David Carter Q&A
Firstly how did this unique collaboration with Jacques come about?
They contacted me, I think because obviously I own 40 winks, which has had lots of amazing press, ‘The most reputable hotel in the world’ according to German Vogue, ‘sexiest boutique hotel in London’ – Grazia. Not only that but we put on lovely, lovely events which also get fab press. So I think what they were interested in, they wanted someone who was going to be able to, not only design and create something that is really fabulous to look at but also to generate and create lovely experiences for people when they actually came aswell. So it was a combination of design but also the content, we have lots of lovely things going on here from Oliver who is dj-ing with a wind-up gramophone, we’ve got benefit cosmetics doing amazing make over’s, we’ve got a fanatic dressing up box…well a whole room, of dressing up downstairs, wonderful cigarette pearls and bell pots. It is more than just putting on ‘A’ party; it’s creating a whole world. For me with my work everything has got to have integrity. Literally from the moment people arrive they have to register with the concierge and book in, collect a key to their room, an imaginary room, everything flows from that, and present those ideas and so on. They were very good clients in the sense that I had a lot of freedom to create what I believed was going to work here, which is a kind of just a lovely fairytale experience for people.
I think it is…
Thank you.
A girly sanctuary I can’t complain, but why not involve the lads in this pop up townhouse?
Jacque as a cider brand, because of the fruits, it’s not a kind of scrumpy cider go down the pub and get pissed. It is a actually as brand that developed and marketed specifically at girls in their 20’s, the brand has been developed with girls in mind.
Obviously tonight with it being the launch party night, there is lots of men mingling in as guests, but the profile of guests over the next few weeks is almost exclusively girls. It is an event principally aimed at girls, designed for girls, I don’t think there will be many boys wanting to dress up in girls clothes, or have their make-up done or eyelashes done by benefit but we know a lot of girls will want to do that, it comes from the ethos of the brand.
What is your attraction to beautiful Townhouses?
As an interior designer I have worked on all sorts of buildings, I mean I have worked on 1960’s bungalows in the past, I have done French château’s and lots of very grand places. At the moment I am doing a huge country house up in Northampshire, a hotel in Vienna and about to start on a seaside house in Brittany, I do all sorts of different things, big apartments and so forth.
I live in a Queen Anne townhouse, but there is no, oh it is not a townhouse I am not going to do that. When we were looking for a venue for Jacques, we wanted to have an elegant townhouse hotel, something that was manageable, rather than some huge space. To find the right balance, they knew 40 winks, which only has two bedrooms, they loved that idea. One of the most talked about, written about hotels in the world and it is in Stepney Green East London and has only got two bedrooms! That as a concept you can see is brilliant and it worked very well as a template for this because the logistics of looking after lots of guests would have been quite complicated. At the same time it is still lovely to have people that are able to stay here as well of the majority of people that get to come and have the evening experiences.
40 winks hotel, how do you ever get the guests to vacate their rooms? What was the concept behind this venture?
My house, for over 11years now has been one of London’s top fashion and celebrity locations, and every single week I’ve got fantastic, amazing photoshoots going on there and for years I’ve had photographers, stylists, models and magazine editors asking if they could stay. I have a lot of people flying in from New York, Milan or Paris to shoot in my house. For years people have been pestering me about, because they love the house, I get on really well with them and they love being in east London for them that’s a really cool place. As most of the time they would be put up in really boring but smart hotels, in you know knightsbridge or Chelsea or something.
So about a year and half ago I just thought why not lets do it, and launched 40winks in March of 2009 during London fashion week. Innocently thinking I may get one or two people staying a month, like the people that may like to shoot there and then the press just kept building and building and building and it just got fuller and fuller and fuller. I mean now we have to turn away some of the most amazing people, like I will get an email from Marie Claire France saying the editor would like to come and stay and I hesitantly have to write back, On these days I can’t fit them in, or the design directors of Burberry, amazing people that we cannot fit in.
The hotel is principally aimed at people that work in fashion and the arts, it’s very particular, we are not trying to appeal to everyone. People come because it is different and is genuinely different; it’s not some kind of cynical whatever. There is no room service, no bell hops, no restaurant, so people are just coming for the lovely ambiance and the spirit of the house, which is really creative because it is quirky, mad, beautiful and seductive, I think that is why it has been so successful. People really do love it and what is interesting… people who plan their trip to London around the availability of the hotel, which is really amazing, and that is just not normal.
That is what my work is all about I want to emotionally connect with people, I think people feel an emotional connection with the space, all the events that we do, like bedtime story nights, life drawing evenings and Tart. They are about creating lovely, lovely experiences for people. We don’t do it to make money, I mean we don’t really make any money from it but we do create lovely experiences that are memorable.
I mean we had tart last Saturday and we had people come all the way from Bristol for it, saying it was the best event we ever, ever been to, ever! It is that kind of warmth, that warm feeling people get because we delivered something special to them.
For the Jacques Townhouse I noticed that part of your inspiration came from one of my personal favourite photographers Tim Walker, what is it that attracts you to his work? And where would you state your other areas of inspiration came from?
I am a big fan too.
I think I have sort of been described as the john Galliano of the interior design world. One of the reasons I love John’s work so much is because he is not embarrassed or afraid to dip into different parts the crafts and cherry pick a little bit of Marie Antoinette a little bit of Japanese 17th century and mix everything up. I do that with my work as an interior designer, we all sort of rummage around and pick things up. It is about taking lots of different things mixing them all up and creating something new with that.
This is not a whole homage to Tim Walker but is evoking the spirit and the playfulness that is inherent in Tim’s work that has always been there. I have been an interior designer for 18years, one of my first ever jobs which was called ‘Driller Thriller’ it was this mad dentist surgery in Cherbourg in France it tromploid teeth going around it was completely zany. For me humour and doing something different is very much apart of what I do, of course there are overlaps as it about quirkiness and playfulness and having fun. Because the things we see in magazines or the spaces we live with, we have got to enjoy! I am very serious about my work I am not irresponsible about it and I care deeply and passionate about it. I think my work appeals to a different type of audience it is not academic or architectural, it is about the celebration of life really.
Tell us a bit about your background? Where and how did your love of interior design develop?
A flat I had in Islington, a friend of mine who is a photographer came round to take a few pics and on spec he sent them in to World of Interiors. They phoned up literally the next day, ‘we love it’ we want to photograph it and it was on the front cover. Min Hogg who is the legendary Editor-in-Chief then invited me into to have lunch after it had been published and She said, ‘David, you’re a genius, you should be an interior designer. We’ll publish anything you do.’
That was sort of how I started, it was really Min Hogg and her support and her encouragement sort of saying you have got a talent. I have taken on over the years lots of young people who have very little experience who I believe in and give them the right kind of encouragement to develop and practice your art and a platform to do that.
On your online portfolio your work is split into either Light or Dark. Is this an intentional design process? Or is it more organic and the work slowly fits into each division?
Not really it’s sort of intuitive. What I naturally want to do is to create juxtapositions. I love the idea of going from dark spaces to light; everything works better because of the contrast. And also for me as a human being for me dark spaces are really womb like, you can curl up and feel very safe but also love bright ethereal spaces where you want to dance. I need all that, as human beings we are not just one thing we are everything. When I naturally designed the house here (the Jacques pop-up townhouse) we have all these very light rooms upstairs but downstairs dark and cosy to me that is what makes it more interesting and real.
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