I saw a little story is this weekend’s WSJ Magazine about a wonderful English wallpaper artist, Marthe Armitage , who has a cool collaboration with Jo Malone coming out this summer. The best part? Martha is 86. And has only really gained notoriety in the last 10 years! Talk about an inspiration for never giving up on doing the thing you love most, you never know when you wills trike it hot! Her papers are still produced by her and her daughter in her studio in England (and some are now available digitally printed, all through historical wallpaper dealers Hamilton Weston).
I feel like I should have heard of her LONG before now, but I hadn’t! So I wanted to introduce you guys to her in case you too had not gotten wind of her incredible work!
I just love how unique and luscious her prints are!
They look great in modern and traditional settings.
Marthe making her prints on her studio.
Miles Redd, who designed this space, LOVES her prints.
Here are some of my favorite patterns (okay, it’s almost all of them).
A sneak peek of some of the Jo Malone products- adorable!
Isn’t she just adorable?
Images via New York Times, Daily Mail, Elle Decor, Vogue, Andrew Montgomery, Hamilton Weston
Love this inspirational stories and all the supportive comments : )
What a great story AND product!! franki
What a great post and definitely inspirational! I love these wallpapers and Jo Malone as well…what a great collaboration…
Oh my goodness, what a lovely post! I read the article you linked to in the The Telegraph and was so interested to see the designs Marthe Armitage did for Jo Malone. I loved the “real” Jo Malone fragrances (before Estee Lauder). Now, I’ll be buying something new from the Jo Loves line just to have an Armitage print design. Thanks so much for sharing.
Gasp. I am in love! Beautiful. Just breathtakingly beautiful.
What interesting wallpaper. It is hard to choose a favorite! I love how wallpapers are coming back!
Loved this little feature on this remarkable woman. And the timing couldn’t have been better. As a 41 year old mom with 3 kids in elementary school and not so dependent on me anymore I’ve found myself in a bit of a slump. I’ve been brainstorming lately on just what my next step is. My degree is in elementary education but I never really established a career so have nothing to go back to but desperately want to work somewhere somehow. Preferably doing something that allows for my creative juices to flow. This gives me hope that I shouldn’t be writing myself off at 41.
Her use of color is so lovely – both bright and soothing at the same time. Just wonderful.
It’s never too late to make our dreams come true, lovely little story!
L O V E these wallpaper prints and colors! Her story is amazing too. The black and white bathroom paper is sublime!
I have ALWAYS wondered who made that incredible paper in Miranda Brooks’ daughter’s room! Just perfection.
I went to the site and didn’t see price and purchase info. Are they available to the trade only? Thanks!
Love.
http://www.rsrue.blogspot.com
What a wonderful post. Thank you for spotlighting such a talented woman. It was a great pleasure to read about her, admire her work and visit the links you provided. This was a nice morning, well spent dreaming about where I would use her wallpaper and lusting after the Jo Malone collaboration. I hope you are doing well and baby Henry too!
Love her sense of fashion, too!
I saw the same WSJ article and I loved the fact she is 86 and still engaged in the work she loves. AND getting the very plum job for Jo Malone. Very inspirational! Thank you for digging into her work and showcasing it – I love the photos of her :)
Great post! I LOVE this story. I’ve been home raising my four kids for the past decade and sometimes feel hopeless about my chances of ever getting my career back on track. This story makes me feel so young at 38! Thanks so much!
Christina – girlfriend, you ARE young at 38!!! :)
LOl, thanks so much for the love!
Chistina – My mom stayed home after my sister, her 3rd child, was born and essentially took 15years off from working (she’s a therapist). She went back to school, started working again when I was in middle school, and now has had a 20+yr career! Although i’ve stayed in the working world while having kids, it’s always been a great reminder to me that in the event I want to stay home for a few years, I can always go back and it might be better than I imagined!