JUSTIN BISHOP At The English Tapware Company
STEP INTO JUSTIN BISHOP’S ‘HOTEL MAYFAIR’
Enduring style, elegance and classical sophistication
Hang up your hat.
Put down your racquet.
Splash cool water on your face.
Unlace your shoes.
Liberate your toes.
Pour yourself a drink.
Stretch.
Better yet, run yourself a bath.
Immerse yourself in the Martha tub.
Enduring style, elegance and classical sophistication is what Justin Bishop has brought in abundance to The English Tapware Company new showroom windows in Armadale, Melbourne and Woollahra, Sydney.
Having made a name for himself not only in Melbourne but on an international stage, esteemed interior designer Justin Bishop has perfectly articulated The English Tapware Company’s luxury British bathroom collections with a well-travelled gentleman’s sensibility.
The sophisticated retreat is lined in heritage architectural mouldings, wrapped in grass cloth wallpaper and layered with the sensual curves of the Paris basin and Martha tub from The Water Monopoly, alongside Perrin & Rowe tapware with the engineering prowess of a Roger W Smith wristwatch. Hawthorn Hill mirrors reflect light into the distinguished space.
Reach for a towel. It’s cocktail hour.
- Words from The English Tapware Company, March 2023
Visit the window displays at The English Tapware Company between now and the end of Winter 2023.
SYDNEY: 170 Queen Street, Woollahra, NSW 2025
MELBOURNE: 751 High Street, Armadale, VIC 3143
2023 - A fresh start!
Well, it’s been a colourful start to the year!
After a great Christmas, a road trip began. Travel this year was westward, towards Adelaide, along the coast, flying into Princetown via Helicopter over theTwelveApostles - amazing! From the Coorong we headed north, up and over the Spencer Gulf, to Port Lincoln. We saw beautiful coastline, beaches and seaside towns. As usual, I photographed everything along the way, as I embraced the history, the architecture (original limestone buildings) and the remote wilderness. I even managed a swim with the sea lions off the S.A. coast! An experience I will never forget!
On the return trip, totally unplanned, we hit a roadblock as I suffered a minor heart attack on the Murray River. I was flown by air ambulance from Swan Hill to Melbourne, where I underwent surgery at the Epworth hospital. I’m truly grateful for the amazing medics, and the treatment I received. We indeed live in a lucky country, and I’m am one very lucky guy!
Back home now, after the years bumpy start, I’m trying to reflect on my work/life balance. Last year was indeed intense, with MANY projects on the go, each with their own individual requirements and challenges. I love my work, however this year I may need to consider some moderation.
It’s clearly time to re-evaluate, reassess, and begin 2023 with a fresh start!
Twelve Apostles, Vic, December 2022
‘The Obelisk’ Robe, S.A. December 2022
‘Karratha House’ Robe, S.A. December 2022
Tungkillo, S.A. January 2023
Eucalyptus, Port Augusta, S.A. 2023
Oysters, Coffin Bay, S.A. January 2023
‘Homestead’ Mildura, Vic. January 2023
Perlubie Beach, South Australia January 2023
HEART, HEALTH, AIR, AMBULANCE.
One moment Im standing on the banks of the Murray River, the next I’m being flown by air ambulance to Melbourne.
An insanely busy year, and some self neglect, lead to a minor heart attack. My cardiac history caught up with me, again. Have now had surgery, and a new stent placed in a blocked artery.
So grateful to the team at @ambulancevic , the staff at @epworth_ hospital, my amazing cardiologist, and of course mr @guyreeves1 for everything he does!
Time now to recover, re-evaluate, and renew!
The Birch & Bloom
I have recently discovered the amazing timber mosaics of @thebirchandbloom - and I am in love!
Made from locally sourced and reclaimed barn wood in Texas!!
Can’t wait to work a piece into a project!
AVENUE OF DESIGN
For the first time in 2022, Decor + Design hosted the Avenue of Design, 14 – 17 July at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.
Curated by Tigger Hall and Lucinda Kimpton, the feature was situated on the concourse near the entrance to the exhibition, showcasing the work of eleven eminent Australian interior designers in a series of beautiful vignettes.
A Celebration of Australian Creativity
The Avenue of Design was inspired by the wildly successful inaugural Como by Design event in 2018, which was the brainchild of well-known interior designer Tigger Hall. The magnificent Como House in Melbourne was ‘reimagined’ by high-profile Melbourne interior designers, each decorating a space of the historic property.
With a return to live events this year, the Avenue of Design at Decor + Design was be a unique celebration of creativity and a platform to showcase the extraordinary talent in the local Australian design community.
