API RESPONSE
WHEN most of Ria Mishaal's contemporaries were tuning in to the likes of The Office and Little Britain for entertainment in the early 2000s, to her, the notion of top-class television viewing came courtesy of Sir David Attenborough waxing lyrical about the natural world on The Blue Planet and Life in the Undergrowth. However, whereas Sir David's passion for all things flora and fauna has played out to the entire nation over decades, hers has gone under the radar until now.
By the time Covid hit and the UK population was instructed to stay indoors, Dr Mishaal, who has a PhD in behavioural neuroscience from the University of Cambridge, was suffering from burnout after 14 creative, but pressurised years working as a wedding photographer. Craving a new direction, she pondered on her love of art from school days and also the words of William Morris: 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.'
'I thought, why can't objects be both useful and beautiful?' Dr Mishaal recalls. Just as a chrysalis morphs into a butterfly, her musings soon turned into a beguiling heirloom-textiles brand, Arcana, offering woven cotton blankets depicting her own drawings of the natural world.
Denne historien er fra November 13, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra November 13, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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
All gone to pot
Jars, whether elegant in their glazed simplicity or exquisitely painted, starred in London's Asian Art sales, including an exceptionally rare pair that belonged to China's answer to Henry VIII
Food for thought
A SURE sign of winter in our household are evenings in front of the television.
Beyond the beach
Jewels of the natural world entrance the eyes of Steven King, as Jamaica's music moves his feet and heart together
Savour the moment
I HAVE a small table and some chairs a bleary-eyed stumble from the kitchen door that provide me with the perfect spot to enjoy an early, reviving coffee.
Size matters
Architectural Plants in West Sussex is no ordinary nursery. Stupendous specimens of some of the world's most dramatic plants are on display
Paint the town red
Catriona Gray meets the young stars lighting up the London art scene, from auctioneers to artists and curators to historians
The generation game
For a young, growing family, moving in with, or adjacent to, the grandparents could be just the thing
Last orders
As the country-house market winds down for Christmas, two historic properties—one of which was home to the singer Kate Bush-may catch the eye of London buyers looking to move to the country next year
Eyes wide shut
Sleep takes many shapes in art, whether sensual or drunken, deathly or full of nightmares, but it is rarely peaceful. Even slumbering babies can convey anxiety
Piste de résistance
Scotland's last ski-maker blends high-tech materials with Caledonian timber to create 'truly Scottish', one-off pieces of art that can cope with any type of terrain
