The new windows at our Chelsea store celebrate the uniquely endearing characteristics of wood
– no other material comes close to matching it for warmth, variety and sheer versatility.
Head of Visual Merchandising, Betsy Smith, explains the thinking behind the windows’ design: ‘While we wanted to showcase the various woods that can be found in our furniture and accessories, we didn’t want the scenery to overshadow the products, so we came up with the idea of backdrops that look like sketches taken from a giant notebook.
‘Illustrator Poppy Heading created the original drawings for us; the bare branches not only suit the time
of year, they allow the beauty of the wood in the furniture – European and American walnut, oak, ash
and beech – to speak for itself.
‘Over the past week, present and former students of the Central School of Speech and Drama have been transferring Poppy’s illustrations onto the canvases – eliciting helpful comments from customers! – so a big thank you to Robyn Kahn-Cleland, Jennifer Fischer and Sarah Baker (who have all studied or are studying scenic painting at the School) for generously donating their time and talent.
‘We purposely left some ladders and paint as props, to show that this is a work in progress; as we proceed into spring, you might just see some leaves appearing on the trees…’
