Step inside the Sarabande Foundation’s intriguing new Tottenham studios

‘We have some amazing artists,’ says the Sarabande Foundation’s chief executive, Trino Verkade. ‘There's a huge interest, because we find self-taught artists and jewellers – people who have not gone through the system, so may not be on the radar in the same way. We don't look at that, so it means they've still got an equal chance of being in Sarabande. Our pool is so broad, and for that reason, not everybody has to take the same pathway when they leave, either. We don't want to bottleneck everybody.’

We are speaking at a key time for the Sarabande Foundation, a London-based charitable organisation begun by the late designer Lee Alexander McQueen to champion emerging talent. Verkade was his first employee, returning to take on the role of CEO in 2017. Now, she is overseeing the foundation’s expansion, with a pair of beautifully restored Georgian grade II*-listed townhouses in Tottenham providing 14 new studio spaces.

The new location joins the current premises in Haggerston, creating 30 studios in total. Like the original space, the Tottenham studios are very much inspired by and designed to cater to the students and their distinctive talents. Restoration work, funded by a Heritage Enterprise grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thoughtfully restores the buildings to their original glory.

‘The building itself is jaw-dropping,’ Verkade says. ‘We've kept the original features in one of the Queen Anne buildings, including the paint and the wallpapers. The reason we got lottery funding towards it is that it's one of the last remaining Queen Anne buildings in London.’

The space, encompassing over 830 sq m, has been overseen by project architects F3 and is composed of the two houses next door to each other, joined by a modern extension that goes up the back of both sides. Flanked by original coach houses, the space also offers a garden, a gallery and exhibition space, which Verkade notes will give more capacity for events such as art exhibitions and talks.

Throughout, the students have contributed to the design. Five Sarabande alumni have created new artworks intertwined throughout the architecture, from hand-carved flagstones on the new House of Bandits café’s floor – in the former coach house – to an offbeat, mischievous umbrella design.

As well as offering a physical space, Sarabande is a community, a place to connect and talk about work, forming relationships and making contacts for those usually isolated in their studio. ‘We can only help so far, and they also have to help each other,’ Verkade adds. ‘They've got to have it in them themselves – they have to know what they want, and what they want to do next. What we do is accelerate the process. If you're in an early start-up or early part of your career, and you need to push it forward, and have that space and visibility, Sarabande is a really good place to do that.’

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