Designers that took part in 2022 include Melissa Balzan Design, Tigger Hall Design, Kimpton Interiors, Justin Bishop, JAM Interiors, Camilla Molders Design, Collette Dinnigan, Julian Ronchi and Maine House Interiors.
HILTON MELBOURNE LQS
Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street Breathes New Life Into Melbourne’s Historic Equity Chambers Building by international hotel owner and developer M&L Hospitality designed by leading Australian architecture studio Bates Smart.
Built in 1931, Melbourne’s Equity Chambers was renowned for its architectural style and Italian Romanesque and Gothic detailing. In its reimagining as Hilton Melbourne LQS, the building’s old world-charm has been respected and original features restored, whilst seamlessly connecting a modern six-level extension with a 16-level tower to the historic site.
Within its historic walls, the old and new have been cleverly combined, with sandstone, European Oak and bronze materials, creating a traditional yet modern palette against the backdrop of grand high ceilings, marble stone finishes and upholstery in hues of navy, taupe and royal blue.
I had the pleasure of staying there recently for a long weekend. A wonderful experience topped of by breakfasts at Luci, the in house restaurant, and drinks at The Douglas Club, a classic bar with a dramatically moody atmosphere!
Below are my images from the stay.
Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street is located at 18 Little Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.
PRODUCT REVIEW 07
PLAID!
For me, plaid oozes style, character and charm! I love it in moderation or in full force! It’s one of the most widespread, recognisable and ubiquitous designs in the world, coming in almost every colour and design under the sun. Plaid has meant a lot of different things to many different people during the thousands of years that people have been using this iconic fabric.
Technically, plaid isn’t the pattern’s proper name. That honor goes to the word “tartan,” which was first used to describe the individual colors and patterns used to decorate the clothes of different Scottish clans. While they often came in the same colors, “plaids” were actually heavy traveling cloaks worn to ward off the bitter cold of the Scottish winters. Plaid only replaced tartan once the patterns became popular with British and American textile manufacturers who would recreate fabrics that looked like tartans, but without centuries of symbolic meaning embedded in their clothing.
“If you lived in a remote land, you would buy your woven cloth from the same weaver,” says Scottish Tartans Authority’s Brian Wilton. “And the weaver would not be reproducing a choice of patterns, but a standard pattern using the colors available to him, many of which were vegetable dyes.” Over time, these local patterns became synonymous with the regional clans scattered throughout Scotland.
During the 18th century, tartan was co-opted from Scottish family symbol to military uniform under James Francis Edward Stuart’s 1714 rebellion against the English monarchy. At the time, a pattern now known as “Black Watch Plaid” became associated with the Royal Highland Regiment, a Scottish military force that remained the pride of the United Kingdom’s army until it was disbanded in 2003.
In recent years, however, plaid has had such a strong resurgence that in some places you would be hard-pressed to look around without seeing it used. From fashion (From classic Burberry to the tartans of Vivienne Westwood) and to interiors (in upholstery, drapery and even carpet by the likes of Ralph Lauren Home) plaid plays makes a wonderful statement. In my opinion, whatever the color and context, plaid is a pattern that may never go out of style.
Currently, I am hand designing my own range of plaids! It’s proving to be extremely satisfying. Cant wait to share the results very soon!
Travelling home
Once again, I find myself on my last days of the summer holidays.
And once again, I find myself sad to see them end, but excited for the year ahead. I'm revitalised, renewed, refreshed.
Below are some images from my travels. I hope you find them as inspiring as I do. I love the colours, the textures and the mood!
Inspiration is the key to creativity! I look forward to sharing my creative endeavours with you this year!
THE BEEKMAN HOTEL
Reminiscing about travel this week, and remembering my stay at the glorious Beekman Hotel NYC, a few years ago.
“Built in 1881 as one of New York’s first skyscrapers, then serving as an office block for decades, The Beekman was abandoned for over 15 years before its multi-million-dollar renovation by British architect Martin Brudnizki, the man behind Soho House and the renovated Royal Academy of Art.
Though still relatively new on the city’s hotel scene, the hotel has rapidly gained a reputation as one of New York's most stunning – and rightly so. The central spine of the hotel is the atrium, a nine-storey riot of wrought-iron balustrades under a glass roof. On the ground floor, underneath the atrium, the atmospheric Bar Room is straight out of an Agatha Christie set, all plump sofas, fringed table lamps, green leather-topped bar stools and a long glass case stuffed with conversation-starting curios.”
The Beekman Hotel
123 Nassau St, New York, NY 10038, United States.
