A beautiful renovation of a traditional Cornish homestead, using local and original materials and craftsmanship.

It was important to stay true to the character of this ancient landscape – in Cornish, Tremayne means ‘land surrounded by rocks’. Cornish stone and slate, reclaimed from the original buildings, therefore feature in much of the landscaping and architectural detailing, the design of bespoke objects and generally operated as a touchstone when choosing textures and colours palettes.

We rendered an interior aesthetic to mirror the exterior materials, creating spaces that run into each other – each distinct, each qualified by subtle variations in tone, filled with the natural irregularities of hand-craft and drawing attention to the evocative work of local Cornish artist, Isabelle Roberts.

This project is elaborated upon in our Stories section. 

Kahaila, 135 Bricklane, London, seeks to socially invest in the fabric of local communities.

I was asked to translate this ethos and re-imagine what had once been an established leather-workshop into a space to cater for a busy café culture that hosts rotating art exhibitions, music and cultural events.

The joy of this commission was collaborating with local designers and artists. A particular point of pride was meeting Rupert Merton, through whose woodworking expertise we extended the choice of scaffolding boards from the architectural elements to surprisingly comfortable benches and ingeniously collapsible tables, to increase floorspace for evening music gigs.

Kahaila was launched in 2012, featuring a photographic portrait study of the people and businesses of Bricklane, Bricks of the Lane, by Mara Klein, and Mateus El Samaria via the art cooperative Café Art.

Whilst a student of Arabic I inadvertently fell headlong into design, creating sets and costumes for the theatre. It started with what I thought would be a one-off production, and grew into four years of working for a variety of directors and theatres, for national and international festivals.

My design process was profoundly shaped by the rigour of taking artistic lead from both original texts and the director's interpretation, whilst creating spaces that work for actors, the specific logistics and character of any given stage, and speak to the audience.

I remain curious about what makes spaces functionally and aesthetically relevant, how engaging with questions of accessibility can qualitatively expand our experience of a space, a story, Art.

“Whether or not you succeed is irrelevant, there is no such thing, making the unknown known is what is important.”

Georgia O’Keefe

Waiting For Godot, by Samuel Beckett, directed by Charlie Ward of Muckle Roe Productions, Art Direction by Abby Joy.