The Bite Magazine - Spring 2016 - Issue 15

to be rather confused by this new style of interior design, stating, “How are we expected to see prison furniture?” However, his innovated design skills were honoured in 1933 when he was knighted for raising British design standards. As the company continued to grow, often featuring new and at the time, shocking and daring designs; it never lost focus on providing their customers with the best service available, especially with its mattress selections. In 1925, the company went from horse and buggy to motorised vans and during the Great Depression, Heal’s took the terrible drama and hard- ship of the times into consideration and launched a new range of ‘economy’ furniture. This release created quite a huge stir by selling noticeably extreme Bauhaus pieces by the likes of Mies van der Rohe. By the time the Second World War was underway, Heal’s took it upon themselves to do their part for the war effort by sewing together parachutes for 47.5 hours a week. After the war ended, the company had discovered it had a talent with fabrics and launched its own line, Heal’s Fabrics. Following this time, the nation moved into the eras of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s with a bang, bringing with it new styles including interna- tional looks takes on designs. Ambrose’s sons, Christopher and Anthony brought Mid-Century Modern, Pop and Scan- dinavian designs to the UK. But, don’t think this London-based family company doesn’t know how to respect and honour its roots, for in 1977, Heal’s own expert cabinet-makers and polishers were commissioned to restore Bucking- ham Palace’s 60ft banqueting table for the Silver Jubilee. With such an impressive history, this family-owned business has helped other families build and create their own homes in style. “Supporting great design has always been close to our hearts at Heal’s – we’ve continuously championed and commissioned emerging design talent since the days of Ambrose Heal.” And with such a great legacy of designers, it was this past December that a new line of lighting and furniture was introduced to Heal’s collections of home goods. Lyngard ceramics are beautiful, delicate and subtle in their understated elegance. This family-owned pottery company based in England has been in business for over six generations and each piece is handmade in Stoke and Trent factory. “Taking our inspiration from the past, we add our handwriting through differ- ent shapes, glazes and decorations. One of the more interesting finishes is the true reduction-fired lustre finish. This produces a metallic iridescent glaze that changes colour depending on the light – a technique known by only a handful of experts worldwide.” Their fabulous pendant lights offer a great alternative to glass options, providing a warm, soft and translucent radiance. These hanging, sculptural pendants look more like art than functional pieces, coming in an array of special finishes: marble and matt tones with real platinum or gold inner linings. “Fired in the kiln three times to perfect the richness of colour, no two pieces are the same making each a one-off.” Lyngard also makes beautiful one-of-a-kind vases, which provide the perfect support to any floral arrangement. Another designer, who was a former Heal’s Discovers winner, Sebastian Cox and Anthony Dickens have returned with a new venture in a collaboration with British grown timbers. These two talented designers were both awarded their handcrafted furniture collections (Dickens in 2006 for his Origami table and Cox in 2013 for his Oak and Hazel Range) and thus, it makes perfect sense that their latest work to combine their skills and brilliance with carpentry into the Tree-to-Table project. These made- to-order pieces from British wood: sycamore, ash, oak or lime, beech, are handpicked by Sebastian and tooled at his workshop in Greenwich. “British grown wood is beautiful in its variety of charac- ter, and each board is completely unique. We wanted to bring that excitement into the store and allow customers to select a [table] top that’s right for them,” states Cox. Ergo, by hand selecting each individual piece of wood, Cox and Dickens ensure that each tabletop and bench seat is a one-off piece of design and artisanship. And what, you may wonder are these beautiful wooden tops supported by? Magic stone carved legs? No, unfortu- nately not, but rather by a forged steel base created by Dickens in Suffolk using traditional blacksmithing methods. “The beeswax finished leg has evidence of every hammer blow that, when placed next to the blonde wood of the table top, makes it appear like a burnt length of timber. So, through the honest exposure of crafting a metal leg using centuries old blacksmithing techniques, the leg exhibits visual cues that create a close relationship between the two disparate materials,” says Dickens. Together, these two designers have created incredible tables that would fit seamlessly in any- one’s home decor. The history of Heal’s and its incredible staff speaks for itself - this is the place to go for all of your interior design needs. Heal’s provide the perfect accessories to dress a home in style that are truly as individual and unique as each customer. www.heals.com bitelifestyle