Suna Session with the Timorous Beasties

This is our first #SunaSession interview with designers whose work we really admire and love. We wanted to find out a bit more about them and their designs and thought you might like to know too! So today we're chatting to Alistair, one half of the avant-garde Timorous Beasties.

Suna Interior Design: Describe what you love about your latest range?
Alistair: "We don't do ranges as such but prefer to release new designs as we create them so they are a series of standalone pieces. Often there is a connection between some of our designs, but not all the time. We like it like that - loose and varied."

S: What is your most memorable design?
A: "It depends what you are remembering it for really. I have a particular fondness of Iguana, Thistle and Napoleon Bee as they launched Timorous Beasties 27 years ago, and like the majority of our designs, they remain timeless. Over the years they have been applied to many substrates other than wallpaper and fabric by using different techniques and for a range of installations. Omni Drips is also a favourite as it takes the traditional damask motif into a completely contemporary landscape - the grey colourway is particularly special. We love to work with different materials and one very memorable project was when our oversized Daisy design was engraved on a slate wall at Cabot Circus in Bristol."

S: What is the most 'out-there' request that you've had from a client?
A: "What do you regard as 'out-there'? We have had some briefs that were so awful that we have suddenly become too busy to get involved. We have designed a few gravestones, that could be considered 'out-there'. Hats for Mr Philip Treacy. Wrapped a building in laser-cut aluminium foliage. People wanting tattoos. Decorating the tail fin of a private jet with our ZigZag Moth design. Designed fabric for wedding dresses, getting married is quite out there..."

S: If you could have a design of yours anywhere in the world, what design would it be and where?
A: "New York Toile in The White House, but not under the current administration."

S: Who has inspired you most in your career?
A: "Anyone who is clever and funny and not a racist (that'll be the leader of the Western World out then!)"

S: Are you a cat or dog person?
A: "Neither, I'm Scottish and was warned by my uncle never to get anything with a mouth."

S: Where would we find you shopping?
A: "Online or anywhere that's got a good sale on."

S: What is your favourite object in your home?
A: "I recently purchased a David Weeks "Semana" chair that was originally sold through Habitat, really uncomfortable but looks bloody great."

S: Tell us something that would surprise people about you?
A: "I'm really not that fond of pattern."

S: What is your favourite space in the city you live in?
A: "It sounds a bit sad, but I actually love the Timorous Beasties studio in the evening when its quiet and sunny - it's very rarely both!"

There's nothing timorous about that beastie! Hope you have a great weekend,

Lucinda

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