Deirdre and I were delighted to have Abigail Ahern join us for this episode of The DnA of Home Interiors Podcast.
Abigail Ahern is recognised amongst design aficionados, press and clients alike for her enchanting take on interiors. Abigail is an influential tastemaker, and has redefined the visual landscape with her unique style and bold approach. Her trendsetting designs have become synonymous with glamour, eclecticism and wit.
You can listen here, or read our notes below.
WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN?
Abigail tells us where it all began - working on the picture desk for Terence Conran’s publishing house, finding the interiors images to go in his books. That lead to Abigail going to America to work in Interior design in an architectural company for 4 years, before returning to the UK and setting up her first shop.
Abigail now has a large store on Essex Road in Islington/Angel. I have fond memories of Abigail’s previous shop (or ‘Atelier’ - Atelier Abigail Ahern) which was nearby, on Upper Street. I lived close by when I first moved to London. My memory is of deep inky coloured walls with pops of neon and lots of plants and large urns. That was around ten years ago! This dark wall concept has really stuck.
Abigail tells is how it started with just one wall in the shop being dark, and when the products looked so good against it compared to agaist a white background, Abigail expanded the deep walls further. The customers loved it and Debenhams approached her, and a licensing deal emerged from there.
ABIGAIL AHERN PAINT RANGE
Abigail loves sludgy inky colours and has her own paint range. She is lauching a new collection of paint colours in a few weeks time, inspired by the Australian Outback – lots of browny pinky hues. See a few shades from the current collection here:
Image: Hogweed Lime Paint from Abigail Ahern
Image: Bowery Blue Paint from Abigail Ahern
We ask Abigail what she thinks of the Dulux Colour of the Year 2021 - Brave Ground. Which leads to some great food for thought about whether colour should even be a trend! Colour is so personal, there is no right or wrong, but we discuss how the challenge can be finding the right one and how to gain confidence with colour by starting of gradually. Even just painting one wall dark to see how that feels in the room.
NATURE AND THE SEASONS
We are intrigued to hear where Abigail gets her inspiration. So much comes from nature; she has been known to collect moldy leaves and send them to the factory as a guide for a new colour. Also from tavel; pre-Covid Abigail travelled to Melbourne regularly where she has extended family. Australian interiors tend to be relaxed, quite fitting with Abigail’s style. The Decor + Design tradeshow has been a great resource too.
When it comes to embracing winter, Abigail tells us about her trips to Scandinavia, where the light fades about 2.30pm. These darker afternoons and evenings are an opportunity to create a haven indoors with flickering candles, soft lighting and cosy cushions and throws. We love this. Firelight adds to this cosy atmosphere too - Deirdre and Abigail both talk about the feeling of sitting on a soft rug infront of the roaring flames, whether that be in the depths of urban London or the countryside in the west of Ireland.
Image: Fortuna Table Lamp by Abigail Ahern
FAUX BOTANICALS
Now the largest part of Abigail’s business, we discuss how this started (accidentally!), her sister and business partner Gemma’s input and floristry background and how the attention to detail when manufacturing these is key in getting them to look so realistic. A crucial part of this is capturing the imperfections of nature and foliage, the very opposite of which can make faux plants and flowers look too fake and unappealing.
Image: Abigail Ahern Faux Botanicals - The Englee Aloe Vera
Abigail’s faux plants and faux flowers were so popular with customers and gained even more popularity via social media. Then Heal’s asked her to have a faux flower cabin at the entrance to their flagship furniture store on Tottenham Court Road, London’s first entirely “faux-florist”. After a visit to Abigail’s faux florist, Gwyneth Paltrow wrote on her blog about it being such a great idea, which led to celebrities all over the USA buying the flowers and plants. Popularity grew from there and the faux botanicals are now wholesaled too and are sold by many large retailers across the globe.
Image from Goop.com of Abigail Ahern’s faux floristry in Heal’s Tottenham Court Road, London
ABIGAIL’S MOST TREASURED POSSESSION
Abigail tells us a great story about this concrete rocking chair in her home - take a listen!
Image: Abigail Ahern’s Blog - her concrete rocking chair
SCULPTURES
We love Abigail Ahern’s sculptures - particularly the figurative ones. The one I mention is Vera, who is the latest in a series of ladies (Vigan, Victoria and Valencia). This leads to a discussion around decorative accessories in general and why Abigail decided to design and produce her own range. I must admit, when it comes to home accessories, I have always leaned more towards the abstract rather than the figurative, until I came across these people sculptures! Abigail makes an intersting point that she is drawn to figurative art and so she made a conscious decision to translate this into sculpture too. These pieces have a narrative, they tell a story. I question whether lockdown and seeing less of family and friends has drawn me (and maybe others) towards this figurative style, as they are mini people after all!
Vera sculpture by Abigail Ahern
Image: Sedona Sculpture by Abigail Ahern
ABIGAIL’S CREATIVE PROCESS
I love asking other creatives how they record ideas and translate inspiration into reality. Abigail tells us she is constantly taking pictures on her phone, on walks, where she will be analysing everything from dead leaves to sludgy puddles on the ground. Her husband Graham complains he finds going on a walk with Abigail so unrelaxing and frustrating…infact, she tells us that no one she knows has the patience to not be driven mad by her meandering nature trails! She makes Deirdre and I laugh - as I say I think it all comes down to how your brain is wired…
But looking at the commercial side of bringing creative ideas to life - Abigail highlights the importance of collecting and brainstorming lots of ideas early on. Because once you factor in sampling and costs sometimes a idea has to be rejected as the end product would be too expensive. Until you work through some of the process you don’t know, so there are always some ideas that turn into nothing. But even ruling out what doesn’t work can lead to bigger and better ideas that come to successful fruition!