Alternative x Margo Selby, Ella Doran and Divine Savages.
What makes great creative collaborations? Well it’s a bit like best friends getting together. You only have to look at this snapshot taken at FOCUS/19 to see how happy everyone is. Each of our creative collaborators has an individual and inimitable eye for punchy pattern and colour. We relished the chance to team up with them and see how they reimagined their magical designs into original Stair Art. The results of these creative collaborations are inspiring and of course Alternative.
Alternative Stair Art: Deco by Divine Savages and Woven Basket by Interior Spy
Deco Martini Wallpaper by Divine Savages
Bold Maximalists
Why should walls have all the fun? Flamboyant and playful prints take to the floor with the bold Deco design by Divine Savages, aka Jamie Watkins and Tom Kennedy who comment:
‘We’re so excited to be joining forces with Alternative Flooring who share our love of bold colour and print. We have reworked our iconic ‘Deco Martini’, one of our very first designs, for this eye-catching carpet runner. Inspired by the Jazz Age, our Deco Martini print brings Art Deco opulence to your interior in exquisite colours – Teal and Blush. Style up your staircase and make it the star attraction in your home.’
Alternative Stair Art: Patch by Margo Selby
Margo Selby weaving
Pattern Power
Fair Isle by Margo Selby is one of our best-selling runners and the new Patch is set to follow. These vibrant, graphic patterns are inspired by hand-woven textiles developed by Margo on her loom in her studio, taking woven fabric to the floor. Margo is one of Britain’s best-known artist-weavers and one of our most successful collaborators. We are lucky that she enjoys our company!
‘I love working with Alternative Flooring who celebrate my ethos of ‘Art into Industry’ enabling me to design flooring which reflects ideas developed in my handwoven artworks. Patch is a grid-based design using contrasting tones in a mathematical bead-like texture.’
Alternative Stair Art: Camo by Ella Doran and Woven Pots by Interior Spy
Camouflage Wallpaper by Ella Doran
Natural Beauty
Who doesn’t adore Ella Doran? She has boundless energy and curiosity and a great eye for colour, nature and form. Her designs are innovative and inspiring, witty and fun. Camo and Waterlake celebrate nature. Camo is inspired by the bark patterns of Plane trees in Ella’s local park, while Waterlake reimagines the flow of water in the lakes of the award- winning Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
‘It has been wonderful exploring how my designs have adapted through a new material and process, caught between new limits and new possibilities. The results are fantastic and Alternative Flooring have been brilliant to collaborate with.’
Alternative Stair Art: Waterlake by Ella Doran and Woven Pots by Interior Spy
We are also proud to announce that the winner of The Campaign for Wool’s British Wool Carpet Award, which highlights the best showcase of the natural features of British wool, was Alternative Flooring with Waterlake – our bespoke runner created by designer Ella Doran using wool from the sheep at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
Graham Clark, Director of Marketing at British Wool said “Waterlake showcases a great local manufacturing story. Part of a collection of bespoke products created by designer Ella Doran using natural biodegradable materials from the land, Waterlake is truly British throughout – from the raw materials to the designer to the manufacturer.”
Read more here.
Alternative’s Lucienne Day Authentic Octagon Runner
Stair Art also features designs by one of our best-loved 20th century designers. Octagon and Squares and Diamonds are true works of art. These two Lucienne Day carpet designs in their original colourways are back in production and woven in the same factory as they were in 1960s. Lucienne Day’s daughter Paula Day comments: ‘I am absolutely thrilled that these wonderful designs are now back in production, more than fifty years after my mother created them. The patterns and colours have sprung back to life looking as fresh and contemporary as if they’d been designed yesterday. Collaborating with Alternative Flooring has been a joy.’
The creative collaborations in Stair Art is part of the Quirky collection of wool runners with a new Stars and Tribe design joining this patterned range. See here
Find more flooring and interior design inspiration on our Alternative blog.