Regaled with Ben Kelly's tales from the heady heights and very late nights of the 1980s Manchester rave scene, it's easy to feel transported right back to the heyday of his best-known creation, the city's legendary Hacienda nightclub. There was this very anarchic approach to everything,' he says. 'We all just wanted to break the rules.
Transported only briefly, though, as Kelly, now 73, is talking animatedly over a cup of tea in his studio, which sits in the backyard of his coastguard's cottage on the East Sussex coast. It is lined with shelves that creak with stacks of design and art books; through the window, a John Constable-worthy powder blue sky hangs above rolling hills dotted with cows and sheep, grazing just beyond Kelly's own vegetable patch. While Kelly still lives mostly in south London, he bought his Sussex sanctuary 15 years ago. Originally built in 1900 to clamp down on rampant smuggling in the area, the house was most recently owned by the photographer Fay Godwin. Since then, it's become a place to rekindle his creative energy during quieter periods between projects and teaching. 'I spend as much time here as possible, and I use an old-school drawing board,' he says.
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Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av Wallpaper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
POLE POSITION
A compact Melbourne house with a small footprint is big on efficiency and experimentation
URBAN OASIS
At an art-filled Mexico City residence, New York designer Giancarlo Valle has put his own spin on the country's traditional craft heritage
WARM FRONT
Designer Clive Lonstein elevates his carefully curated Manhattan home with rich textures and fabrics
BALCONY SCENE
A Brazilian island hotel offers a unique approach to the alfresco experience
ENSEMBLE CAST
How architect Anne Holtrop is leaving his mark on the Middle East
Survival mode
A new show looks at preparing for a post-apocalyptic landscape (and other catastrophes)
FLASK FORCE
A limited-edition perfume collaboration between two Spanish craft masters says it with flowers
BLOOM SERVICE
A flower-shaped brutalist beauty in Geneva gets a refresh
SECOND NATURE
A remodelled museum in Lisbon, by Kengo Kuma & Associates, meshes Japanese and Portuguese influences to create a space that sits in harmony with its surroundings
Guiding light
Designer Joe Armitage follows his grandfather's footsteps in India, reissuing his elegant midcentury lamp and creating a new chandelier for Nilufar Gallery