John Pawson presents Ellipse Collection at London Design Festival
03.2022
'Designing is an emotional experience and you want to be working with people with the same ideas'
Soft, simple and sensitively crafted, our latest collaboration, Ellipse, with John Pawson at London Design Festival 2019. The collection comprises a family of marble vessels and utensils for the home. These range from intricately hollowed holders to smoothly sculpted dishes and plates.
‘The idea was, really, to design a set of things that we needed at home’ begins John Pawson. ‘This is the basis for everything we do at my studio, from houses to tables. Carrara, for me, is the king of stones. I mean it is an extraordinary marble. It is cool to touch, and is very, very tactile, especially if you sandblast it like we have. We have rounded the edges and slightly raised them off the surface by having a rim.’
Mirroring its name, each piece of the Salvatori Ellipse collection by John Pawson shares a circular geometry. They are typical of the architect’s expressive yet minimal style, with simple forms that evoke a sense of calm and encourage tactility. They are shaped from a continuous cut of Bianco Carrara marble, where the soft, subtle patterns of the stone’s veins run across the surfaces.
‘I can only design things that I want so it is a very personal thing, whether it is designing objects for the table or buildings. Our starting point at the studio is that we have to be engaged personally in everything. We design things that we need,’ continues the architect. ‘Designing is an emotional experience and you want to be working with people with the same ideas.
In Gabriele Salvatori and his company, we have already done collaborations with them and it is a very good partnership I think. They have the craftsmen to make this extraordinary quality of objects.’
Ellipse was showcased during the 2019 London Design Festival at our flagship in Marylebone, which was transformed by Elisa Ossino into a series of artfully designed spaces. The ground floor showcases our expanding home collection with a selection of accessories and furniture items, whilst downstairs features a series of inspiring displays with a focus on luxury bathroom settings.