Objects of Desire

The Wick Culture - Jean Schlumberger’s Sea Anemone from Tiffany's  2021 Blue Book Collection

Object Tiffany & Co Colours of Nature

Tiffany & Co is capturing attention once more and following on from the release of the Carters’ Campaign and its brilliant collaboration with tennis star, Emma Raducanu, the LVMH jeweller has released the second series of its Blue Book Colours of Nature collection of one-of-a-kind pieces that focus on Schlumberger pieces either remade with stones or crafted for the first time from the designer’s archive of sketches. The collection that was presented in an elegant New York townhouse hung with a collection of impressive artworks, includes Schlumberger’s Zinnia designs in platinum and 18k gold with over 22 total carats of rubies and over 19 total carats of diamonds as well as the majestic elephant in an 18k gold and platinum brooch featuring a medley of Paillonné enamel, pink sapphires, tsavorites, turquoise, morganites and round brilliant diamonds. The high jewellery pieces are beckoning collectors eager to own and wear a slice of Schlumberger’s legacy.


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The Wick Culture - FreelingWaters

Objects Freeling Waters WILLIAM M., 2021

Freeling Waters, a collaboration between painter-turned-muralist Gijs Frieling and graphic designer-turned-calligrapher Job Wouters, has shown upcycling at its best with a collection of reworked antique cabinets. Originally shown at London Design Festival in September and scheduled to be exhibited at Design Miami/Podium, Shanghai in November, the 18th and 19th–century pine cabinets have been re-energised by the duo with startling geometrical patterns and lines of poetry. Each is adorned with vibrant colours in pure pigments, giving them a singular intensity. The William M. cabinet is a treasure trove of colours — intense blue, white and brown on the exterior, with a Seventies-style checkerboard of yellow and orange lining the inside. The one-of-a-kind cabinets are now available for purchase via The Wrong Shop Projects, a new platform that brings together artists, designers and specialist manufacturers in commissions for bespoke art.


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The Wick Culture - Helen Kirkum

Objects Helen Kirkum Legacy sneaker

Designer Helen Kirkum is disrupting the sneaker space with her waste-free approach. Pairing together the luxuriousness of made-to-order, exclusive designs with a sustainable mission, her Legacy sneaker offering invites you to send worn-down sneakers from your personal collection to her studio, where they are cleaned, deconstructed and reworked into a one-of-a-kind design. Even more exclusive than hyped up sneaker drops, this brilliant approach allows you to keep treasured sneakers and transform them into something exciting, stylish and immensely wearable, all while doing your part to reduce waste and live more sustainably. Kirkum will be sharing more on her made-to-order process at a London Craft Week talk on Thursday 7 October.


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The Wick Culture - Castro Smith Heart Ring

Objects Castro Smith Heart Ring

A highlight of Goldsmiths’ Fair, a showcase of emerging and established fine jewellery designers and silversmiths, is undoubtedly the rings by Castro Smith. A rich background in painting and printmaking, combined with a traditional apprenticeship with the Goldsmiths’ Company, has given Smith a distinctive illustrative style which he refined during his time at Sarabande. His reimagining of traditional signet rings with Gothic, painterly motifs inspired by history, myths and biology, sees Smith adapt ancient practices to create jewellery that is simultaneously contemporary and classic. His Heart Ring, one of several pieces the designer is exhibiting at Goldsmiths’ Fair, is one such hand engraved signet ring, featuring blue ceramic plated engraving that, due to being made-to-order, has a unique finish every time.


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The Wick Culture - Objects Cartier Panther Pin

Objects Cartier Panther Pin

Brighten up frocks and jackets with this Cartier panther pin crafted in highly polished yellow gold with flecks of black enamel. The most iconic and timeless of the house’s motifs, the panther entered the Cartier family in 1914 by means of an onyx-spotted panther pattern wristwatch. Since then, Cartier’s panther jewels have been worn by such famous clients as Daisy Fellowes, the Duchess of Windsor and American heiress Barbara Hutton. Although the feline motif has gone through multiple variations over the past 100 years, it is still considered a must-have among jewellery collectors. It’s time to show your wild side.


