"Luxury is the road less travelled", Andrew Martin founder
Martin Waller proclaims and when it comes to home decor this means
items where exclusivity is guaranteed.
Cushions made out of brass, a punchbag which feigns hitting a
brick wall, a cupboard fashioned from miscellaneous suitcases.
These are all contemporary design pieces you would have found at
the inaugural Collectible Design Fair last March, a redefinition of
the traditional trade show exhibiting unique or limited edition
collectible furniture from galleries and designers around the
world.
The fair, which is about to return to Brussels for its second
year, epitomises the trend of 'design art' where the line between
these two creative spheres is blurred and furniture is qualified by
its exclusivity and sentimental worth as much as its style,
material, colour and size.
What is the reason for this? The Akin Changemaker Report 2019
explains a wider shift in the relationship between the retail brand
and the individual. Customers want a personal experience: make-up
designed especially for your skin tone; smaller, sparser retail
space that encourages a rapport with a stylist; a restaurant
recommended by an online local rather than through Google hits.
With the rise of environmentalism and conscious living comes the
decline of fast fashion. People want to invest in a brand's
identity, know a product's backstory and regain a sense of self
purpose. With this entrusted emotional commitment comes a level of
expected reciprocity, that the product is going to be unique or
exclusive to them.
Liquorice allsorts, Kit Kats, jelly babies, digestives are part of our national consciousness, rather like a Beatles song. There is a nostalgia aspect to it but it’s bigger than that… they have become a fragment of our identity.
Founder and Creative Director, Martin Waller
In interiors, we see one-off vintage Ikea products which barely
sold at the time, being auctioned for £50,000 a pop and original
mid-century pieces whistling through antiques fairs like the Pied
Piper. At the Andrew Martin showroom, clients always flock to the
strange and wonderful objets d'art which Martin has collected from
his global travels and the furniture items which have been
upholstered in unique patchwork woven in Indonesia or a mud cloth
handmade in Mali. Over 4,000 Instagram users 'liked' the World of
Interiors post of our Pear Tree wallpaper lifestyle image, where
most of the 70 comments asked after the Bacall Junior Custom
chairs upholstered in one-off Andean fabrics.
So it is with this in mind, that amidst our brand new
Tutti Frutti furniture and accessories collection, you will
find chocolate bar and biscuit look-alike tables, all limited
edition to 100 pieces.
The reincarnated
Digestives,
Kit Kats and
Dairy Milks each sport a bronze plaque, the equivalent of
Charlie's golden ticket, displaying their limited-edition number
and the signatures of their designers Martin Waller and Timothy
Oulton.
Also very on trend, is Tutti Frutti's undeniable ability to put
a smile on your face, supporting Martin's ethos: "Decoration is a
building block of happiness". This, it seems, is an ideal he shares
with pop-culture's current favourite, Marie Kondo (Tidying Up with
Marie Kondo, Netflix), who's quantifiable question when deciding to
keep or throw an item in your overflowing home is: "Does it bring
you joy?". So if the label of 'collectable furniture' wasn't
alluring enough, these cool candy pieces will stand the test of
time too. Proudly cheerful in your tidy home.
