FEATURED STORIES: MAURIZIO PELLIZZONI | BEDDABLE | OLLY HOWE | DISORDER | MACKENZIE LEATHER | DANIEL SANDLER | RABOT 1745 | HOMEGROWN
ESTILA inspiring stories for creatives in business VOLUME 10/ ISSUE 41
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EDITORS
COVER IMAGE
Karolina Barnes
"King of the Jungle" by Emilia Vespoli
Emilia Vespoli Flavia Young / luxe-layers.com
A big thank you to all our editors, contributors and
Nicola McCullough / strawberryblondebeauty.com
everyone who continues to support ESTILA.
STYLIST Karolina Barnes
ESTILA bookazine is created and published by STUDIO/ESTILA t/a Palantti Ltd. The entire content of this publication is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without written consent from
PROOFREADER Natalie Barnes
the publisher. The views expressed in this publication are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily
FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHERS
shared by the publisher. Original work and photography are copyrighted by its owner.
Karolina Barnes Nicola McCullough
ISSN 2398-9041
Jake Fitzjones
Designed and printed in the United Kingdom.
Nicola Tree Anton Rodriguez Adam Weatherley
STUDIO/ESTILA
Keri Hunt
We design and create out-of-the-box and
Simon Gray
engaging brand stories for ambitious businesses with big dreams. To find out more visit studioestila.com
CONTACT
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ŠCopyright 2019 ESTILA
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WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF ESTILA
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Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.
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Have you ever found yourself at a crossroads or been stuck in a rut? We have. All of the powerful stories we write about in ESTILA have one thing in common - they are told by amazingly talented creatives who have gone through tipping points, frustrations and aha-moments that have led them onto a new journey into entrepreneurship. Our mission is to inspire you to do the same. We believe that life is a journey about finding who you are and what your calling is. It's about challenging yourself, and the status quo. Only then you can realise your true potential. We hope that the following pages will trigger a spark or an idea for you to take action and just go for it! BY CREATIVES FOR CREATIVES ESTILA bookazine goes beyond the content. With each issue, we are growing a community of cheerleaders, supporters, collaborators and ambassadors, connecting designers, brands, artists and creatives to each other. We are here to help you grow. Can spot an opportunity for a collaboration on the following pages?
editor’s note Welcome to the 10th print edition of ESTILA bookazine. The idea for this edition came from a conversation about men in creative industries. After hearing some amazing stories, I wanted to give them space where they all can share their journey and experiences. I must say, they delivered. Each story is a great case study to get inspired by. We take you on a journey from the stunningly sophisticated interiors designed by Maurizio Pellizzoni, captivating art by Olly Howe to the timeless elegance with Mackenzie Leather and fascinating life of Daniel Sandler. Moreover, you will learn about Hotel Chocolat’s beauty brand Rabot 1745 and the newly opened private club for ambitious entrepreneurs in London called Homegrown. Thank you for reading and your continuous support. Karolina Barnes / editor-in-chief
MUST - READ STORIES
Mackenzie Leather p52
Circle Triangle Square p40
Copper & Silk p20
Homegrown p78
Daniel Sandler p76
Disorder p44
ALSO YOU CAN READ ABOUT Maurizio Pellizzoni p5 | Hayche p16 | Beddable p26 | Olly Howe p34| Tempus Faire p58 Ryan James p60 | men-u estilap66 | Rabot 1745 p74 4
INTERIORS “Applying Italian appreciation of style and design to interiors.”
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Maurizio Pellizzoni interview by Karolina Barnes, photography by Jake Fitzjones
With an impressive portfolio and awards to his name including from SBID, the ID&A Awards, the International Design Awards and the International Property Awards, Maurizio Pellizzoni is one of the most talented interior designers in the UK. Growing up near Lake Como in a family who is already in the design trade, Maurizio was able to hone his skills and eye for design from a very young age. These days Maurizio runs his namesake design studio from the heart of London's design district, managing luxe interior projects of listed, period properties, new buildings, spacious country mansions and bijou townhouses in the UK and abroad. It is very clear that Maurizio’s signature aesthetic is inspired by his own experiences and travel, from the glamour of Lake Como, cosmopolitan New York to daily life in London where he lives. Can you tell us more about your journey and how you got into interiors? I have always been passionate about design, coming from a family working in this field and from a beautiful place like Lake Como, it was natural for me to take this path. However, it was not until after moving to London in January 1998, and furthermore working for Ralph Lauren, that I knew this was what I wanted to do.
