House of Voltaire Round Three

>> PR’s have finally got the memo about the fact that I rarely do gift guides on the blog and in the run up to Christmas, I think I may have received less of the emails subject lined with “For inclusion in your gift guide…”. I *think*. This could change though as we approach the one month to Christmas mark.

With that said, that doesn’t mean I’m gift recommendation averse. Therefore this is more of a gentle nudge to head down to the third edition of House of Voltaire – Studio Voltaire‘s biennial temporary pop-up, which this time is supported by Chloé. It’s a sensical pairing as the house’s creative director Claire Waight Keller, is an avid art collector and was on the original board of this independent arts organisation that has been supporting young artists with spaces and exhibitions for the past twenty years. Waight Keller and Chloé has left their collective stamp on the House of Voltaire with three bespoke pieces – a dress embedded with an imagined tale of who might wear it by the multi-disciplinary Chinese artist Cao Fei, a scarf embroidered with test paint smears by YBA Jenny Saville and a matching broderie anglaise top and shorts made in collaboration with American painter Karen Kilimnik inspired by her love of Victoriana. All three pieces will be sold on Net-a-Porter from Friday onwards. They all bear the tag “The Beautiful is Always Strange.” It’s a label that will carry on in Chloé’s future art collaborations.

Price wise, the Chloé pieces are on the middling to upper end of what House of Voltaire offers as they have worked hard to curate a mix of limited edition prints, specially commissioned homewares, clothing and accessories by a mix of familiar and not-so-familiar artists and designers, priced between £1 and £30,000. Tea towel by Peter Saville? A Jeremy Deller iPhone case? Or how about some erotic Linder Christmas decorations? Or at the upper end of the scale, there are stunning objects like Craig & Karl’s signature eyes glinting at you from their Waterford crystal vase (exclusively available at House of Voltaire) and artwork by Amanda Ross-Ho.

Chloé isn’t the sole fashion presence within House of Voltaire as a whole raft of young London designers have also paired up with artists to create brilliant collectibles too. I’ve got my eye on Peter Jensen and painter Ella Kruglyanskaya‘s collaborative cactus checked cardigan and Sibling’s knitted up pieces of a Jim Lambie floor pattern. Dream buy would be the Mary Katrantzou xylophone so I can use it to announce dinner time. I’m fast running out of wall space at home but I definitely want to squeeze in Kim Gordon’s photograph of a Simone Rocha frock as well as the many brilliant artists who have create affordable prints for House of Voltaire (most of the ones you see below are around the £60-£100 mark). I find it difficult to do one stop drop shopping for Christmas but for me, House of Voltaire would definitely sort out many a gift quandry especially as I’m entering that phase of life when friends are beginning to nest and care about what goes up on their walls and in their homes. Speaking of which, Enrico David and Helen Marten‘s blankets for House of Voltaire is my personal tip-off to a certain someone should they wish to be very, very generous…

You can buy some of the pieces online but the best browsing experience would be to head to the pop-up in person in between now and 20th December as new things keep coming in. House of Voltaire is open now at 39-40 Albemarle Street. Gift away people…