With an astute mix of sumptuous materials and traditional craft, Fiona Barratt-Campbell imbues furniture, wall coverings, and home accessories with qualities found in nature. Enlisting a network of carpenters, metal workers, and other independent artisans in Northumberland, a northern region of unspoiled moors and dales along the England-Scotland border, the FBC London founder’s collections embrace the tactility of hand-hewn design. For instance, the 3D texture of the Rain collection—a set that includes an ombré or verdigris bronze credenza, chest of drawers, and bedside table—induces the moody feeling of a thunderstorm. For her Column collection, Barratt-Campbell looked to the pillars common in Roman and Greek temples for inspiration. The signature geometric pattern of rivets nods to the industrial aesthetic of the era.
Both collections are on display at the Manhattan showroom, the brand’s third outpost joining London’s Pimlico Road and the headquarters in Victoria. For Barratt-Campbell, it’s also a return to the place she called home while attending Parsons School of Design. Below, we get the download on the new location.
Project Description: Our first-ever FBC-London showroom in the U.S. is a light refurbishment of a 1,400-square-foot showroom on the 4th floor of the New York Design Center at 200 Lexington Ave. We stripped the gallery back to bare concrete floor and plaster walls and removed existing walls to open up space from front to back. It was essential for us to do this to create an impact.
Inspiration: Our furniture designs are born of a passion for creating pieces inspired by history and the natural world. Simplicity was crucial for our New York showroom: we want the furniture to do the talking. We used Dove Wing (OC-18), a very pale Benjamin Moore paint, to keep the space light and airy and to create a blank canvas so that the collections can take center stage.
Blueprint: Having lived and studied design in New York, I know Manhattan well, and the NYDC was the natural choice for our debut into the U.S. market. As an established and well-regarded resource within the industry, the NYDC gives FBC London a footfall among like-minded makers and businesses. The showroom opening also marks the international debut of our newest collections, Column and Rain. The Column collection, inspired by the column designs of Greek and Roman temples, introduces a new range of dining tables, consoles, coffee tables, and side tables. The Rain collection draws on the success of our best-selling City collection of bedside tables, credenzas, and chest of drawers.
Takeaway/Uniqueness: I learned that clear communication and having a trusted partner on site are the key to success when you can’t physically be there to manage the process and make decisions on paint, floor colors, etc.
It is an essential ethos of FBC London to produce furniture with environmental responsibility whenever possible. We are manufactured in the UK and Europe by small, creative artisans who take great care to create exceptional quality products. We receive the most compliments for the wide range of finish choices we offer for interior and exterior furnishings. For instance, one of our most popular specialist finishes is Cracked Earth, which mimics the look of scorched terrain and was inspired by images from an African safari.
Challenges: It’s not advisable to undertake an overseas building project amidst a global pandemic!! Covid-19 halted construction by three months and prohibited me from traveling to the U.S. to view the progress; it was all done on FaceTime!
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