Quentin Jones

The London-based artist’s mish-mash of girly-cool is a lesson in practicality, with a quirky twist.

- Lucy Halfhead

Ominious dark clouds are gathering in the sky when I arrive at Quentin Jones’ house, tucked down a quiet street in Kentish Town, but as soon as she welcomes me through the door, the mood brightens. Inside the early- Victorian terrace, white-washed walls are the perfect canvas for a rich and characterful collection of artworks. Most are her own surrealist collages, which combine photography and painting, while some, including an inky life drawing by her friend, the painter Vanessa Garwood, were acquired as wedding presents.

Above Quentin’s bed is a striking portrait of her three-year-old son Grey, which she gave her husband George Northcott, a tech entrepreneur, for his 30th birthday. The couple has a second child, Cassius, who is the latest edition to the close-knit family; Quentin is the daughter of architects Edwards and Margot Jones and sister to Jemina, the co-founder of the catering business Tart London, who all live nearby in Primrose Hill. “This actually belonged to my parents,” she says as we sit down at the Alvar Aalto table in her dining room, surrounded by quirky props from her video shoots. “It’s got an interesting collection of doodles on it from when Jemina and I were kids and used to sit under the table and draw.”