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The Wick Culture - Objects Concertina Chair by Raw Edges for Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades Collection

Objects Concertina Chair by Raw Edges for Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades Collection

From hammocks to armchairs and foldable stools, each limited-edition item in Louis Vuitton’s Objets Nomades Collection has been reimagined by an internationally celebrated designer. Since 2012, such pioneering names as Fernando & Humberto Campana, Atelier Oï and André Fu have taken up the challenge.

The collection’s experimental yet functional pieces showcase the Maison’s attention to complex craftsmanship and creative innovation. Designed by London-based Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay of Raw Edges, the Concertina chair features overlapping petal-like shapes that fan out into a statement chair. Supported on an ashwood frame, the seat cover comes in blue, caramel or green leather.


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The Wick Culture - Objects Art Deco Style, Assouline, 19 October 2021

Objects Art Deco Style, Assouline, 19 October 2021

This glossy new tome spotlights one of the most innovative art and design movements to influence the 20th century. The first volume in Assouline’s new series of Style books, Art Deco Style shows the multifaceted allure of the decorative design idiom and its continuing influence on fashion, art and design today.

Evolving between the two World Wars, Art Deco came to symbolise modernity, sophistication, glamour and optimism for technological progress. Expect beautiful imagery of everything from furniture and decorative objects to architecture and interiors. There is also a jolly introduction by Jared Goss, former associate curator in the department of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Enjoy.


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The Wick Culture - Objects Annie Leibovitz: Wonderland

Objects Annie Leibovitz: Wonderland

‘Leibovitz is nothing less than America’s greatest living photographic portraitist,’ writes Anna Wintour in the foreword of Wonderland, a gorgeous new anthology of Leibovitz images commissioned by Vogue and Vanity Fair. ‘She has changed fashion photography forever.’

Coming to prominence in the 1970s, Leibovitz has captured some of the most famous names of the past five decades, including Michele Obama, Hilary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. Her fashion images, however, are just as beguiling. She’s reimagined Keira Knightley as Dorothy and Natalia Vodianova as Alice in Wonderland. Kate Moss, Kate Winslet and Karl Lagerfeld are among other global A-listers to strike a pose before her lens.

Although Leibovitz never saw herself as a fashion photographer, she acknowledges that her work for Vogue ‘fuelled the fire for a kind of photography that I might not otherwise have explored.’ Wonderland, her first-ever fashion book, includes over 350 extraordinary images, many of which have never been published before. Add it to your wish-list immediately.


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The Wick Culture - Objects Simon de Pury’s OLT X Picasso Collection

Objects Simon de Pury’s OLT X Picasso Collection

Always dreamt of owning a Picasso? Well, now you can in the form of a hand-embroidered clutch. Art collector, DJ and auctioneer Simon de Pury has teamed up with Olympia Le-Tan to curate a new collection of signature book clutches featuring 10 masterpieces by the much-loved Spanish master. Think such famous paintings as Le rêve, Portrait de Dora Maar and Tête de femme avec un chapeau à pompons (seen here).

Each masterpiece included in the collection will be hand-embroidered into limited editions of 77 book clutches. The first three clutch designs will be released on 7 October with three new styles being released every six months. (Be sure to pre-order via the OLT website to be in with a chance of snapping one up. The waiting list is getting longer by the minute.)

‘The craftsmanship is outstanding,’ says de Pury of OLT’s clutches. ‘Ever since I was a child, I have followed [Picasso’s] work. I chose ten works that I personally love very, very much and that would translate well to a book clutch.’ Picasso’s granddaughter, Diana Picasso, adds: ‘These clutches are the ultimate luxury accessory for any art lover. I want them all!’ And so do we!


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