“Hang on, lads; I’ve got a great idea” quote by Charlie Croker of ‘The Italian Job’ - this is our light-hearted name of the project that we have been engaged with over the last 4 months. The ‘great idea’ was generated by Alberto A Segato, an International Interior Designer who discovered us on LinkedIn. Alberto is a great champion of combining art with furniture and instantly fell in love with our painterly textile designs. It has been a challenge for us all but we have managed to overcome the obstacles and been able to communicate and work on the collection, albeit located in different parts of the world. Alberto has been in Colombia working on a project for the last few months and we have been working separately from our own studios. It has not always been straightforward; but hard work, commitment and dedication to the project have culminated in this fantastic new collection which has gradually come together, not unlike the creating of a composition for a painting. The marriage of specialist reproduction historic design furniture and art for textiles is a unique approach which we are very proud to have been involved in – a very exciting journey.
No better time to share new beginnings than the spring so here are a few examples from this fabulous, unique collaboration between McBean and Budd and Studio 85 Ltd.
There are several variations on a theme with sofas and chairs offering different colourways and designs alongside a choice of colour re the wood frame. The client has the choice to create a bespoke piece of ‘art furniture’ which we feel would take centre stage in any interior space.
This was a fabulous project commissioned by Katharine who brought to us a very treasured and much loved chair inherited from her grandmother. (Our research revealed that it is a Victorian Open Arm Parlour Tub Nursing Chair). . It most certainly oozed personality, even in its well-worn state. Different fabric designs were considered and the final choice came from our Landscape Journeys collection ‘Peacock Sanctuary Blue Shade’ inspired by peacocks seen in the wild life park in Rajasthan, India. Ruth and I took a lot of time creating a few mock ups with due diligence to how the design would best be presented on the chair – that time was to prove very worthwhile.
The chair then went to the upholsterers and a most wonderful story emerged as the chair was stripped back to its bare bones. Hidden inside was a small, well preserved piece of paper, lovingly written by Catharine’s grandmother who recorded all the details of the previous upholstery project – material used etc. The note also revealed that the chair was bought 2nd hand in Stroud for £ 10 in 1971 and the structural repairs cost £ 4 – it was a rather emotive find. We couldn’t wait to share the ‘secret’ with our client and of course she was absolutely thrilled. We then made the decision to include a note within the chair recording the current reupholstery project.
The finished project was shared on social media and received lots of admiration and attention. Thanks for such a lovely project Katharine and we hope you enjoy your much loved, refurbished heirloom. It was a beautiful chair and a great story.
One delay after another, but we got there in the end and managed to meet up for a photographic session with the lovely Richard. As for so many it has been challenging times since March and our latest, completed ‘art furniture’ projects, both for clients and for Mcbean and Budd have been waiting to be photographed and uploaded onto our website.
We have been restricted in several ways and finally decided to use the fabulous refurbished Woodworks unit in Bath for the photoshoot. This is of course, a working environment, now sadly, temporally closed due to Covid restrictions, but we utilised it as best we could, on a rather gloomy day, to take some product shots plus some images that we could develop in Photoshop. We are planning to take further shots of our art furniture in a more imaginative interior when Covid allows.
Richard is always so enthusiastic and professional in his approach and he provided us with lots of images from which to choose from. Adhering to social distancing and mask wearing the day went quickly, with a short break for lunch where we enjoyed some delicious homemade tomato soup, courtesy of Stephen (Ruth’s husband). We were most appreciative to have Richard on board with his knowledge and experience in photography. Thank you.
This was a short excursion by Ruth and me to the big smoke to undertake some research at this prestigious show as we have put ourselves on the list for 2020. As with any exhibition one needs to see and get a feel of the space and also do some in depth research on exhibitor presentation. In our experience these fairs have their fair share of ‘beauty and beast’ scenarios, a considerable amount to look at, dismiss and engage with, as to what is relevant to our business and assess how exhibitors have made best use of their individual space. Overall presentation at Olympia was good and provided a welcoming, inviting and colourful atmosphere to walk around, with stands well-presented and having a feeling of space around them.
The area we have opted for next year is the Fabric Room which is set apart from the main arena and focuses on textile and wallpaper design. It was a small area with about 8 stands. We felt this was the best spot for us rather than being engulfed by hundreds of interior designers from a huge range of different disciplines within the main arena. The right decision!
On a personal note, one of our favourite stands for presentation, with a minimalist, but strong message re her business was Louisa Warfield Art Consultancy -https://louisawarfieldart.com plain white backdrop with a few carefully selected art works and an interesting creative seating area - visually captivating.
We were also drawn to the use of natural materials e.g. branches to drape textiles over which was displayed on another stand.
