Our second interior design masterclass for the 2015 season was held today in Sassafras. Discussing and workshopping all things style and design! Many thanks to todays budding interior designers Nikki, Verity, Sue, Jo, Malinda and Celeste for their enthusiastic participation. With sublime catering from Cafe de Beaumarchais, it was another great day!
Bespoke Art
I have been creating bespoke wall decor for a current project... Exquisite enlargements of original French and Italian postcards printed on textured water colour paper, beautifully framed behind glass. I wish we could keep them!
Work in progress
It's full steam ahead at one of our current projects.
I always love this stage, as everything begins to come together. Detailing, including paintwork, architectural trims and decorative metal work, start to create a sense of whats to come.
This is the time when all our decision making comes to life and we see the end in sight... more pictures to come.
Justin Bishop & Co. Architectural Miniatures
Many years ago, as some of you may remember, I produced a range of intricate architectural miniatures.
From my studio in Richmond, Victoria, I handcrafted a classically inspired collection of architectural models, collectable Dolls Houses, ornate Bird Houses and other objet d’art, in fine detail. They were commissioned by architecture enthusiasts and dolls house collectors alike.
When I chose to concentrate on my career as an interior designer, I closed the doors of my Richmond workshop and delivered my last commission… That was over ten years ago.
Requests for my work have never ceased, so recently, after some inspiring overseas travel, I have decided to reform “Justin Bishop & Co. Architectural Miniatures”. I have made plans to recreate a select number of pieces from my original collection and I am excited to announce that I will be taking commissions once again.
A classic French chateau will be the first piece in the new range, available in a selection of colours.
Further details will be released soon.
Country Style Magazine
Country Style Magazine recently revisited their story on my home from a past issue. I have since remodeled the house but I still love the "plain, dressed up" style that I gave it back then...
"Interior designer Justin Bishop's admiration for a "very plain but dressed up" style and military history come together in this small timber cottage in Sassafras in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges, featured in a past issue of Country Style. Photography Mark Roper, styling Leesa O'Reilly."
The Wolseley - Piccadilly London
The Wolseley has been on my list of London 'most do's' for years! So it was an absolute treat to walk through its doors on my recent visit to the U.K. Even at a glance, it's impressive exterior, with its arched windows and brilliantly decorative iron work, drew me in.
The Wolseley is a café-restaurant in the grand European tradition on London's famous Piccadilly. With a spectacular Listed interior, the restaurant buzzes from early till late, seven days a week.
The great Brasseries of France are the most obvious inspiration for this hugely popular restaurant, but there are few places in Paris that can match The Wolseley for sheer plushness. Originally a 1920s car showroom, it was built on such an extravagant scale that it bankrupted Wolseley Motors. Swift black-clad waiters glide across the patterned marble floor, carrying groaning platters of fruits de mer, steak frites and lobster bisque between the pillars and archways of this Italian-influenced dining room.
It is a celebrity hide out also with London 'A listers' Kate Moss and Jason Statham frequenting often. Madonna, when in London, is often spotted there.
As well as eclectic lunch and dinner menus encompassing European classics, the restaurant serves breakfast, morning coffee, afternoon tea and an all-day menu.
Deyrolle - Rue de Bac, Saint Germain
During my recent travels to Paris one of my first stops was a quirky shop just off Boulevard Saint Germain on the left bank...
Deyrolle was founded by well-known entomologist Emile Deyrolle in 1831, and has been at its current two-story premises since 1881. I had been keen to visit the store since reading about it s few years ago.
Exotic taxidermy, entomology, and natural history specimens displayed in antique wooden cases and glass bell jars have made this store a destination for Parisians ever since it opened its doors. In 2007, much of the store was destroyed in a predawn conflagration that left in its wake a haunting tableau of singed wings and charred fur.
With the help of artists and collectors worldwide, the store has been largely rebuilt from that fire. Today everything from house cats to polar bears are once again on display in Deyrolle. The store itself has also managed to maintain its 19th-century decor, with beautiful wooden cases and specimen drawers throughout. Though some of the more exotic animals are not for sale, almost everything in the store is available for rent.
