New launches and diary dates: what House & Garden’s editors are excited about this month
Paul Whitbread1/11Edward Bulmer x Lorfords Contemporary
In a bid to show that sustainable design can be both stylish and versatile, Edward Bulmer (left) has teamed up with furniture specialist Lorfords Contemporary to create an 18th-century-inspired bench. This can be upholstered in your choice of fabric and the legs can be finished in any of the paints from Edward’s range, all of which are made using natural pigments and are low in VOCs. To mark the launch of the ‘Brighton’ bench, on which the managing director of Lorfords Contemporary Nasia de la Haye is pictured sitting, the company is adding a painted option across its entire collection. This includes the ‘Swedish’ bench, by Turner Pocock (centre) and ‘Ebury’ armchair (right), which are crafted from FSC-certified wood. ‘There is no need to limit paint to just walls,’ says Edward. ‘It protects wooden furniture and it is also a great way to elevate a timber you might not enjoy in its raw state.’ The appealing pieces shown here cost from £1,640, excluding fabric, for a ‘Bromley’ ottoman (top).
CORPUS MARIS II, 2023, BY JULIA LOHMANN AT CHAPPE ART HOUSE, FINLAND. PHOTO: JULIA LOHMANN STUDIO2/11More than Human at The Design Museum
Demonstrating the need for humans to design for the good of species other than our own, The Design Museum’s More than Human exhibition brings together over 160 works by studios (including FormaFantasma, Jonathan Baldock and Andrés Jaque) that encourage animals, insects and marine life to thrive. Pictured here is the hanging seaweed sculpture Corpus Maris II, by Julia Lohmann, a German designer and professor of Contemporary Design at Aalto University in Finland. Julia’s work explores seaweed, a versatile type of algae with environmental benefits that include producing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide. Julia uses the material to create large-scale sculptures, three of which will be on show. And coinciding with this will be Dwellings, Rehomed, a collection of contemporary birdhouses curated by Andu Masebo, on display in the museum’s garden. More than Human is at The Design Museum, W8, until October 5; adult tickets from £14.38.
Lola Mansell3/11Margot opens in Lewes
Margot is a new interiors and lifestyle store opened by husband and wife duo Kristian and Amanda Grant. The shop sits on Lewes’ bustling and picturesque high street, sells all manner of beautiful objects: from handmade ceramics to cooking tools and rustic glassware, all with a quiet, soulful feel. The shop’s opening represents a new and exciting addition to the growing appetite for slow, sustainable and locally-sourced design, all of which is reflected in the warm, peaceful decoration of the shop. What’s more; all profits from the shop support its Cook School, a nonprofit founded by the couple which aims to instil in children the skills and knowledge to cook delicious food with sustainable ingredients. Next time you find yourself in Sussex or Lewes, it is well worth a visit (though it would be worth making the trip even if you don’t have plans to go to the area).
Margot, 207 High Street, Lewes, BN7 2NS / current opening hours: 10am - 5pm, Thursday - Saturday
4/11Anna Haines launches Table Collection
At House & Garden, we are big fans of Anna Haines. She is a designer who knows how to beautifully emulate the traditional English style of decorating while always adding something new and fresh. Her new collection of side tables, which marry a classic and contemporary aesthetic with all the flare that we have come to expect from Anna, captures her style perfectly, and marks her first foray into the world of furniture design. Starting with three designs; the ‘two tier’, the ‘ripple’ and the ‘martini’, the shapes at play borrow from a range of eras. At play is the Arts & Crafts movement (evidences in the practicality of the ‘two tier’), the 15th Century, which lends its carved wooden base to the ‘martini’. A more contemporary sensibility arrives in the form of ‘the ripple’, with its waved edge. All are made in the UK and make for the perfect finishing flourish to any space.
5/11Crafts Alive, Gloucestershire Manor
For 35 years, the mosaic artist Cleo Mussi has been taking fragments of broken and discarded crockery and using them to create distinctive artworks and installations. ‘I have always been conscious of how much was going into landfill. There is such a wealth of material out there that can be reused in all mediums,’ she says of the ceramic shards she rescues from house clearances before painstakingly arranging them into figures of animals, florals or striking patterns. A selection of Cleo’s pieces will form part of the next Crafts Alive show, a biennial exhibition presented by the Gloucestershire Guild at Rodmarton Manor this September. The five-day event will show new work from 47 makers, whose practices range from calli- graphy and ceramics to furniture making and glass blowing. This year, eight of the Guild’s makers have teamed up with four local florists – each florist working with two makers – to create a one-off work to tie in with this year’s exhibition theme Flowers and the Maker. Cleo is one of the makers collaborating with florist Emma Thistlethwaite of Thistle by Nature, and is designing a beautiful botanical tablescape featuring mosaic plates and name cards. Crafts Alive is at Rodmarton Manor, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, September 10-14. A day ticket costs £15.