Rather pleasing was to see some upcycling of waste products, e.g. video cassette tape. It was great to see a degree student experimenting with recycling plastic from various sources for use in interiors - apparently melted in a toastie maker and then compressed with a heavy industrial compressor. Early stages but strong, tough, interesting textures and colours. Looked promising.
Most encouraging, informative and friendly chat was with the two guys from Holland who specialised in the most fabulous wallpaper. Very high-end product and original innovative design and some very interesting layered wallpaper texture. Both Ruth and I related to a Japanese influence in some of their designs, but most of all, they were two great ‘sharers’ and provided a wealth of information as to visitor numbers, responses, showing us some rather lovely sample books and a rather innovative business card. Great ideas to take away. A very big thank you to them. https://desimonewayland.com/
Productive and tiring day that provided a great deal of food for thought.
100% Design is the largest and longest-running design trade event for industry professionals in the UK. This year the show celebrated a quarter century of unearthing some of the industry’s most influential people and was an unmissable destination for design and innovation.
Yes, there is a lot to tell. We are now in peak holiday time and there are lots of new adventures and landscapes to discover, both on our doorstep and farther afield. Our third collection of textile designs can now be viewed on our website. It will take you on many journeys. Inspired by our individual experiences, recollections of sights and memories created, ‘Landscape Journeys’ provides a feast of colour and imaginary landscapes that reflect the natural world which is both quite magical and intoxicating.
Our updated website is now all up and running with just a few final tweaks to be made and now has a total of five collections that give a wonderful choice and opportunity to use our products to make a very individual and personal statement within both commercial and private interiors.
Getting away from admin always provides some creative fun and we have been working on visualisations for furniture and now have some very exciting projects in the pipeline – a wonderful Bergere sofa and chair to be reupholstered in ‘Peacock Sanctuary Blue Shade’ and a most charming Edwardian two seater sofa to be covered in ‘Woodland Garden, Summer Wind Pink’, just two examples from our bespoke art furniture range.
A beautiful hand carved Corner Chair in the style of Rococo Louis XV is currently being upholstered using our “Fantasy Journey Pink Dawn” design and will be ready for sale in August – it is all very exciting..
You can also find our fabulous French cocktail chairs and Victorian Parlour/Nursing chair for rent on the renting platform of Harth https://www.harth.space/ This is a very interesting concept and is about changing the way we live – take a peek.
There is always lots to do and we are now committed to exhibiting with 100% Design next September https://olympia.london/whatson/100-designso there is certainly going to be a lot creative activity and thought going into producing more stock and putting together an innovative, attractive and eye catching stand that captures the imagination and promotes interest in our products.
Remember, take a look at our Instagram page to see regular updates - and enjoy
https://www.instagram.com/mcbeanandbudd/?hl=en
Any feedback is always welcome, let us know what you think.
The chair in its full Rococo Splendour will soon be revealed.
McBean and Budd Instagram Prize Draw Terms and Conditions
WIN AN EXCLUSIVE MCBEAN AND BUDD JOURNAL
McBean and Budd Instagram Prize Draw Terms and Conditions
To enter:
Enter our contest by following the steps below!
Follow @mcbeanandbudd on Instagram
Comment on the competition post tagging a friend
No purchase necessary to enter. Enter for a chance to win a McBean and Budd journal by commenting on the Instagram competition post, liking it and following McBean and Budd on Instagram.
Entry is open from 28th September 2019 until 18th October 2019. The winner will be entitled to a McBean and Budd journal as advertised, and postage to a UK address. No cash alternative is offered. One winner will be selected at random, after the closing date, from all comments made on the post that follow the rules. Any posts deemed offensive will be disqualified.
Instagram in no way endorse, sponsor or support this competition. By entering, entrants confirm they are 16+ years of age, release Instagram of responsibility, and agree to Instagram's term of use.
The winner will be notified by private message - please ensure your private message is enabled and not set so only your 'Friends' can contact you. Failure to do so many invalidate your entry. Only one entry per person will be accepted. McBean and Budd cannot be held responsible for any inability of the prize-winner to take up the prize. The Organiser reserves the right to amend or alter the terms of the prize or alter the prize to another of similar value. Competition closes: Midnight on 18th October 2019. The potential winner will be notified within 7 days of the prize draw end date via private message. Should McBean and Budd be unable to contact the potential winner in 7 days an alternative winner will be selected. There will be an announcement on McBean and Budd Instagram account naming the winner. Employees / agents of McBean and Budd and their families are not permitted to enter. McBean and Budd are the organiser of this prize draw. By entering this prize draw you agree to abide by these terms and conditions.
Visit to 8FutureFabricsExpo/Sustainableangle 24-25th January 2019
Victoria House Holborn London
A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
THE FUTURE OF THE TEXTILES INDUSTRY WILL BE DETERMINED BY HOW COLLECTIVELY WE ADDRESS AND PROTECT OUR PLANET'S PRECIOUS RESOURCES.
