2. arolyn Quartermaine, as ethereal as her gossamer-like
fabrics, is hard to pin down.Sheissomewherebetweenanartist
and designer, her life divided between her homes in London and
Provence.Shehasbeenaconstantpresenceontheinteriorsscene
and on magazine front covers around the world for over 30 years,
yetherstylehasneverdated.It’sastylethatwasbornofchildhood
memories of antiques-filled Regency Cheltenham houses and an
earlyteenagepassionfortheromantichazyphotographsofDeborah
Turbeville and Sarah Moon, illuminated with a spark of the post-
punk anarchic energy that characterised 1980s design.
Quartermaine is at an age when she can look back and see quite
clearly the thread that pulls her life and work together. She had
aperipateticchildhood:herfather’sworkuprootedthefamilyfrom
Cheltenham to live in Holland and France, so that every couple of
yearsshechangednotonlyschoolsbutlanguages.Thisdisruption
places a significance on the home and the stability it represents.
She remembers her obsession with dolls houses: ‘I would create
my own rooms on planks of wood. In a sense what I did later
– making flexible spaces, moving walls, changing environments
through textiles and colour – is what I did as a child’.
When Quartermaine was 17, the family moved back to England
and she found the place where she truly belonged: art school in
Cheltenham. Here she received a grounding in practical skills like
weldingandwoodworkaswellasappliedarts.AttheRoyalCollege
of Art she developed her trademark style of collage and layering,
andaftergraduatingworkedhardtogetherpiecesseen.‘Youhave
to tread the streets, and it’s tough – people aren’t going to come to
you. I recall boarding a coach to Paris and lugging my work round
allthebeautifuldecoratingshopstoaskthemtolookatit,’shesays.
A meeting with Richard Stuart-Liberty in 1986 led to her being
given an entire floor of Liberty to show her painted tables, neo-
baroque metal furniture and exquisite calligraphy fabrics. In the
mid 1990s, Joseph Ettedgui, the late fashion entrepreneur, gave
herashopinhisbasementinSloaneStreet,London.Butherhome
has always been the most important creative launchpad for her
work. The flat in Earls Court, where she has lived for thirty years,
and her 17th-century house in France are like living moodboards,
reflectingsubtlechangesinherart.‘It’sneveraboutfillingaspace,’
she says. ‘It’s about looking at a chair as you would a painting.
I can’t bear “girly pretty” so I would put a stronger object like
arocknexttothechair,’sheexplains.Thisexperimentationathome
fed into designs for Donna Karan, paperweights for Baccarat, and
packaging for Fortnum and Mason. There have also been interiors
forhotelsandrestaurants–mostnotablythebreathtaking interior
ofGladeatSketch,acollaborationwithformerlover,Belgianartist
DidierMahieu.Nextyearacollectionofherworkwillbeondisplay
at the beautiful Fragonard Museum in Grasse, France.
SincerecoveringfrombreastcancerfiveyearsagoQuartermaine’s
work has become more reflective. ‘I may look strong and focused
to the outside world, but the doubt is always there. The fear of
something not being good enough, the desire to do something
better. That’s what drives me.’ carolynquartermaine.com
FromtopCarolynQuartermainebesidethepoolatherhomeinProvence.
This17th-centuryhouseistheperfectbackdroptohercanvases,fabricsand
thevignettesofinspirationalobjectsthatdecoratetablesandshelves➤
206 ELLEDECORATION.CO.UK OCTOBER 2016
