Discover Chelsea's Artisan Studios
Six garden buildings nestle in the heart of the Chelsea Flower Show, holding a treasure trove of arts and crafts...
Our Artisan Studios featured six crafts-people, demonstrating unique contemporary and traditional pieces in beautifully-dressed garden buildings.
Elegant sculptures from Laura Jane Wylder
Laura Jane Wylder brought a taste of bohemia with her elegant and feminine figurative sculptures, many of which are influenced by her passion for dance. The sculptor creates delicate yet strong pieces with flowing curves and gently-softened features.
Throughout the show, visitors could find Laura Jane outside on the veranda of her studio creating a new life-size female. The sculpture was created during the week of the show and later cast as a limited edition.
“I’m keen that my pieces are beautiful – my elegant characters are smooth and serene that represent the best of humanity,” said Laura Jane. “I hope the simple, organic curves and peaceful nature of my sculptures will offer the viewer a sense of perspective, and serve as a reminder to appreciate and revel in the wonderful world around them.”
www.laurajanewylder.com
Botanical-inspired interiors with Natasha Hulse Design
Bespoke fabric designer Natasha Hulse takes inspiration from nature to brighten up interiors, celebrating the beauty of flora found in British woodlands and gardens.
Natasha brings her designs to life using layers of fabric and hand embellishment, petal by petal.
“I’ll be demonstrating at the show a start-to-finish artwork, ready to be upholstered into a product,” said Natasha. “The demonstration will show how I construct three-dimensional botanical art works. I’ll be using fabric-appliqué techniques to show this as well as combining applique with my hand-painted petals.”
www.natashahulse.com
Initricate designs from Corrie Bain Ceramics
Visitors discoverd the intricate work of Corrie Bain’s ceramics, in her display of the ‘Seed Pod Collection’. The collection portrayed the life cycle of plants in Limoges porcelain.
Over the course of the show, Corrie demonstrated the delicate step-by-step process to create the handmade seed-pod pieces. Each decorative element of the pod was added one by one, until the entire surface was partially or fully covered with texture.
“It’s a meditative process,” said Corrie. “Large pieces can take up to three months to make, working 10 hours each day.
“The intricate surface design is so delicate that after making, it can’t be touched until after firing in the kiln to 1240°C, where it becomes strong, beautifully white, and translucent.”
www.corriebainceramics.com
Hand-printed textiles with Lola Lely Studio
Artist and designer Lola Lely exhibited a new range of furniture pieces, soft furnishings, lamps and a wall hanging using her hand-printed and dyed textiles.
Working with textiles and wood, Lola creates designs from the natural dyes and pigments using block printing tools made from coiled blocks of calico to create soft variegated patterns and surfaces onto textiles.
Visitors saw Lola at work during Chelsea making natural dyes and pigments where she demonstrated dyeing techniques such as the Japanese craft practice of Shibori indigo dyeing. Visitors even had the opportunity to dye their own piece of cloth and watch the magical process of the natural dye oxidising to create various blue hues.
www.lolalely.com
A writer's retreat with Malvern Garden Buildings
The team from Malvern Garden Buildings exhibited a studio inspired by Virginia Woolf's writing lodge at Monk's House to mark the 90th anniversary since the publication of her essay exploring female creativity, A Room of One's Own.
The interior was styled as a writing retreat, just like the one used by Virginia Woolf with objects from her era, with advice taken from the National Trust team at Monk's House and the Virginia Woolf Appreciation Society of Great Britain in the exhibit’s development.
www.malverngardenbuildings.co.uk
The art of steam-bent wood with Charlie Whinney Studio
The team from Charlie Whinney Studio exhibited a range of designs using steam-bent wood, inspired by the studio's new book, Wood & Steam.
Visitors saw how the team developed their ideas to create designs that included a giant oak planter and a knotted chair.
To bring their Artisan Studio to life, the team joined forces with garden designer Tom Attwood. He brought planting and sculpture together to make a showstopping display.
www.charliewhinney.com
