Artist Evi Antonio collaborates with Stedsans furniture brand

Recently launched by fine artist Evi Antonio and midcentury furniture restorer brand Stedsans, a collaborative collection of two armchairs lovingly restored and covered in Evi’s print design. The “Lida” armchair was designed in the 1930s by renowned Czech designer Jindrich Halabala, (1903–1978) who had a significant influence on postwar design with aesthetic drawn from Czech Cubism, Art Déco, and classic midcentury modernism.

The inspiration for the fabric design came from a painting called “ Salamis storm” 2020, featuring the butterfly whose Latin name is ‘Salamis parhassus’ . The butterfly features centrally in the design subtly blending, almost camouflaged with its background, which reminded me of a snow storm. The inspiration to the background pattern originated from an old, rusty metal container in East London, which presented itself with endless design possibilities and abstract patterns.

ABOUT THE COLLABORATION

Penny from Stedsans says: “We have been friends for years and the seeds of our collaboration grew from one of our lockdown conversations last year.”

Evi: “We actually met at the gym in a spinning class over 10 years ago and have been creative friends ever since. We share a mutual appreciation for each others skill sets and supported each others creativity. We also enjoy a good cafetière of coffee and cake together! “

Penny: “Evi makes an excellent cake!”

Evi:”For some time I have been creating products related to my art, cushions, silk scarves, china. Fabric seemed like the natural progression and having Penny’s expertise and understanding of fabric and  furniture, and our enthusiasm to work together made the collaboration evolve organically.

We both love nature, art and antique furniture and have the vision to see beyond something that has been discarded and set aside. I actually bought one of Penny’s midcentury sofas a long time ago and it  has pride of place in our home.”

Penny:”I love vintage  furniture, particularly 20th Century design, it comes with a  tale to tell –  of the designer, the maker, the previous life lived.  For this reason it felt right to use a piece with an authentic design heritage and an opportunity to use a fabric created by Evi was too good to miss!

We both wanted to create something very bespoke. We chose this particular Halabala armchair as it came with a wonderful design story of its own and the  Art Deco feel of the chair sat perfectly with the fabric design Evi had created, both enhancing each other.”

Evi: “We value the process of restoring and reimagining these pieces and our vision is to bring my art to this process to create something truly unique.”

Stensans and Evi Antonio details:

Website: stedsans.co.uk | eviantonio.co.uk

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