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After a few years at Ralph Lauren, I decided to go back to university and study Interior Architecture at the London Metropolitan University. I then spent more than a decade as part of the creative team at Ralph Lauren Home where I directed the presentation of the home collections in London, Milan and Brussels. I founded my London-based studio in 2007 and have since launched my online boutique. It has been an amazing journey where I have learnt a lot and have been extremely lucky to design beautiful interiors all over the world, which I am very proud of.
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What did you find most challenging in the early days of your business in terms of project management and getting new clients? When I first went solo, I was very lucky to have clients of Ralph Lauren as my launch pad who were looking to implement the same look but wanted a designer to work with them on their entire home. The challenging part was to work alone on some of those projects. When I was at university and then at Ralph Lauren, I always had the support of a team. When I started to work solo, I was on my own and had to start from scratch, initially working from my kitchen table at home. I had to learn to project manage all aspects of each project from the ordering to installation, plus all the smaller issues whilst managing client relations to get a project completed on time. After the first few years, I knew it was time to open a design studio and settled for Chelsea, near the Design Centre. With the new office and employees to take care of, I had to start to find new clients, breaking away from the whole Ralph Lauren look. This was a particular challenge for me as there’s no real formula to winning clients. With many interior designers in London and more specifically in my area, the competition is so high and building a reputation and portfolio takes time. It was challenging to get noticed and is still one of the big challenges designers face today.
Previous and above: Surrey Hill Country Mansion
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Previous and above: Surrey Hill Country Mansion
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If I had to choose, the Surrey Hill Country Mansion is one of my favourite projects simply because of the size of the property and the fact that the client was very trustful of my ideas. estila 11
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We love your quote: "Life as art, art as life: design is an art, and this is my life”. How important is art in your design work? Art is a must-have. I love art and I think it’s the key piece to any interior scheme. From photography to sketches or even an old cinema poster, I love the way art can change the final mood of each room. When you look at the projects and / or collaborations you’ve done so far, what would you say is your favourite and why? I love all of my projects the same way, but if I must choose one, I would say Surrey Hills Country Mansion. This is simply because of the size of the property and the fact that the client was very trustful of my ideas and therefore we were able to create a beautiful family mansion together. My favourite collaboration project was being invited as a guest designer for British GQ three years in a row, designing interior sets for features to inspire their readers. I sourced some of the finest pieces internationally, some very special one-off items and brought together the very best of design with furniture, accessories and art to create stunning interior shots that were splashed across their pages!
British GQ project
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Can you tell us a little bit more about what you’re currently working on? I recently launched a very exciting project where I was able to create a mono-brand property in the heart of Mayfair. I’ve just completed a stunning 6,000 sq.ft family home in the heart of Chelsea and now I'm working on two new projects - an apartment in Shoreditch for a young businesswoman and another family home in Chelsea. I am also working on my first Italian project, a large apartment in Milan, which is, and will always be, my first love! For more information or enquiries, please call (+44) 020 7352 3887 or email to studio@mauriziopellizzoni.co.uk
mauriziopellizzoni.co.uk
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IG @mrpellizzoni
ART “When the dream doesn't seem worth chasing, there has to be a desire and drive to succeed.�
Artemis
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art ¡ artist stor y 4 MIN
Olly Howe words and art images kindly provided by Olly Howe
MY BEGINNINGS My passion for creativity started at a young age, but the first real profound experience I had with art was when I travelled to the MusÊe D'art Moderne in Paris at the age of 18 to see the Mark Rothko exhibition as part of my A-Level art critical study. You weren’t allowed to talk inside the gallery, I just remember feeling engulfed standing in front of his huge awe-inspiring paintings in complete silence - that was the first time I had a true connection with art and realised it would always be part of my life. At college, I was obsessed with the abstract expressionist movement and I spent a lot of time painting works inspired by Rothko, De Kooning & Pollack, a lot of these pieces still hang on the walls of my parents' house. As bad as I think they are now, they paved the way for me as an artist. Moving on from school, I ended up at Plymouth College of Art & Design where I studied Graphic Design - the course introduced me to Photoshop and from that moment I was hooked. The process of taking photographic elements, textures and anything else that could be scanned into a computer and then merged together to make something new and exciting totally inspired me. In the early years, whilst at college, I did a lot of flyer and poster designs for club nights in Plymouth, mostly drum and bass nights. I remember being particularly chuffed with a flyer I did for a night with DJ Marky headlining - a pinnacle in the very early days of my career, haha. From Plymouth I moved to east London where I worked as a designer and illustrator for various creative agencies and brands, eventually going full-time freelance around 2008. At this time I started to work with some of the top illustration agencies in the UK and had my work regularly featured in magazines such as Advanced Photoshop, Computer Arts and Photoshop Creative.