This is a heading from Textinel who we contacted as part of our ongoing research into the sustainability and ecological production of textiles. We received a reply from Debbie McKeegan CEO of Textinel who has a vast knowledge and is an expert on traditional textiles and the world of digital print and design. Debbie wrote back and suggested Ruth and I visit the 8 Future Fabrics Expo show 24-25th January 2019.Although predominantly geared to the Fashion industry we decided to attend and explore the latest technology and availability of textiles being produced using safe, renewable and responsible practices.
The cold, grey, drizzly day in Holborn was soon left behind when we entered the imposing Victoria House and made our way to the basement which was a hive of activity with hundreds of people and stands displaying a wealth of textiles alongside displays of the latest innovative technology exploring alternative materials to produce fabric. We wandered around, had coffee – always welcome. Our focus was to seek companies which met our criteria. We waded through countless swatches of material, selected and took photographs of any that could possibly be used for our products. A break for lunch at a nearby café was absolutely delicious, a main with choice of salads, right up our street. Suitably energised we returned for a further visit to hone in and record information that could be useful within our business.
As upcyclers of historical furniture we continue to research suitable textiles for our projects. It presents a different criterion to the fashion industry as focus needs also to be on durability and suitability in addition to style, design and colour.
There was a lot to see and we made several connections and engaged in conversations with representatives of big companies – Lenzing, Cocccon amongst them. We were both quite blown away by the products made completely from waste materials but found that there was still considerable focus on the organic and natural sources (trees, fruit and fungi for example) which is great but with the crisis and enormity in relation to waste material there still seems a lot more work to do.
We were particularly interested in this area and there was very limited range of fabrics which we could use on our products. However, Tencel – Lyocell fibres are derived from sustainable wood sources by Lenzing. It may be a way forward as it is currently used for carpets and upholstery. The big question will be to see if what is currently available and prints well digitally.
Thanks go to Debbie McKeegan for her recommendation. It was an intense, but very lively and informative show with a good variety of seminars which were extremely popular and well attended.
https://thesustainableangle.org/future-fabrics/
Social media continues to be our nemesis but we will not be beaten and continue to rise to its challenges. We console ourselves with viewing it as somewhat of an organic process and there is certainly no lack of commitment. The beginning of our working day most often comprises of admin, research and getting to grips with the ever-changing demands of social media. This can be frustrating and it is often the case of one step forward and two steps back. Onwards and upwards, bring on the coffee!
Having put ourselves through the paces with social media we certainly need to be a bit indulgent and have some fun and get creative. We have both been working on preliminary sketches for our third collection and it is always exciting to see what evolves when we begin combining our imagery. Maps, travel and geographical symbols are at present the main themes for this collection and we have considered creating two strands of design - one from a Western perspective and the other using higher key colours that reflect the colours of the Orient and Eastern cultures. We feel that this will reflect our ever increasing accessibility to far off places and experiences as well as celebrating the wonderful diversity of different cultures.
It is early days and it is always a big adventure having scanned our original images to begin work on a new design. We work closely together, constantly communicating with what we feel works and what doesn't, each making suggestions of how to bring the design together.
Already, we are excited with our preliminary design concepts. What do you think? We always welcome feedback, so if you wish to comment, please send us an email.
It was a wonderful surprise and accolade for the Woodworks Project to be nominated and subsequently awarded the “Creativity for Good Award.” Thanks go to all those involved, both paid staff and the many volunteers who work tirelessly over a 20 year period to develop this successful social enterprise. The recognition received from the local community has been most welcome and uplifting.
A Winners’ Dinner was organised at the County Hotel Bath, where we were greeted at the entrance by a life size painted rather quirky horse – a taste of what was to be a quirky and interesting evening. Keeping company with the horse was one of the decorated owls from the Bath public project
On a bright, sunny and warm evening within a beach setting and sand in our shoes, we enjoyed drinks and a BBQ making for a relaxed and friendly environment.
Two days of keeping fit, up and down three flights of stairs and ducking in and out of large Georgian windows at a magnificent Regency seaside house in Tenby, Wales, setting up and being part of photo shoot in relation to images for our website. Sue Brindley, the professional photographer showed endless patience by putting up with our endless suggestions and opinions, artists can be difficult to work with! Relaxing and looking natural in front of the camera was the biggest challenge, there were a lot of disasters, i.e. legs in the wrong position, Cheshire cat grins, over enthusiastic gestures, to name but a few. Towards the end of the day, with energy levels running low we became more blasé and just went for it and eventually had a few shots that we both liked - It was an exhausting, rather hot two days with over two hundred photos from which to make a selection, but we got there in the end. Our sympathies lie with fashion models who do this full time! Big thanks go to Sue for all her input and enthusiasm and for being so accepting of all our artistic affectations.
