Beautiful Edwardian House by Haine & Co.

Haine & Co. have handed back to their client this 7 bedroom detached Edwardian house in Wimbledon complete with an extensive two storey contemporary extension incorporating a luxury en-suite bathroom plus a 1000sqft open plan living/kitchen/family room.

The client purchased the house despite misgivings about the main reception rooms and kitchen being poorly lit by natural light.

The southern end of the existing house had previously been remodelled in the 1970’s and 1980’s resulting in poorly connecting and dark family rooms. This was dealt with by demolishing all non-original spaces to the south end of the house and replacing them with a contemporary two storey structure reflecting the existing rear elevation and footprint, the vertical and pitched elements clad in dark grey zinc with huge ground floor glazed sliding panels flooding the enormous family room with light.

The entire side and end walls of the original house were demolished at ground level to open up the centre of the house to natural light, requiring considerable structural alterations.

What3Words partner with Ford

Ford have announced that millions of their drivers around the world will now be able to use what3words location technology. The partnership means that drivers can enter precise 3 word destinations by voice or text, easier, faster and with fewer errors. It also enables them to navigate to any spot on the planet; including those without an address. Whether it’s meeting friends for a tailgate party at a particular parking place, finding the perfect scenic viewpoint, dropping the kids off at the right side of the football pitch, or making a delivery to the specific entrance on an industrial complex, Ford drivers will now be able to navigate with precision – by using just three simple words.

Designed for voice input, what3words is an innovative global addressing system that’s divided the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares and assigned each a unique 3 word address – made of three dictionary words. ///filled.count.soap, for example, will take you to the specific front entrance of Great Western Studios. The system is available in 26 languages, works offline and has built-in error prevention so the driver doesn’t end up at the wrong place.

Winter Round Up: We say hello to new members and share the latest news from around the studios

BOM BOM MOROCCO

BOMBOM MOROCCO was started in the summer of 2016 by Gibraltarian sisters Olivia and Beatriz. Spending many adventures in Morocco, Olivia and Beatriz are enchanted by the country and aim to capture the essence of Morocco in their accessory designs. The brand specialises in handmade and personalised straw baskets, hats and clutches. BOMBOM hold ethics and sustainability at the heart of the brand with each product being skilfully handcrafted by Moroccan artisans who belong to a foundation for illiterate women. BOMBOM prides itself on its commitment to ethical and sustainable fashion and its products created by women for women.

Officina Coppola

Officina Coppola is a pioneer in the use of liquid metal, limestone and resin to create bespoke finishes for architectural installations, furniture and works of art. The designed artworks, patterns and surfaces can be applied to any type of support, and they all harbour an emotional, tactile and visual impact.

Coppola has completed projects for fashion houses, hotel chains and luxury private estates in Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East.

Álvaro

After a career spanning more than 20 years designing accessories behind the scenes for major European luxury houses, including Valentino, Tod’s, Loewe, Emilio Pucci, Loro Piana, Valextra and Jimmy Choo, Álvaro González the Spanish-born, Florence-based designer, launched Álvaro in 2013. Their men’s and women’s sandals, bags and small leather goods are crafted in select artisanal workshops in and around Florence, Italy.

Made from vegetable tanned calf, suede or exotics such as alligator, ostrich and stingray, all goods are expressly developed by specialist Italian tanneries.

Latest news from our Studio Holders…

MATA Architects

Black Box is a small first floor rear extension to a mid terrace Victorian era house in Islington. MATA’s client wanted a space that could function both as a home office and occasional guest bedroom with an en-suite bathroom.

Situated on a dense urban site with neighbouring buildings in close proximity, any proposed extension would be overlooked from multiple sides – a typical London situation. The extension is conceived as a ‘reconfigurable box’ in dark stained Siberian Larch. Two bespoke counterbalanced shutters are manually operated internally using winches. These allow for multiple configurations of the ‘box’; from fully open with window overhang to counter summer solar gain, to shut tight.

The dynamic nature of the façade encourages the user to interact with the architecture and adapt their environment for comfort.

Craster

Craster introduce Alto, the new addition to their sleek buffet collection.

Available in natural walnut, the collection offers flexible buffet presentation with a range of plinths and boards for multi-height display. With its Scandi feel featuring a tripod base in black metal and subtle chamfer detail, this elegantly casual range is perfect for informal presentations, from breakfast pastries to high tea.

The signature piece is a gracefully designed three tier cake stand, which can be used as a singular focus item, or nested with another to create a tiered buffet effect.

KPPR

KPPR handle the retained UK publicity for comedian, actor, writer & director Ricky Gervais, whose latest series ‘After Life’ will debut on Netflix on 8th March. The show follows despondent Tony (played by Ricky) as he learns to cope after the death of his wife – by deciding to say and do whatever he likes, whatever the consequences.

KPPR have been working with Netflix on the campaign and secured a number of opportunities including The Graham Norton Show (BBC One), The One Show (BBC One), radio & online interviews at Bauer, Global and BBC Radio, a cover feature interview with Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine and a ‘60 Minutes’ profile interview on Australian television network Nine.

On & On Designs

In their latest collaboration with Tate Edit, On & On Designs represents Maria Jeglinska’s Glass Collection for Autor Rooms. The latest addition to the hotel essentials collection, a vase, expands on the formal language of the glassware and of the mirrors designed for Autor Rooms. It is a body in the form of a large tube, the bottom sphere reminds legs, standing still and firmly. On each side, semi sphere-shaped tubes recalling the body language of power posing resembles hands. The vases are available at the Tate Edit shop.

KPPR have been working with Netflix on the campaign and secured a number of opportunities including The Graham Norton Show (BBC One), The One Show (BBC One), radio & online interviews at Bauer, Global and BBC Radio, a cover feature interview with Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine and a ‘60 Minutes’ profile interview on Australian television network Nine.

Great Western Studios is a finalist in the Office of the Future Awards!

We’re please to announce that GWS is a finalist for the Hubble Office of the Future Awards, in the category of “Design of the Future”.

We have also been entered for the People’s Champion Award. This category allows anyone to vote for us.

PLEASE VOTE FOR US HERE

Can’t wait to get our glad rags on for the award ceremony!

Daisy Jewellery launch Aphrodite Necklace

Great stuff from Daisy Jewellery, introducing their new Aphrodite Necklace!

£10 from the sale of each necklace will go to Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust to help raise awareness and support those affected by this disease.

More info here.

Fantastic Christmas Market at Great Western Studios

Yesterday we hosted a Christmas Market in our Atrium and it was wonderful, thank you to all the studios who got involved!

We’re feeling lovely and festive now, have a lovely Christmas everyone.