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Whilst working as a freelancer, I was always making my own art on the side, it was an outlet for me. So many of the freelance jobs I did were creatively suppressed by delusional clients - sometimes it was very frustrating. The thought of working as an artist and not answering to clients was the dream, although at this period in my life I wasn’t quite sure that dream would ever manifest itself as reality. After almost 7 years in London, my first son was born and we decided it was time to move back to the coast - Plymouth for a couple of years and then eventually to Newquay in Cornwall. I was still working as a freelancer but very much focused on my own art and how I could develop that further. I had sold a few prints over the years but had never self-published any works. However, in January 2018 I released my first limited edition print called "Wilderness". The response to this was great, with it selling out in just three weeks. From then, I began releasing prints regularly and the sales momentum picked up very rapidly. In summer 2018, I met another established artist from Newquay, Ben Allen. Ben exhibits and sells worldwide and is known for his graffiti pop style artwork. He had a purpose-built studio in town and after a few visits, he mentioned he was looking for someone to move in with him, I, of course, jumped at the chance. Within a month of moving into the studio, I had transitioned to a full-time artist. Feeding off each other, and having Ben next to me, showed me the way in terms of printmaking and finishing, and really pushed my art to the next level. Since then, I haven't looked back. Fast forward to 2019 and I’m working with a bunch of galleries across the UK and have just had my first big solo exhibition in London. MY STYLE Each piece is its own entity, there’s always an initial spark of inspiration that will kick off a new one, but I usually don’t know how it will end up looking when I start. That’s the exciting part for me, experimenting with different elements and compositions until something ‘clicks’. That process can take a few hours or a few weeks, it’s not unusual for me to have five different versions of something going at the same time, eventually amalgamating them into a final piece.
Previous page: Lady Monarch
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fashion ¡ emer ging brand stor y 2 MIN
Tempus Faire with James Lum
words and images provided by James Lum
My journey began in 2014 when I launched the watch cabin, an authorised reseller of branded watches. We placed customer satisfaction at the heart of our brand and we grew very quickly. However, I was shocked at the amount that big brands charged for poorly designed watches and believed that the watch buyer deserved much better. So I sought out some of the best designers in Europe and partnered with the same manufacturers of luxury watch brands. Tempus Faire is now able to offer unique, luxury timepieces without the unnecessary markup. We wanted to create timepieces that were different from the same, mass-produced watches on the market. Tempus Faire gives recognition to each designer we work with. For example, our first designer, Clement Sinibaldi, is a highly skilled craftsman who has worked with some of the top watch brands such as Audermars Piguet and Faberge. We are also able to partner with the very same manufacturers of premium brands. We wanted to give each designer the credibility, we feel they deserve. When people buy a watch, they don’t have much of an idea about the artisan who created it and their inspiration around the piece. We wanted to create a unique story around each watch artist so that the customer has more of a connection with the timepiece. Our typical customer is someone who appreciates a well-designed, premium watch without the unnecessary cost. Someone who is looking for something more than a watch, but seeking to support designers and the communities we are building. We are passionate about design and have partnered with a charity (Annos Africa) to help teach these skills to children in Africa. They run various art projects for children living in slum conditions in Kenya. Our mission is to bring 1,000 children out of poverty and have a career in the design and arts industry. I feel that as entrepreneurs, we have the tools and resources to make a positive impact on society. It’s our responsibility to give back as much as we can.
tempusfaire.com
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IG @tempusfaire
be auty ¡ business stor y
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Interview with Daniel Sandler interview and product photography by Nicola McCullough
After 25+ years painting some of the most famous faces in the world, Celebrity Makeup Artist, Daniel Sandler, poured a wealth of industry knowledge into developing his own multi award-winning cosmetics range, with products designed to enhance natural beauty rather than disguise it. Here he shares a unique insight into building a brand among industry giants - and what it's really like behind the scenes at Fashion Week. What inspired you to create your own makeup range? I was working on photoshoots where I needed makeup to stay in place because I was either in a hot, humid and sunny climate where makeup runs, or I would be doing shoots where the model was in a swimming pool or a shower and I needed the makeup to be long-lasting. There were no blushes around at the time that ticked all the boxes so to speak, so I knew that there was a gap in the market. The very first product I created was my Watercolour Liquid Cheek Colour, which was born out of a need to have a product that blended easily, was both long-lasting & water-resistant, and available in a plethora of shades. What's the ethos behind Daniel Sandler Makeup? I create products that are unique but functional. Innovative, often multi-purpose, affordable and with the integrity of professional quality formulas. I want people of all ages to feel better and more confident about themselves. My message is simple, be your most beautiful. It’s about applying the correct amount of makeup to enhance your favourite features as well as the right amount to disguise the bits you don’t like. It’s about getting the balance right. Makeup need not be complicated. Simplicity is key to looking your most beautiful.
