Le Bon Marché cushions

Le Bon Marché is the oldest department store in Paris and, by most accounts, the first modern department store anywhere. When their buyers approached me to supply a collection of hand-painted cushions for the revamped Home department, I treated it as I treat any commission: with research, with historic references, and with each piece made one at a time.

They supplied moodboards with that season's themes and colour palettes. I developed a range of designs drawn from various historic sources, coordinated across the collection but individually painted so that no two cushions were identical. Specific sizes and linens were agreed, I designed and added the labels, and then they went to Paris to sit on the shop floor of one of the great retail institutions of the world.

There is a unique pleasure in commissions that bridge the gap between fine art and functional object. By bringing hand-painted originals into a retail setting of this caliber, I offer a tangible piece of my studio’s story. It is a refined way of working that celebrates the versatility of the decorative arts, where the craftsmanship of the painting is as evident in a cushion as it is on a grand-scale wall.