In part two (part one here) of my interview with UK designer Faye Toogood we discuss the 10 years she spent styling the pages of World of Interiors, her firm Studio Toogood, and her favorite interiors of all time.
Gillian Tozer: Let's talk a little about your time with World Of Interiors. There many disparate elements and juxtapositions within the worlds you created, but I also recognize this sense of heritage and tradition. What affect did the magazine have on your aesthetic?
Faye Toogood: Going from studying Art History straight into interiors was probably the best education I could have had. At World of Interiors, I learned a lot about antiques, old interiors, and architecture—it was just the most incredible dictionary of design. I think that grounding and aesthetic is engrained in my head.
What I really like, even though I haven’t been at the magazine for five years, is that whether something was from 1720 or 1920 it gets treated the same way. That definitely had a strong influence on me: it's not just about today but also tomorrow. Having that sense of history and a knowledge of interiors allows you to take references and play with them so that people can consciously and subconsciously react.
GT: What are some of your favorite interiors?
FT: The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, Charleston House, Kettle's Yard, Sir John Soane's Museum, the Victor Vasarely Museum, the house designed by Ernö Goldfinger on Willow Road in London, and Yves Saint Laurent's apartment in Paris, to name a few!
GT: Tell me a little about Studio Toogood?
FT: People often ask what is Studio Toogood? It's very hard for me to explain: we work on so many diverse projects. Essentially, we are a group of creatives, currently 12, who work on creative projects, whether it’s two- or three-dimensional, permanent, or temporary. My intentions with Studio Toogood have always been the same: to build a group of like-minded people from different backgrounds. Whether they’re from architecture, interiors, products, graphics, or fashion we all come together and collaborate on projects. I think when you cross disciplines you get really interesting results. Having a fine artist work on a functional piece of design is interesting and looking at the way they approach it is something that I’ve tried to do differently, in comparison to other design companies.
Collectively, we have a wide skill set. It's exciting to work one day on a fashion shoot, the next day design a chair, and then the next day work on a hotel interior. Diversity is what stops me from getting bored and hopefully stops everyone else from getting bored as well.
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Faye at the OC London store wearing the Chloë Sevigny for OC LEOPARD PRINT SOPHIE PUFF-SLEEVE DRESS in beige. Portraits by RORY VAN MILLINGEN
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"Two Willow Road, hidden in the depths of Hampstead, is one of my favorite British Modernist interiors. Designed in 1939 by Ernö Goldfinger for his family, this understated space has one of the most appealing interiors. I would like to turn the clock back and have a cup of tea with Ernö in his office." Two Willow Road, London
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Gillian Tozer: Let's talk a little about your time with World Of Interiors. There many disparate elements and juxtapositions within the worlds you created, but I also recognize this sense of heritage and tradition. What affect did the magazine have on your aesthetic?
Faye Toogood: Going from studying Art History straight into interiors was probably the best education I could have had. At World of Interiors, I learned a lot about antiques, old interiors, and architecture—it was just the most incredible dictionary of design. I think that grounding and aesthetic is engrained in my head.
What I really like, even though I haven’t been at the magazine for five years, is that whether something was from 1720 or 1920 it gets treated the same way. That definitely had a strong influence on me: it's not just about today but also tomorrow. Having that sense of history and a knowledge of interiors allows you to take references and play with them so that people can consciously and subconsciously react.
GT: What are some of your favorite interiors?
FT: The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, Charleston House, Kettle's Yard, Sir John Soane's Museum, the Victor Vasarely Museum, the house designed by Ernö Goldfinger on Willow Road in London, and Yves Saint Laurent's apartment in Paris, to name a few!
GT: Tell me a little about Studio Toogood?
FT: People often ask what is Studio Toogood? It's very hard for me to explain: we work on so many diverse projects. Essentially, we are a group of creatives, currently 12, who work on creative projects, whether it’s two- or three-dimensional, permanent, or temporary. My intentions with Studio Toogood have always been the same: to build a group of like-minded people from different backgrounds. Whether they’re from architecture, interiors, products, graphics, or fashion we all come together and collaborate on projects. I think when you cross disciplines you get really interesting results. Having a fine artist work on a functional piece of design is interesting and looking at the way they approach it is something that I’ve tried to do differently, in comparison to other design companies.
Collectively, we have a wide skill set. It's exciting to work one day on a fashion shoot, the next day design a chair, and then the next day work on a hotel interior. Diversity is what stops me from getting bored and hopefully stops everyone else from getting bored as well.
Faye at the OC London store wearing the Chloë Sevigny for OC LEOPARD PRINT SOPHIE PUFF-SLEEVE DRESS in beige. Portraits by RORY VAN MILLINGEN
"Two Willow Road, hidden in the depths of Hampstead, is one of my favorite British Modernist interiors. Designed in 1939 by Ernö Goldfinger for his family, this understated space has one of the most appealing interiors. I would like to turn the clock back and have a cup of tea with Ernö in his office." Two Willow Road, London