When I interview interesting people from the interior design industry the final question I like to spring on them is ‘what’s your favourite possession?’ It’s a light hearted way to round off the conversation and it can be quite revealing. Here are the best answers from 2021
Furniture designer Tom Faulkner – I do take my guitar with me when I go on holiday. And I love the workshop, the smell of it, I love the smell of welding.
Arlene McIntyre founder of Ventura Design – My Bed! Life is hectic at the moment and there is no better feeling than coming home and finishing the day off well. It has a bespoke headboard and phenomenal mattress, which when coupled with some beautiful linen, feels like a big hug whenever you get in.
Ian Cameron, creative director at bespoke lighting brand Cameron Design House – A couple of years ago I bought a vintage Honda CBX750 motorbike which I ended up stripping down to the frame and rebuilding. Once stripped down to the frame, I 3D printed parts, used clay to make the body panels and casted them from there to rebuild the whole bike with a new suspension. Sustainability is really important to me and being able to repurpose things is a passion of mine.
Interior and product designer Birdie Fortescue – I have some wonderful Chinese panels in my drawing room that I adore. They date from the 19th Century and are painted in the most wonderfully soft palette. They are much admired and I can’t imagine the room being quite the same without them.
Tom Rutt of architecture and interiors practice TR Studio – I am not a huge one for possessions or over sentimentality, but I would say my children (who would rightly dispute that they are my possessions!). Everything else is replaceable.
Rug designer Tania Johnson – My wedding ring. It was made from the same piece of platinum as my husband’s and is very special to me.
Interior designer Sara Cosgrove – My garden, I wish I could spend more time in it!
Michal Silver co-founder of Christopher Farr Cloth – I am from the group of people that believe ‘less is more’ so rather difficult to edit it down…a sculpture by a dear friend, a Ron Arad Sofa, a pearl necklace I received from my husband on our wedding day…and that was a long time ago.
Massimo Buster Minale, founder of architectural hardware brand Buster & Punch – The smart people know life’s not about possessions, it’s about shared experiences and a life that’s been lived and learned from.
To read all my interviews from the past year just click here
