted to revisit the 1920s classic Heal's piece, which I've always loved. For the purpose of the Bodge I restricted the size, which I imagined could be wall hung, the idea is clearly adaptable to different formats though."
Bound Bungee Bench by William Warren
"This piece was completely unplanned and is the result of responding to the materials and processes brought together at the Heal's Bodge. It's a low bench with 'storage' below the bungee seat."
Glaswedgian by Carl Clerkin
"I dunno. Jon Harrison says "It plays with perceptions of planes and orientation" but he would, wouldn't he?"
Be sure to check last year's winning entry, the Ease Chair by Gareth Neal, which is available to buy in store and online.
Discover some of our other contemporary furniture at Heal's today.
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In anticipation of her upcoming demo in-store, we get a master class in pot making from modern ceramicists CSWA_.
Edinburgh based CSWA_ was set up by Carmel Wilkinson-Ayre in 2015 shortly after graduating from university. From fashion to photography, an eclectic range of influences inform the palette used to create her range of minimally styled pots, which are currently on show at the Heal’s Modern Craft Market. To see the step by step process behind these unique collectables, we took a trip up to Carmel’s studio to have a nosey around.
“This is a selection of the moulds I use to make my large tumblers and espresso cups. Each mould consists of four components that have been sculpted by hand to ensure sure that the slip cast designs retain a made not manufactured quality.”
“Manipulating the coloured porcelain slips inside the mould creates the expressive and playful marks that are an important part of my aesthetic and approach. Working with slip casts in this way demonstrates the fluid, primal nature of the design and the key fact that no two designs ever look the same.
“Next up we have to pour the excess slip out of the mould. My technique is slow and steady to ensure each piece has an even, distributed finish.”
“Trimming off the excess clay on the tumbler lip is where my favourite tools come into play! They say a craftsman should never blame their tools, but I believe my neatest work can only be completed with my preferred potter’s knife.”
“Back to pouring again. Once the coloured clay has been poured, the mould is filled with white porcelain and timed to create a clay skin. When the porcelain is removed, this skin becomes the structure and foundation for the tumblers.”
“After refined timing and drying, the porcelain tumbler is ready to be released from its mould. Deconstructing the four parts is a bit like a jigsaw, and requires some patience before the cup can finally be seen. This is a CSWA_ tumbler and espresso cup before bisque firing, the final glazing helping to complete the process.”
Here’s some we made earlier: don’t forget you can see CSWA_ ceramics at the Heal's Modern Craft Market or shop the collection as part of our Collectables range in-store.
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