Masters of Arts & Crafts: Millinery Works celebrates design excellence

London gallery Millinery Works is celebrating its rich collection of Arts & Crafts furniture with a temporary exhibition of its most recent acquisitions.
The gallery was originally founded in 1970 by Brian Thompson and Derek Rothera as a selling outpost in Camden Passage under the name The Antique Trader. Since 1996 it has been operating from the former hat-making factory focusing on British Arts & Crafts - with parts of the collection dedicated to painting, ceramics and contemporary craftsmen's work. The Haggerston-based institution has established itself as the destination for the British 20th century movement and has even collaborated with Loewe on the Spanish brand's furniture collection (creative director Jonathan Anderson has been a customer for years).
The current exhibition, Masters of Arts & Crafts, is the gallery's 19th annual specialist display of the theme, and forms part of a programme that presents a temporary showcase a few times each year. It is a diverse showcase of furniture by the likes of Gordon Russell, Baillie Scott and George Henry Walton, and exposes the movement’s dynamic diversity. Luscious wooden furniture features alongside more decorative elements, such as George Walton’s 1900 coloured glass works or his heart-shaped cut-out on an oak chair from a few years earlier. The clean display allows visitors to both appreciate the pieces' rich craftsmanship and their elegant shapes.
A bespoke Australian walnut Cotswold table (left), by Peter Waals, c. 1930 and a mahogany barrel chair with slatted sides (right in foreground), by Liberty & Co, c. 1900
Left: A chestnut Cotswold small chest of drawers with carved bog oak handles, by Sir Gordon Russell, c. 1925. Right: a rare, green painted ash 'Sussex' armchair, designed by Philip Webb for Morris & Co, c. 1865
Sir Gordon Russell's oak fall-front bureau, over one drawer on a stand of six chamfered octagonal legs joined by chamfered stretchers. Photography: Jessica Klingelfuss
A dark oak Cotswold desk, by Arthur Romney Green
A rare pair of oak armchairs with sloped tall backs, originally designed for 'The Homestead' in Frinton-on-Sea, a house designed and furnished by CFA Voysey in 1902
An oak Cotswold circular coffee table (left), attributed to Romney Green, c. 1920, and a pair of unusually large oak Arts & Crafts reclining armchairs, made by Furniture Industries Ercol, c. 1930.
ADDRESS
The Millinery Works Gallery
87 Southgate Road
London, N1 3JS UK
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Rosa Bertoli was born in Udine, Italy, and now lives in London. Since 2014, she has been the Design Editor of Wallpaper*, where she oversees design content for the print and online editions, as well as special editorial projects. Through her role at Wallpaper*, she has written extensively about all areas of design. Rosa has been speaker and moderator for various design talks and conferences including London Craft Week, Maison & Objet, The Italian Cultural Institute (London), Clippings, Zaha Hadid Design, Kartell and Frieze Art Fair. Rosa has been on judging panels for the Chart Architecture Award, the Dutch Design Awards and the DesignGuild Marks. She has written for numerous English and Italian language publications, and worked as a content and communication consultant for fashion and design brands.
-
Premium pocketable audio scales up with the new SP4000 from Astell&Kern
The Astell&Kern A&ultima SP4000 is a serious piece of audiophile equipment, a high-res portable player that offers endless ways to shape your listening experience
-
The ultimate amenity in this Canadian apartment building? A trio of scene-stealing restaurants
Part of Citizen on Jasper, a new residential tower, Va!, Olia, and Mimi offer a thrilling day-to-night dining experience
-
These sculptural mirrors embody the relaxed spirit of the Med
Photographed in a Mallorcan residence designed by local studio Munarq, these new sculptural mirrors by New York furniture company Ready To Hang are inspired by the sea
-
How do you modernise a home without making it feel modern? This farmhouse renovation is a stunning case study
A 300-year-old English farmhouse has been given a new lease of life while staying true to the old ways
-
Jessica Anne Woodley’s ‘joyfully imperfect’ furniture seeks your inner child
The designer is launching GliFfY, a furniture studio offering playful forms that reflect on her personal growth
-
Haller-lujah! USM is reimagined by Buchanan Studio
The Swiss modular furniture brand has collaborated for the first time with a UK-based design studio, and the tessellating results are spectacular
-
Tamart’s ‘Clore’ floor lamp revives a modernist lighting classic
Tamart debuts the 'Clore' floor lamp, a handblown glass design originally created in 1963 for Sir Charles Clore's London penthouse
-
Anglepoise and National Trust look to Britain’s coastal landscape for a new blue lighting collection
Anglepoise and National Trust announce their third lighting collection, Neptune Blue
-
Dimoremilano opens immersive Marylebone residency around Frieze London 2022
Coinciding with this year’s Frieze London, Dimoremilano has opened an immersive residency at The Invisible Collection’s new Marylebone HQ
-
Holloway Li’s debut furniture collection is like colourful candy
Holloway Li presents the ‘T4’ collection of furniture, created in collaboration with Turkish manufacturer Uma and inspired by the designers’ 1990s childhood
-
Bill Amberg creates leather furniture in collaboration with the Knepp Estate
London-based designer Bill Amberg has created a series of furniture pieces for the Knepp Estate, Sussex, using leather from the rewilding project's animals for an on-site cafe due to open in 2023