When I found out The Curious Department were bringing out a new collection so soon after I was launching my blog, it seemed obvious to include them into the schedule and give all of you (and me!) a chance to get to know Chris and Ross a little bit more. So, we set up a Q&A and delved straight in!…
The Heirloom collection is filled with mathematical beauty, enticing us through an enormous amount of detail. Reminiscent of times, both relatable such as the emotions we hold for specific heirlooms, and dreamlike, touching upon the glamour of Hollywood Regency. From flamboyant wallpapers to cushions and fabrics too, the opulence will forever be bold and present where these designs are featured.
For a chance to win a piece of the new collection, enter our giveaway over on my Instagram feed.
Can you tell us about your path into design and how you got to the stage you’re at now?
Creativity is something we have both always loved. Chris works in marketing and has always dealt with creative campaign work and I’m a Creative Director at a Global advertising agency developing campaigns for global brands. About three years ago we had the idea for The Curious Department, a homewares brand that was a little more unusual in its execution. We wanted to create a tonic against mass production and the white boxes that flatpack brands used to so heavily promote. We set a golden rule which was about designing for pleasure, everything we release we feel really excited about, and always aim to give people something that they haven’t seen before.
How would you describe your designs?
There’s a short answer for this, it’s our slogan: ‘A Small Dose of High Drama’. It’s our mission to deliver statement pieces that guests at your home will want to know more about!
The slightly longer answer is that our designs are always a cultural medley, I’m a bit like a sponge absorbing patterns and styles and stories from the world across different eras. Our designs are always difficult to place as they are influenced by so many things, we think this is what makes us special. An example would be our new Zellandine Cushion range from the latest ‘Heirloom’ collection. Some people see church chapel ceilings, others see Art Nouveau, some see Celtic influences too.
Something that connects all of our designs is the continuous use of geometry. As a creative person I consider myself a little unusual in the sense that I love maths, at school I studied Maths A-level but I also studied Art. Teachers use to find it confusing, you were either a maths and science pupil, or you were aligned to the arts. Sometimes, I still finish designs and my head literally aches because I have been crunching a calculator to work out angles hidden within the geometric forms and repeats. It’s a challenge I enjoy.
What is your overall design process?
Everything starts with a concept and a story, we work on this together, and think of ideas and references, it provides a foundation for our collection to grow from. For Heirloom we wanted to create something that embodies quintessential Curious. Something inspired by fashion, fantasy and history, but remixed in a fresh way. We wanted a collection that could house a tale, each piece is actually connected to the next in a narrative that we have written. Zellandine's Brooch is an heirloom that is protected by the dragonfly guardians, all of which is locked in a mythical lily pond that nobody can access other than Zellandine’s granddaughter named Tiana. Shaping the story really helped to conceptualise what the each piece could look like. The next step is creating a vision board, drawing elements using my Wacom, slowly turning sketches into polished drawings. Everything you see in the collection is personally drawn by myself. The whole process is kind of like a trance, it sounds weird but sometimes I get so obsessed that I lose sense of time and reality, a week can go by and then I look and think to myself, ‘I can’t actually believe that I have designs this! Has this has come from me? Did i really do this?’ The next step is sharing final designs with Chris. He is very, very critical and has A LOT of questions. There’s definitely a tension there but that tension creates something special, I couldn’t do it without him, and the work is always better for it too. We debate our views and then we find a happy place and complete the designs.
Do you have a favourite piece in the Heirloom collection?
This is a difficult question, as perfectionists its very hard for us to LOVE our own work. We definitely get excited when we feel like we have created something unusual. If i was really pushed, I would say I am most proud of is the Zellandine Aqua Cushion. Technically it was the biggest challenge to create. There’s so much geometric considerations and so much detail in every single jewel too. If we really wanted we could scale the design up to the size of a skyscraper and it wouldn’t loose any quality, if anything you would be able to see more of the detail - let’s try it someday!
What is your home like, and does it feature many of your own designs?
Our home is a treasure trove of all things Curious! We do have a lot of our own work around the house. We have a rule which is ‘If we wouldn’t have it in our own home, then we wouldn't release it to the world’. This grounds us and is our form of quality control. So naturally the house has become a living portfolio for The Curious Department, in fact the house is The Curious Department! I won’t lie, it’s visually quite intense, but people love it, but more importantly – we love it. It reflects us and is something we have built together.
How have you found lockdown… loved it or hated it?
Chris’s star sign is Cancer, and one of Cancer’s traits is being a homebody - for him it’s been an enjoyable experience. I am more of a social butterfly, I love to be at home with the cat and dog (Yoshi & Gloria), but interaction with people is mandatory, so it’s been trickier for me. Zoom and being able to have friends over as rules relaxed has been amazing. I’ve definitely learnt to enjoy my Curious nest, and have used creativity as an escape and a mindfulness technique too. I think everyone will look back at lockdown and realise they have learned so much about themselves and the way they want to conduct their lives moving forward, which at the end of the day is something to love.
Any advice for any budding designers wanting to pursue a career in textiles?
My advice is ‘GET BUSY!’ - Sounds a little tough, but every day I hear people with amazing ideas and dreams but they just don’t action it, until you actually do something about it, it’s just a pipe dream. Talk is cheap, so put your money where you mouth is and just commit to step one. If you can do one thing to move the situation forward in a productive way then you are on the path to success. This is what we did and step one leads to step two, three and four. Before you know it the years have passed and you’re sat answering interview questions about your third collection!
The Heirloom collection is now available at The Curious Department and to win one of the new prints you can enter the competition right here.
