The Royal Horticultural Society has announced its second collaboration with Sofas & Stuff Ltd, a creator of beautiful British bespoke sofas, chairs, beds, footstools and more.
The partnership will see a new set of RHS-inspired designs adapted for fabrics that can be used across any of the Sofas & Stuff range of British handmade bespoke sofas, chairs, beds, footstools, and cushions – or purchased as fabrics for curtains and blinds or other soft furnishing projects.
The RHS 23 Fabric Collection is again based on the extraordinary range of assets available to RHS licensees from the RHS Lindley Collections, the world’s finest collection of botanical art. This time, however, it takes much of its inspiration from one extraordinary source: the ‘Designs for Carving’ scrapbook, by the renowned artist, gardener, garden designer and craftswoman Gertrude Jekyll. This amazing work contains sketches of gardening subjects and architectural features spanning 45 years of the life of this brilliant and influential figure.
For the fabrics, seven Gertrude Jekyll designs have each been produced in 10 contemporary colourways: red, navy, blue, duck egg, green, olive, terracotta, gold, natural and brown. Individually distinctive, they also work wonderfully together as a collection from which to mix and match prints.
There is also a new collage design, a richly illustrated botanical print drawing on the flower paintings of 19th century English artist Caroline Maria Applebee. Artfully collated, and printed on a natural-toned base, the Caroline Maria Applebee Collage features pops of colour, with the reds, warm pinks and purples of different flowers united by deep leafy greens.
The RHS 23 Fabric Collection will launch at the Soane House Installation, Stand 615, at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show between the 22nd and the 27th of May 2023. It will then be available to purchase exclusively through Sofas & Stuff, both in store at the company’s 23 showrooms across England and Scotland and online.
The core demographic for this Sofas & Stuff range is homeowners in general and lovers of fine British craftsmanship in particular. To this can be added the many supporters of the RHS and buyers of always high-quality RHS licensed products.
The 2023 line follows the success of the RHS 22 Fabric Collection, which was nominated for Best Brand Licensed Home Décor Product or Range at the 2023 Brand & Lifestyle Licensing Awards (the B&LLAs).
Sofas & Stuff was chosen by the RHS not just for the durability, quality and British craftsmanship essential to its output but also for its strong sustainability credentials. The company is committed to creating and promoting eco-friendly furniture; this includes sustainable sofas and fabrics and cushions made from recycled plastic.
Sofas & Stuff is a family-run business based out of Fittleworth in West Sussex. Its focus on quality British craftsmanship in the design of its stunning bespoke pieces has made it a nationwide brand; all of the company’s handcrafted sofas, beds and chairs are made to order in Britain.
Andrew Cussins, Founder of Sofas & Stuff, says: “The success of the RHS 22 Fabric Collection has inspired us once again to adapt for our fabrics some of the extraordinary botanical art the RHS makes available to its licensees. Gertrude Jekyll’s position as one of the most influential and admired of garden designers has made her a wonderful choice for this new collaboration, which we are sure will again be enthusiastically received by both homeowners and lovers of fine British craftsmanship.”
Cathy Snow, Licensing Manager, RHS, adds: “The combination of great gardening art and design with the skill and commitment to excellence of the Sofas & Stuff craftspeople has again produced some glorious and unique fabric designs. The fine quality and stunning fabrics that lie at the very heart of Sofas & Stuff’s work have yet again taken inspiration from RHS Lindley Collections art to extraordinary effect.”
