Can Collecting Be the Antidote to the Instagram Interior?
Can Collecting Be the Antidote to the Instagram Interior?
With Maggie Holladay, Joy Sauvage, Marine Edith Crosta and Charlotte Taylor
By HURS team
A few years ago, most people weren’t familiar with a Mario Bellini sofa, Charlotte Perriand’s Chaise Lounge LC4 or a Marcel Breuer chair. It’s the power and the downside of social media. Instagram has become the place of reference for many, spreading imagery and knowledge around designer pieces formerly only known to the design community. But with it, it has created a culture where iconic design pieces have become must-haves. The result is an endless trend-led cycle, where pieces that were designed for longevity over hype suddenly become something you have to own. With the amount of references available, it’s unsurprising we’ve ended up with a copy paste culture, where interiors start to look the same as people have less space to define a style or taste of their own. Social media also creates the illusion of having to have “a perfect home”, where every post is accompanied by links and references, getting you ready to shop your way to “perfection” too.
But tides are changing. There’s a growing appreciation and curiosity around collecting. A countermovement to the overly uniform interiors and the pursuit of the perfect Instagram home. This curious group of consumers are interested in deepening their knowledge of design, and with it creating an aesthetic language of their own through collecting pieces from specific designers or eras. But why are consumers gravitating towards these unique objects now? Is it the longing to slow down in this fast paced world, or has furniture become a status symbol, similar to owning a vintage Birkin or pre-loved designer piece?
MAGGIE HOLLADAY
Maggie Holladay is the founder of Claude Home. The online gallery sells collectable vintage pieces and contemporary artworks from artists and makers globally. Holladay started her career working in fashion, but when she realized her love for collecting had potential for more, Holladay transformed her side project into a full-time career. Since launch, Claude Home has become a go-to for interior enthusiasts. Her distinct eye has resulted into a design business that celebrates timeless, classic design over fleeting trends.
JOY SAUVAGE
During the pandemic, Joy Sauvage transitioned from a career in fashion into a career in design. Design had always been a personal passion, but she’d never explored it as a profession. Since then, Sauvage’s interior design studio has worked on projects across Paris, New York and Paris. Her curated approach to design has garnered her a loyal following of fellow Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Modernist aficionados. Avoiding trends, Sauvage is known for celebrating vintage and collectibles, creating an interior aesthetic that’s unequivocally her own.
MARINE EDITH CROSTA
Marine Edith Crosta is a French, London-based artist, antique dealer and consultant. She makes up one half of Crosta Smith Gallery, a space specializing in rare 1920s to 1940s French Art Deco design, with pieces by Jean-Michel Frank, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, André Groult, Pierre Chareau, Boris Lacroix and many more. She studied art at The Ecole des Beaux Arts in Bordeaux, and set up her painting studio in London in 2011. Soon after, her interest in history of art, design, and applied arts, led to opening Crosta Smith Gallery in 2018. She offers art and design advisory services for collectors, collaborates with designers, and consults on interior design projects.
CHARLOTTE TAYLOR
Charlotte Taylor is the founder of 3D and moving-image studio Maison de Sable. She works across disciplines in design, exploring space through play and creating interiors that blend the sculptural with the practical. After earning a degree in Fine Art and attending Goldsmith University, Taylor started working with large-scale illustration and exploring 3D modeling. The illustrations turned into 3D renderings of small pieces of furniture but also imaginary homes and spaces. From there Maison de Sable was born. Founded in 2019, the studio designs utopian digital and physical spaces. Blurring the lines between what’s real and what isn’t. Taylor collaborates with young and emerging visual artists as well as celebrated brands across culture.
We asked four experts for their take on why people are gravitating towards collecting, if furniture has become a status symbol and the pressure of having the perfect home.