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Rabot 1745 interview by Karolina Barnes and images provided by Sara Logie
While most of us are familiar with Hotel Chocolat's stores and cocoa cafés on our local high street, Rabot 1745 Beauty brand (named after Hotel Chocolat's Rabot estate in St Lucia) is an exciting new chapter in the Hotel Chocolat's story. For the past 14 years, Hotel Chocolat has been quietly revolutionising British chocolate. By growing their own beans, they disrupted the traditional cocoa farming model, bringing ethically produced, high-quality chocolate to a mass market. Inspired by their love for the island, the people and the plants, Hotel Chocolat's cofounders Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris thought of an idea for a beauty range when they learnt about the benefits of cocoa as an ingredient for skincare products. With the launch of Rabot 1745 beauty range, they not only want to continue to nurture and develop the incredible Rabot estate for generations to come, but also to connect customers with the humble cocoa bean directly. Here we chat to Sara Logie, the product visionary of Rabot 1745 about Rabot estate history, cocoa beans benefits and her favourite Rabot 1745 products. How did the idea for Rabot 1745 beauty range come about? What is the concept and how does it fit within Hotel Chocolat? When Hotel Chocolat founders Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris discovered the beautiful cocoa plantation in St Lucia in 2006, they knew they had found the estate that would fulfill their dreams of growing their own cocoa and creating chocolate from the very beans they had grown. With its 250-year heritage of cocoa growing, the beauty of the Rabot estate, its high altitude, rich volcanic soil and rain forest water was, and is, a unique environment perfectly suited to allow cocoa trees to flourish. However, as they went around the estate, meeting everyone who worked there, shaking hands they quickly began to notice something else - the beautiful skin of so many of the people working on the estate. It seemed that the plantation wasn’t just able to produce something that was delicious for the inside (chocolate), what grew on the estate were plants that were wonderful for indulging the outside too!
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be auty · business stor y And so the idea for a beauty range, based around the natural flora and fauna of St Lucia, was born. The idea grew into reality two years later when, in collaboration with modern day apothecary Andrew Gerrie and me, the whole project came together and the Rabot 1745 Beauty range was launched. The history of the Rabot Estate is very fascinating. Can you tell us more about its story? It was originated back in 1745 and has farmed cocoa and provided employment for generations of local people. When Angus and Peter bought the 130-acre estate, cocoa farming across St Lucia was at one of its lowest points. Cocoa pods were left to rot on trees and the Trinitario cocoa variety was in danger of disappearing for good. By implementing the company's Engaged Ethics programme where farmers were guaranteed the purchase of each farm's entire crop, the estate has been able to flourish, working and supporting 167 farmers, including start-ups and established growers. Cocoa seed butter is the “hero” ingredient of your range. What are its benefits? Yes, cocoa butter is where it all began and what the original range is derived from - it's full of vitamins, fatty acids and wonderfully hydrating as well as having a beautiful perfume and easy absorption into the skin. Cocoa butter is often touted for improving elasticity. The fat in cocoa butter forms a protective barrier over the skin to hold in moisture. One common use of cocoa butter is to smooth scars, wrinkles and other marks on the skin. We love it as an ingredient but we've since found even more inspired ingredients from St Lucia in the form of plants and flowers and in some cases we've combined the two - try our Cacao and Coconut hand cream or take in the aroma of our Cacao and Vanilla candle, for example.
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We love your Rabot 1745 reusable cups which one can refill with a hot drink at your Hotel Chocolat cafés. How important is sustainability to your brand? Andrew, as you know, is the former CEO of Lush Cosmetics, and having been there for 20 years, has sustainability ingrained in his every move. He is an investor in Plastic Energy, a company that turns plastic into low carbon fuel and back again. He has also started up a company launching scooters and other low emission vehicles into cities and urban sites. We have tried as much as we can to use PET bottles as well as materials like bamboo that we feel are not only aesthetically pleasing but tough so that they can be reused. Our coffee cup is possibly our proudest moment - a fine example of beauty, made of 75% bamboo and 25% melamine, 100% biodegradable and totally 100% reusable! Which is your favourite product and why? Our three body scrubs incorporated into our reusable bamboo fibre coffee cups. It starts with the sustainability factor, then the beauty of the botanical cocoa pod design and understated branding and then, of course, the product itself; three body scrubs - Salt and Lemongrass, Sugar and Sour Orange and Coffee (made from our own Rabot house blend coffee grounds). If I had to choose one, it would be the Sugar and Sour Orange - made with essential oils and that delicious citrus fragrance!
rabot1745beauty.com
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IG @rabot1745beauty