Eley Kishimoto Do Sheds

Eley Kishimoto and Cuprinol wood paint; on paper, it’s not a match made in heaven – but on a shed, it’s a whole different story. I was lucky enough to hear the London design duo, that together form Eley Kishimoto, speak at DesignTalks in Reykjavik during Iceland’s Design Festival last month, and when they mentioned this new collaboration I was more than a little curious to find what the two were scheming over.

In a nutshell, Cuprinol have been taking their position as sponsors of the National Shed of the Year Competition very seriously, and have been searching high and low to find the UK’s oldest and saddest shed from a patchwork of allotments, gardens and yards all over the country. Next they commissioned Mark and Wakako of Eley Kishimoto to renovate the shack with their signature excellence in pattern making, covering the wooden surface in the rather horticulturally appropriate ‘Posy Ivy Print’ freshly plucked from their Spring/Summer ’12 collection.

A new direction for a fashion collaboration, and one that I like. The whole thing revolves around the idea that a shed can be a beautiful object that provides a little space for escape. Makes me wish I had a garden in which to construct one.

And it’s not just sheds the design duo have got their eyes on. The imposing Centre Point in central London has commissioned them to help transform the building and the designers have already created a range of prints inspired by the structure. Is this set to mark a resurgence in fashion/architecture collaborations? I do hope so.

So, a little background on Eley Kishimoto. The husband and wife duo are based in south London and make rather a good pairing, both in a design sense and as a couple. Hearing them speak in Reykjavik was rather like watching them in their home (or so I imagine); a little bit of bickering and lots of interesting ideas thrown about. The design house is known for their excellent pattern-making skills and their instantly recognisable pattern ‘Flash’ has adorned basically every object you can think of. The world is a better place with pattern. So let’s hope we see it springing up all over London…