Traditional motifs meet their wilder
stepsiblings in the creations of Timorous
Beasties. Named from the Robert Burns
poem “To a Mouse,” the company was
founded in 1990 by Alistair McAuley
and Paul Simmons, friends from the
Glasgow School of Art, and now its vivid
wallpapers have a cult-like following.
The Bloody Empire pattern takes
inspiration from the bee. “We loved the
bee’s place in history—a symbol of the
first kings of France, the Barberini popes
and Napoleon,” McAuley says. “Using
both digital and hand-printing gives a
luxurious effect.” Available through Ted
Boerner showrooms. tedboerner.com,
timorousbeatsies.com
“They’re one hundred and eighty-five million years old, when
dinosaurs were around—it’s hard to comprehend,” says Brenda
Houston of the Russian ammonite fossil table from her Puzzle
collection. “The larger a piece, the harder it is to come by, and this
Russian variety is covered in gold pyrite, which imparts a beautiful
flecked finish when you slice it open.” Made to order in California,
the table weighs about 400 pounds and features a pair of ammonites
sliced apart to flank a laser-cut bronze piece that mimics the
fossil’s profile, creating a sort of puzzle. “I can only get two or three
pairs of Russian ammonites this size every year, so my tables are
almost as rare as the material itself.” Available through Holly Hunt.
hollyhunt.com, brendahouston.com
“We wanted to focus on the strong,
muscular character of horsehair, not its
flexible, decorative quality,” says Gabriel
Hendifar, creative director of Apparatus,
of its new horsehair lighting collection.
“We wanted it to feel like the light was
pouring out of the pendant.” Using an Ohio
supplier who provides extensions for show
horses, Apparatus is literally shedding
new light on the age-old material, hand
assembling sconces and pendants (shown
here) with custom brass hardware and
frosted glass in their Brooklyn facility.
646 527 9732 apparatusstudio.com
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