London Design Week March 2014 Part 1 - Talks at Nicholas Haslam with Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen and Neisha Crosland

 The London Design Week is taking place this week at Chelsea Harbour so this is all very much hot off the press! For those of you who aren't as interested in decor hopefully won't mind if the rest of us design geeks discuss the events I attended today?

I went to the festival to specifically attend two talks - one by 
Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen who run the interior design firm Nicholas Haslam and the other was Martyn Bullard Lawrence.

The first talk was at Paolo Moschino for Nicholas Haslam.
I first remember noting Paolo's work more than a decade ago when he was featured in House and Garden.  In the article he mentioned how pine is an underrated wood, eco-friendly, and fashionable when used right. 

Via AD
Can't find the original image but this is his present London apartment with pine paneling
For more pictures of his London home that featured on Archictectural Digest - click here

 I looked at his way of using pine which was panelled in a period London living room and I was convinced.  So much so that I used it in a cafe that I used to run.


The talk was held at his showroom in Chelsea Harbour.




I wish I had space in my kitchen or dining room for this light.


The area below was where the talk was held so 
it was an intimate and beautiful setting.


The talk was officially 
11.30am: ‘Compendium of Classic Design anecdotes – 
in Conversation with 
Philip Vergeylen and Paolo Moschino’ at Nicholas Haslam

Paolo recounted anecdotes of the legendary designer 
William Haines who is one of his favorites and also added in a few of his own personal experiences he has had in his career.

The dynamic duo - Philip on the left and Paolo on the right

Philip also spoke about his influences which he wanted to share and spread the word about.  One was Eugenia Errazuriz who was a huge influence in the world of both art and design and made the audience want to learn more about her. Apparently she was the one who inspired Coco Chanel and from whom that Coco got a lot of quips that she gets credit for instead of the legendary Madame Errazuriz.

Another design legend he highlighted was Ruby Ross Wood who would not have been out of place in the Million Dollar Decorators.
It is odd because I thought I knew my decorators but I had only heard of her associate which you may know as Billy Baldwin!
Somehow she didn't get the publicity he did.



I loved hearing all the little stories of which there were so many to recount and I just know they have many more that I do hope they come out with a book.  
But I must also note that they were both so personable even to someone like me who is neither a big trade/retail client nor a big blogger.  I did tell him that I was "couldashouldawoulda" and we were Instagram ( his instagram) mutual followers.



 In fact, Paolo for some odd reason follows me on instagram and even messaged me a few hours later on instagram to say it was nice to meet me!?  I am always a firm believer that people who are nice to people that they gain nothing from is a true barometer of someone who is kind and a quality I admire and respect.
Especially when there were other people today who were not as established nor as talented who were being so snooty!!

I couldn't help but get something from his shop filled with goodies so I left with this tortoise candle holder!

After the talk I had a few hours to spare until my lecture with Martyn Bullard Lawrence and wandered around the center and decided to pop in on another talk at Turnell and Gigon.

The speaker there was the artist and designer Neisha Crosland.

As I was the first one there, she was very friendly and 
she chatted to me so affably in a way that the Brits do so well.

She was classically trained in fine arts and went to both the 
Royal College of Art and Camberwell  College of Arts
 so she was talked us through how she arrives at designs and 
her mode of inspiration.

She did attack her designs from an artist's point of view.
She said that while she does have a staff that is very skilled at digital aspects, she still manually draws things on paper as it helps her examine and really see her designs.

She showed us rough drafts of her incredibly beautiful range of wallpaper.

I found them so beautiful as they were a mix of chinoiserie and geometrics.  Her color palette was truly sophisticated as she learned from doing up her house a few years ago that there is a division between editorial and what one can actually live with.

I must suggest that you have a browse through her website as she is a truly talented artist.  In fact, some of her drawings got picked up by Osborne and Little when she was only 18 and still in school!

I will be posting part two tomorrow as I couldn't fit even the edited version in one post.  I must say that any decor enthusiasts must attend these festivals in London as they are sooo much fun!!