Charlotte Abrahams
I am a writer, author and – from time to time – a curator too, specialising in design and the applied arts
Publications
I have contributed to many national and international publications, including Guardian Weekend, Saturday Telegraph Magazine, Times LUXX, Financial Times How to Spend It, CRAFTS, Homes & Antiques, The Journal, Design Anthology UK, EFFECT and The Design Edit.
UPCOMING:
London Design Festival 2023, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour
CONVERSATION IN DESIGN – GROW YOUR BUSINESS: TELL YOUR STORY
I will be in conversation with Natalia Miyar, founder of Natalia Miyar Atelier, Laura Hammett and Naomi Astley-Clarke at 2pm on Friday 17th March 2023
Tickets £10 – You can book your place here
My new book, Intelligent Hands: Why Making is a Skill for Life will be out in Autumn 2023, published by Quickthorn Books
Books
I am the author of four books – Love Pattern & Colour, The Essential Guide; Hygge, a Celebration of Simple Pleasures: Living the Danish Way; Wallpaper The Ultimate Guide qnd Wallpaper a Book of Modern Prints. My next one, Intelligent Hands, Why Making is a Life Skill will be published by QuickThorn Books in late 2023.
I also help other authors with their books. My credits include Open, Frankie Bridge; Looking at the Stars: How incurable illness taught one boy everything, Lewis Hine; Four Mums in A Boat (paperback edition) Janette Benaddi, Frances Davies, Helen Butters, Niki Doeg; Made, a Book of Lifestyle Fitness and Food, Millie Mackintosh and Home, Orla Kiely.
If you have a book project to discuss, please contact my agent Clare Hulton
Design led Conversations
London Design Festival 2023, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour
CONVERSATION IN DESIGN – GROW YOUR BUSINESS: TELL YOUR STORY
I will be in conversation with Natalia Miyar, founder of Natalia Miyar Atelier, Laura Hammett and Naomi Astley-Clarke at 2pm on Friday 17th March 2023
Tickets £10 – You can book your place here
London Design Festival 2022
CONVERSATIONS IN DESIGN, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour
INTERIOR DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE: THE PERFECT MATCH?
I moderated a conversation with Richard Parr, founder of Richard Parr Associates, Claire Sa, director of De Rosee Sa and Natalia Miyar, founder of Natalia Miyar Atelier, discussing ways to navigate aesthetics, form and function to achieve compelling spaces that answer the client’s brief.
Monday 14 March, 11.30am – watch the recording here
ONLINE CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS: LESSONS FROM A DECORATOR
I will be in conversation with New York decorator and tastemaker Celerie Kemble of Kemble Interiors, talking about her latest collaboration with Arteriors and how she creates homes that are beautiful, comfortable, liveable, and always filled with character
Sunday 13th March, 2.00-2.30pm – watch the recording here
For the last two years, I have hosted the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour’s virtual Creative Collaborations.
Focus/21, September 2021
Discover Orejen – The Black Artists & Designers Guild X S.Harris
Architecture meets Craft – Workshop APDxArteriors
Collectible Design, Artistry meets Craft – Staffan Tollgard x The Refined Workshop
Watch the programme here
London Design Week, May 2021
Martina Mondadori, Benni Frowein, Sophie Paterson, David Harris, Sasha Bikoff, Jamie Drake, Scott Baxter, Esti Barnes, Gianluca Franzese, Bernie de la Cuona, Damian Foxe and Edward Watson.
Watch the programme here.
2020
Interviewees include the architect Peter Marino and designers Paolo Moschino & Philip Vergeylen, Staffan Tollgard, Zandra Rhodes, David/Nicolas, Pierre Frey, Andrew Winch, Ray Booth and Dara Caponigro,
Curating
I also love using beautiful objects to tell stories. My exhibition credits include The Craft of Wallpaper at the Geffrye Museum in association with London Craft Week 2016 and Rodmarton Reimagined, which ran as part of Crafts Alive with the Gloucester Guild of Craftsmen in September 2018.
‘Hidden’ by Charlotte Hodes
Rodmarton Reimagined was a response to the Arts & Crafts manor house Rodmarton Manor. I am fascinated by the concept of home and the way in which we use objects to root and reflect ourselves and, for this show, I selected artworks rich in personal narrative – a ceramic vase reconstructed with vintage fabric following a breakage; a textile portrait of a relative known as ‘Fag Ash Lil’ and a tiny doll with a secret to reveal. Each object was carefully placed in a suite of furnished bedrooms and a bathroom and visitors were invited to explore, discovering pieces of jewellery stowed in the drawers of a dressing table, a mosaic mirror resting on a mantlepiece, and a pair of stitched lace collars hanging from a wardrobe door. Rodmarton Manor was also used as an informal workshop for local makers, so I also commissioned a group of nine artists from Victoria Works Studio in the nearby village of Chalford, to create a collection of site specific work that responded not only to the family history of the house, but also to the Arts and Craft philosophy at its heart.
Participating Artists
Moira Buckley, Zoe Hillyard, Charlotte Hodes, Natasha Kerr, Nicki Jarvis, Hannah Louise Lamb, Sue Paraskeva, Cleo Mussi, Sandra Shashou, Liz Valenti, Rosalind Wyatt. Victoria Works Group: Nicola Clark, Katerina Gibb, Gourd & Horse, Lizzie Mabley, Rachel McDonnell, Anna Simson, Jill Watton, Zoe Watts
The Craft of Wallpaper ran as a special exhibition during London Craft Week in May 2016, bringing together the work of eleven of the UK’s most innovative makers: CUSTHOM, Juliet Chadwick, Claire Coles, Linda Florence, Fromental, Graham & Brown, Tracy Kendal, Elise Menghini, Identity Papers, Erica Wakerly and Waybreads.
I also curated the biannual new design showcase Spotted at TopDrawer for 12 years, launching more than 300 new design brands to the retail market.
Charlotte Abrahams 