T
ypically, Farrow & Ball,
the cult paint company,
goes it alone—develop-
ing its colors in-house.
For the new Colour
by Nature range, though,
the 73-year-old British studio has
partnered with London’s Natural
History Museum. As Charlotte Cosby,
head of creative for Farrow & Ball,
explains, “The museum contacted me and said, ‘We found
this amazing book in our archives. Would you be interested
in realizing some of the colors from it?’ ” She took one look
and was gobsmacked. Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours is a
pocket-size 1814 handbook—based on the chromatic studies of
German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner and adapted by
Scottish artist Patrick Symes—that allowed
scientists and explorers, Charles Darwin
among them, to classify their discoveries
in the natural world through a universal
color language of 110 shades, from Broccoli
Brown to Arterial Blood Red. “Even the
names reminded me of our own names,”
explains Cosby, who, with her team,
selected 16 favorites that not only filled
gaps in Farrow & Ball’s offerings but also
felt “appropriate for the mood of the
world at the moment.” The collection’s
U.S. launch is being handled by Robin
Standefer and Stephen Alesch of Roman
and Williams. “The story of adventurers
discovering new things in nature is always
at the top of my intellectual-curiosity
chart,” Standefer explains. The AD100
firm’s Guild shop in Manhattan will be lined with antique-
looking glass cases displaying minerals and more, each
half-dipped in the Werner’s colors that describe them and
labeled accordingly. Copies of Werner’s Nomenclature of
Colours will be on sale, too. “It will be like an Old-World
science museum, a cabinet of curiosities,” Standefer says.
“We want to share a historic story but make it modern.”
farrow-ball.com; rwguild.com —MITCHELL OWENS
5
DISCOVERIES
1. STEPHEN ALESCH AND ROBIN STANDEFER FLANK CHARLOTTE
COSBY OF FARROW & BALL AT LONDON’S NATURAL HISTORY
MUSEUM. 2. A VIGNETTE OF PAINT-DIPPED MATERIALS AT ROMAN
AND WILLIAMS GUILD. 3., 4., 6. IMPERIAL PURPLE, ULTRA
MARINE BLUE, AND DUTCH ORANGE PAINTS. 5. A SKETCH OF
THE INSTALLATION AT ROMAN AND WILLIAMS GUILD.
1
4
2
6
3
1. PHILIP SINDEN @ KAYTE ELLIS AGENCY; 2. GABRIELLE PILOTTI LANGDON; 3. 4. + 6. COURTESY OF FARROW & BALL; 5. COURTESY OF ROMAN AND WILLIAMS
DEBUT
Natural Curiosity
Paintmakers Farrow & Ball
and design duo Roman and
Williams conjure a world
of color
56 ARCHDIGEST.COM
