I was recently invited for a behind the scenes tour of Eley Kishimoto‘s London studio – what a treat! The label, which initially made its name in fashion but is increasingly making waves in product and furniture design, was founded in the early 1990s by Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto.
I was amazed to discover that everything is designed, printed and stored on site in South West London and delighted to see what a team effort screen-printing is, even on this scale. All Eley Kishimoto’s wallpaper is printed by hand. They print in sections and then seamlessly overprint the gaps. Here’s a short film I snapped on my iPhone…
The label has worked with everyone from Marc Jacobs to Alexander McQueen, and as well as wallpaper has created furniture, fabric, glassware and crockery and even a watch. The team have created the interior for new Southerden Patisserie and Café in central London and have recently been appointed Creative Ambassadors for the redevelopment of one of London’s most iconic brutalist buildings, Centre Point, designed by R. Seifert and Partners in the 1960s. It was really inspiring to see such a small team in a modest space achieve so much.
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- creative spaces :: tom raffield
- creative spaces :: sebastian cox
- creative spaces :: rebecca hoyes
- creative spaces :: studio dempsey
Photos by Rita Platts / Katie Treggiden
