#OhSoNatalie

Our monthly newsletter sharing Natalie’s favourite brands, the people behind them, and ideas about how we can go that little bit further with our creativity.

Quindry is #OhSoNatalie

Quindry is a swoon-worthy trove of 20th-century treasures, each piece handpicked by the impeccable Gwen Pilard. Modern in the most effortless, elevated way, her finds are a staple in our studio’s sourcing. You’ll regularly spot them at the Decorative Antique a& Textile Fair in Battersea Park London—but go early. Armed with red dots for swift sales, Gwen’s selections vanish in a flash. And rightly so.

A tough question as it seems to vary from decade to decade! For the last ten years, I’ve been using a lot of golds and ochres in interiors, but I’m also a huge fan of corals/terracotta/rust accents, and I can’t resist a painting that’s got pea green in it! As I get older, I find that my eye is opening to colour and I’m craving it more and more around me.

QUESTION 1

What is your favourite colour & why?

I’m lucky to have been involved in the renovation of an Art Deco artist studio in Paris over the past year. The Atelier will be used as a pied-a-terre, it’s an exciting project, retaining original features and choosing materials in keeping with the period and function of the place whilst making it comfortable. It’s a very positive space with incredible light as it has a huge glass roof.

QUESTION 2

What are you working on at the moment that you find exciting?

QUESTION 3

I love how you understand how clients live with the pieces you find. Does this come from how knowing why clients buy or from an inherent understanding of our relationships with objects?

I do some specific sourcing based on client requests, but most of my purchases are for my antiques business. They are spontaneous and instinctive, “heart-picked” as I like to say.

I’m inspired by art, and in particular colour in art. But also by my job – i.e. sourcing stock, is an endless source of inspiration, seeing furniture and objects in the raw, unedited context of fairs. This inspires me in how to have them restored and to then stage them.

QUESTION 4

Where do you go for / what do you do for inspiration?

I have access to a lot of great objects in my work but I have to be selective about what I keep for myself. I’m very partial to the chosen few that make it home, unlike many dealers who rotate stock between business and home. I have a 1930s ceramic goat kid head that I bought in the north of France. I haven’t identified the maker exactly although I suspect that it might be Primavera [the brand set up by the Printemps department store in the early twentieth century to promote crafts and artisanship]. It might sound an odd choice but I love the humility of this animal and the kind, tender expression on its face.

QUESTION 5

Do you have a cherished object you would never part with? What is it & why?

Follow Quindry on Instagram @Quindry_Antiques