Jude Thompson6/11Haines x Jessie de Salis
Jessie de Salis graduated in 2017 from Manchester Metropolitan University with a Textiles in Practice degree, before developing her skills screen-printing botanical designs onto linen, such as the bespoke example she is seen with here. In 2024, the Bristol-based textile designer’s use of non-toxic dyes, sustainably sourced fabrics and small-batch, made-to-order method caught the eye of eco-design entrepreneur Jules Haines. She invited Jessie to join Haines Curates, a collective of designers working sustainably to produce home textiles. Jessie and Jules are now launching a stylish capsule collection of vintage furniture, including arm- chairs, ottomans, dining chairs and pouffes, picked up by Jules over the years. Each piece has been carefully reupholstered in off-white linen salvaged from a fabric printing house, and decorated by Jessie with screen- printed floral motifs. The launch of the Haines x Jessie de Salis collection coincides with Oxfam’s Secondhand September campaign and aims to show how surplus textiles and used furniture can be given an exciting new lease of life. Pieces will be available from September from the Haines website, with prices starting at £450 for an ottoman.
7/11Ikea: Magical Patterns at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh
Ikea’s textile department has been going strong since 1965 and, over the decades, the brand has worked with a number of emerging and established printmakers, including the Swedish designer Nina Jobs and the British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes. To mark 60 years of such collaborations, Ikea is hosting an exhibition at contemporary art, design and textile gallery Dovecot Studios, coinciding with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh Art Festival. The showcase – which had its debut at the Ikea Museum in Älmhult, Sweden (pictured here) – will feature more than 180 pieces from Ikea’s extensive archive. Many of these were considered radically bold and bright when more minimalist, neutral trends prevailed in the mid and late 20th century.
Ikea: Magical Patterns is at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh, July 18-January 17, 2026. Entry costs £12.50.
8/11Richard Rogers: Talking Buildings
Richard Rogers was among the most influential architects of the late 20th and the 21st centuries, known for designing the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Millennium Dome, SE10 (one of his drawings for which is pictured above), and the Lloyd’s building, EC3. This exhibition will showcase 10 of Richard’s favourite projects through photographs, drawings and models against the backdrop of Sir John Soane’s equally celebrated – though vastly different – style.
Sir John Soane’s Museum, WC2, until September 21. Entry is free.
9/11Morris Mania at William Morris Gallery, E17
One of Britain's most influential designers, the enduring appeal of William Morris (1834-96) is undeniable, and this exhibition at William Morris Gallery, will demonstrate exactly how far reaching his print designs are. From teapots decorated in his ‘Trellis’ design to ‘Willow’ pattern Nike trainers. The exhibition will also feature Wallpaper (2025), a newly-commissioned work by filmmaker Natalie Cubides-Brady, which examines the use of Morris prints on screen. It is a fascinating look into the wide-ranging influence of one of the UK's most favourite designers.
April 5 - September 21; suggested donation for tickets £5; wmgallery.org.uk
10/11The Gorgeous Nothings: Flowers at Chatsworth
Taking its name from a line in a poem by Emily Dickinson, The Gorgeous Nothings: Flowers at Chatsworth is being held in the Duke of Devonshire’s Derbyshire house and gardens. It combines over 250 pieces inspired by plants and flowers and the surrounding landscape. Alongside items from the Devonshire Collections – such as Madonna della Rosa by Italian Baroque artist Domenichino, and photographs and engravings by notable botanists like Anna Atkins and Christoph Jacob Trew (pictured here) – are new commissions and loaned works. The latter range from a Philip Treacy orchid hat from the V&A to drawings by Scottish artist Emma Tennant. The exhibition is on March 15-October 5; entry included with general admission, from £29.
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Shirt, Malian artisans, before 198111/11TEXTILES: THE ART OF MANKIND Textiles: The Art of Mankind at Fashion and Textile Museum
This exhibition explores the link between man and textiles, examining how textiles in all their forms have been used throughout history to demonstrate ideas of identity, community, geography, as well as how textiles are used to mark significant occasions and our relationship to our surroundings. Among the peices on show will be a wedding dress from Egypt embellished with mother of pearl, silk embroidery and cowry shells, a Thai Singing Shawl designed to wear at a funeral and decorated with beetle wings, and an appliquéd Turkmen Tribal coat and a Bolivian fiesta hat.
Adult tickets from £11.50; 28 March 2025 – 7 September 2025. fashiontextilemuseum.org
