Gwendoline Porte, Dreams of London

I feel like I’m 23, because I recently went back to university in London. Whether it’s a mid-life crisis or an unfulfilled dream, with the London mentality of “anything is possible” I started this challenge two years ago. I just finished my Interior Design course at the Chelsea College of Arts, UAL, graduating with the Dean’s Award.

I was born in the Antilles and I spent a golden childhood in the sun before finishing high school in France. I then studied marketing and communications and started my career as a press attaché in Paris, working in the fields of fashion and sportswear, before focusing on advertising and digital marketing. In the meantime, I spent a year working in restaurants and catering in St Barthélémy. I needed a break from Paris, from all the greyness, and wanted to get closer to my family as well. Once I was back in Paris, I met my husband, who is my guardian angel.

We arrived in London for my husband’s work eight years ago when our two daughters were young enough to pick up English and be bilingual and bicultural.

Eclectic, chic, and simple. Undoubtedly, I have some exotic inspirations that come from my travels and my roots. I am attracted by clean lines, natural, raw and artisanal materials that have a patina and that tell a story. Above all, I’m sensitive to light. Light is vital in creating the atmosphere in a room. I like to mix different elements to add contrast and create a balance of styles, between male and female, traditional and contemporary, rustic and luxurious. The aim of each project is to build a conversation between each element, and to create atmosphere and emotion.

Currently, I’m looking for armchairs for the living room. Comfortable, timeless designs like the 637 Utrecht by Gerrit Rietveld have been a dream for me for a long time. I’m also a fan of an Eduardo Hoffman painting in the Pepper Gallery!

I’m going to start producing Rails. It’s a range of modular furniture that I designed two years ago at the Chelsea College of Arts. The prototypes, which were made by L’Atelier Maury using toiles de laque, were so well received that they were exhibited at the Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts. Rails were inspired by a section of railway track for a project to regenerate an old Underground station for use as a co-working space in London. The idea was to work on the concept of furnitecture, a new approach to furniture that can be incorporated into the architecture of a building and that responds to a need at a given point in time: converting from a bench into a console, a coffee table, a seat, or an upright. They make it possible to create a lecture in a minute, after which you can pile them up to free up the space. I’d also like to organise an exhibition with Chantal Maury and her incredible toiles de laque. An alternative original to traditional canvasses or wallpaper that can decorate a wall with personalised colours and stunning effects. I also do consulting work in London to renovate offices and create exhibition booths for Merci Maman (bespoke, hand-engraved jewellery) and private individuals.