Country Homes & Interiors – September 2019

Tellusa littlebitaboutyour

backgrounds.Wemetaschildren

growingupina villageinHampshire

andbothwenttotheUniversityof

Edinburgh.Alicestudiedfineartand

wentontodesignprintsforfashion

labelssuchasLibélula.Vanessa’s

careerstartedinmagazines,initially

asaninteriorsstylistforHouse&

Garden.Herpassionfortextilesand

printledtoa roleoverseeingthe

interiors sectionofVogue.

Howdidthebusinesstakeshape?

WesetupBarnebyGatesin2009,

workingfromthebasementofAlice’s

house.Wehadbeendiscussingthe

ideaforyears,andaswewereboth

designingourownhousesatthe

time,it seemedliketheperfect

moment to make it a reality.

Meet Barneby Gates

Describeyourworkspace.

Wearebasedina tinyhamletjust

outsidePewsey,Wiltshire,sovery

muchinthecountryside.Ourstudio

isa long,convertedbarn.Allthe

originalbeams,brickworkandhooks

havebeenrestoredandwehave

installedfull-heightwindowsatone

endsowecanenjoythebeautiful

view out over the garden.

Wheredoyoufindcreative

inspiration?Weoftenturntonature.

AnythingfromEnglishrobinsand

wildflowermeadows,tobugs,bees

andbutterflies,caninspireus.We

gleana lotfromotherareasofour

lives,too– fashion,travelandartto

namea few.Onethingwe’vealways

strivednottobeis trendy.Wewant

ourdesignstostandthetestoftime.

Theyoftenhavea traditionalstarting

point,suchasa damaskortrellis,

which we then give a modern twist.

Talkusthroughthedesignprocess.

Itnormallytakesabouta yearto

geta newideaontheshelves.We

bounceideasoffoneanother;it’s

verymucha collaborativeprocess.

Alicedrawsouteachelementby

handbeforescanningit intothe

computerandplayingaroundwith

scale and repeat. We do a lot of

PETRONELLAHALLaddsfunwithpelicansandpalms.petronellahall.com

CHARLOTTEGAISFORDusesboldcolourwaystogivetraditionaldesignsa

moderntwist. 01434 689583,charlottegaisford.co.ukPAPERBOYsparksthe

imagination with whimsical designs. 020 7193 9135, paperboywallpaper.co.uk

surfaceprinting,whichusesthicker

inksthanmostprintingprocesses

to give a lovely, hand-painted feel.

Whatarethejoysandchallenges

ofbeingindependentdesigners?

Wegeta hugesenseofachievement

seeingourbusinessgrowinto

aninternationalbrand.Butthe

downsideis we’rebothperfectionists

so decisions can be incredibly slow!

BarnebyGates,01672 560240,

barnebygates.com

3 more designers to watch...

ChildhoodfriendsVanessaBarnebyandAliceGates

pooledtheircreativeexperiencein fashionand

interiors to start their Wiltshire-based business in 2009

Cushions,

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FEATURE

TARA KING

COUNTRY HOMES & INTERIORS 73

DESIGNER PROFILE