London, United Kingdom Sep 11, 2018 (Issuewire.com) - Jo Wood, Jay Blades, Sonali Shah, James Gooch and Sara Morel star on the cover of Reclaim’s October issue.
Reclaim, the national interiors title celebrating antique, vintage, eco, upcycling and salvaged homes, products and lifestyle has chosen five diverse interiors trailblazers to grace its October cover.
Creative and full of personality, they capture the new mood that salutes individual expression and authenticity. With an emphasis on sustainability, they look to the past design and craftsmanship to create modern interiors and products that burst with born-again beauty.
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Jo Wood: British icon, eco-campaigner, model, vintage queen.
Jo is a well-loved personality, who shot to fame in the sixties as a model, married and divorced Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, and has gone on to create her own skincare range, Jo Wood Organics, become an interior designer, author, stylist and TV star. She appears in the next series of Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls.
Jo has always loved vintage, and her home is bursting with beautiful old furniture and artifacts.
Ahead of her time, she’s ‘always hated plastic.’ And whilst filming Celebrity Island, she was dismayed at the amount of it she saw:
‘When I was doing The Island, one thing that absolutely horrified me was seeing the amount of plastic on the beach. Thousands of bottles, flip-flops, rope, fishing nets. Before I went I was like: “I’m going to start picking up all the plastic when I get there, do some kind of a sculpture.” But when I actually stood there and looked at how much there was … it was just awful. If everybody made an effort, it would change the way manufacturers worked, they’d have to look for an alternative.’
Jo is an ambassador for environmental charity Project Zero – founded by her son Tyrone and Michelle Clarke – and she recently won the Greenest Family Award at the People’s Environmental Awards.
Jay Blades: social entrepreneur, furniture restorer, and TV personality
A testament to hard work, determination and giving something back, Jay’s charity and luxury, design-led furniture brand Jay&Co helps young people into work by giving them the skills to restore and sell vintage and retro furniture. His charismatic personality has turned him into a TV star, appearing regularly on Money for Nothing, The Repair Shop and the current series of Celebrity Masterchef.
He wants to show that design is a real choice for young people who, like him, may not be academic but are good with their hands:
‘At the moment if you’re from a poor background there are three alternatives: crime, sport or music. If you don’t do any of those there’s not much choice. I want to show that design is an option, that you can like pink fabric and styling! The young people I work with are quite urban and they think all that’s just a feminine thing, but it can be for everyone. I teach them, too, how to make money from nothing. To make a piece and then sell it.’
He sees using and restoring old things as a lifestyle:
‘It’s a way of living. We can’t keep consuming, so what’s the next best thing? Make do and mend, see what you’ve got already. I want to help people to live uniquely.’
Sonali Shah: TV and radio presenter
Sonali is a regular presenter for the BBC, most notably for the hugely popular programme Escape to the Country. Travelling the length and breadth of Britain for the show, Sonali has learned what works and what doesn’t when decorating. She’s currently renovating her own home and wants to marry her East African heritage with a very British, country style:
‘I want to include my heritage into my new home. My taste is very much country retreat, stripped back, I want to give a fresh look to older stuff, whilst incorporating East Africa. So for example kitchen counter tops come from western kitchens, but in Kenya, everyone sits on the floor and cooks. My grandmother still rolls out her chapatis on the floor. I’ve got those short cooking stools and I’m going to display them in my new kitchen.’
Always on the lookout for old, unique pieces, Sonali believes the trend for reclaimed is one that’s going to keep growing:
‘It’s nice that reclaimed, vintage and antiques are becoming more accessible, they shouldn’t just be for the few. People are much more conscious now, of knowing the history and provenance of pieces. When I’m going around houses, people are always asking “why’s that stone outside, why are those markings there?” People want to know why things exist.’
James Gooch: Antiques dealer
After a career in TV, James Gooch started Doe and Hope, an antiques dealership specialising in rare and decorative pieces. Supplying to film and television shows such as Game of Thrones, his cinematic style and the keen eye sees him with an impressive client list including Stephen Fry, Jemima Khan and The Prodigy’s Keith Flint.
He’s one of the frontrunners of the new generation of antiques dealers, who use Instagram as their shop window and sell to younger buyers who want unique pieces that no-one else has.
His own personality shines through in his stock:
‘I’m drawn to stuff that’s not restored. It has to have that story to it, to tell you where it’s been before rather than have that all erased. The first thing I bought to sell was a child’s rattle, it would’ve been for a christening present and the best deal I’ve done was a painting by one of the world’s most famous forgers, Han van Meegeren, but it was one of his own works. That sold really well. The antiques trade is a bit like gambling, you get a shot of adrenalin, a kick every time. But it’s hard to buy the right thing at the right price. It’s nice to own these things, but ultimately it’s a business and you have to try and detach from them.’
Sara Morel: Founder of ‘Reclaimed Woman’, a consultancy helping sustainable brands communicate and individuals choose eco clothes and salvaged homewares
With a background in fashion PR, Sara changed her career, and her life when she began renovating her London flat with salvaged pieces:
‘I decided to renovate and I was initially driven by the aesthetic of reclaimed materials. But as I began to learn more about sustainable sourcing it spurred a change across my whole life. I always say “I left fashion to reclaim my life.”’
Evangelical about sustainability and how to incorporate it into our everyday lives, Sara practices what she preaches and believes we can all live with more consideration for the planet and its resources.
‘I’ve found the best way to live more sustainably is to do it with something you care about. For me, it’s fashion and interiors. You have to feel it, otherwise, it’s like being told off. There is a trend to live more eco, and with any trend, there’s a danger of it dying. But from a point of need, we can’t continue the cycle we’re on. We’re gradually learning that you can upcycle things in a really useful, beautiful way. And it’s so important to know that there’s not one aesthetic – that’s the danger of a trend, when it becomes a look and gets overdone. But choosing reclaimed isn’t just a look, it’s a lifestyle.’
Essential credit: Read the full interview in the October issue of Reclaim: reclaimmagazine.uk
High res images, including solos, available on request. All images ©Jim Marks. The October issue of Reclaim goes on-sale 13th September 2018. Press enquiries: reclaimpress@gmail.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
Reclaim launches its re-design with the October 2018 issue, and has people on the cover for the first time. A monthly national title published by Tailor Made Publishing Ltd., Reclaim launched in January 2016. Editor-in-Chief is Loma-Ann Marks.
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