Portobello Rd and Henry Gregory
Portobello is really several markets in one, Saturday being the day when it is in full swing. Then you can experience a mile of hustle, haggle, colour and energy. The feature of Saturdays is the opening of hundreds of antique and specialist shops and stalls.
The antiques section is located near Notting Hill tube station; The half mile of road contains 100′s of buzzing market stalls, shops and arcades. I found a wonderfully overwhelming array of authentic antiques on offer as well as some fabulous reproductions, including glass and crystal pieces, silver, books, sporting goods and paintings.
Henry Gregory, located near the top entrance to the market, was just one of the many stores I searched. The beautiful range of antique and reproduction items includes decorative objects, trophies, silver, sporting goods and luggage which is sourced by Henry Gregory himself. He has been buying all over the British Isles for the last 40 years.
The shop changes continuously as it sells and ships to clients all over the world including private buyers, decorators and dealers.
I purchased a few items, including some antique hats and a pair of wonderful vintage boxing gloves. I certainly had to restrain myself!
Brighton and The Brighton Marine Palace and Pier
Once upon a time, pleasure piers were the jewel in the crown of Victorian seaside resorts. In the days before flight travel and package holidays, these elegant structures reaching out into the ocean were the forefront of entertainment, with their funfairs, ballrooms and cafes hosting hundreds if not thousands of tourists, each day. Sadly, many have long since been demolished while others cling to life dejected and abandoned.
The Brighton Marine Palace and Pier is one of the last remaining pleasure piers in England. As famous as the town in which it stands, it has intrigued me for years and I have often noticed it used as a location in film, television and various magazine editorials.
On my recent travels to England's south east country I decided to make a pilgrimage to see the historic structure first hand. I was also keen to see the town in which it stands, it's famous foreshore of historic hotels, it's hidden lanes of antique stores and cafes and its pebbled beaches.
The pier is truly magnificent, sitting proudly of the south coast, withstanding the winds and rough seas of the English Chanel, I felt humbled in its presence. Walking out over its historic wooden beams I was transported to another era. It may be said that England's 'Pleasure Piers' are a thing of the past, thankfully however, the few remaining are being preserved.
PIMLICO ROAD & JAMB LIMITED
Interior Designers, Contemporary Bespoke Furniture Makers and all the associated fields are here in this ever evolving Design District just a few minutes walk from Sloane Square. Exquisite Haute Couture, Fine Jewellery and Fashion add to the charm and originality of the Pimlico Road shopping experience.
I make a point of visiting this superb street whenever I am in London. On my first trip to London many years ago, as a 'poor student', I window shopped in awe, admiring the beautiful interior displays. Now, as an established designer, I am meeting the people behind the scenes, the store owners and the creative players who I admired from afar all those years ago.
One of my favourites is Will Fisher, founder of antique and reproduction house Jamb Limited. Will is known around London as the antique dealer with an eye, which he applies artfully not only to furniture and objects but to the elegant, spare spaces which they inhabit. His newly expanded showroom on Pimlico Rd embodies his grand aesthetic that speaks of another time as much it speaks of today.
I was so fortunate to meet the creative and energetic Will in his showroom on this trip. He showed me first hand his latest, soon to be released collections. Beautiful metal wall sconces, lanterns and other objet d'art. All exquisitely finished and forged with the Jamb logo.
He generously offered me a copy of his latest hard back folio. An enormous tomb filled with page after page of his artistic visions,
"The key to success is faded grandeur. The suggestion of a slightly tiered gilded surface hidden under layers of grime; a flamboyant painting bowing under the weight of its own surface! Furniture and objects need to look as if they have grown roots they have been in situ so long. A room should have a sense that it has evolved with time, grown with its occupants or generations." Will Fisher - (Remodelista)
Jamb Limited
95-97 Pimlico Road
London
SW1W 8PH
