Fran
Hickman
This month, we caught up with London interior designer, Fran Hickman.
We delved deeper on her refreshing design aesthetic and discuss where
her innate understanding for space works. Fran passionately believes in
the potential for good design to be a positive force in the world; and that
the best design is always both serious and playful.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
I reduce or condense every component, detail and junction to the essential and keep shape, texture and colour interesting, innovative and simple. This idea of simplicity is free from an excess of possessions and offers a sense of liberation.
Where do you begin designing a home?
I look at the building and its history and location. I get a feel for its bones. Then I look at the client, their character, their style, who lives in the space, how they spend their day and how they want to us the space. Then you take into consideration things like the light. It's a bit like having parts of a machine, and you've got to make it work.
How do you combine beauty and function?
For any idea to be really appealing, it has to engage your heart as well as your head. Form always follows function, but feel is vital too. Design the right feeling into the right function and the right form will follow.
"I condense every component, detail and junction to
the essential and keep shape, texture and colour
interesting, innovative and simple."
How do you combine your creative needs with the desires of a client?
The way we work as a studio is grounded in the belief that all good design derives from great story-telling. Our clients are encouraged to play a central role in authoring their own design. We work with them to uncover a design story grounded in their history and their personal or business objectives. The rewards of this approach are huge: unique, personalised environments which directly reflect personal style and/or brand ethos, and the upsides go even further - making life and work more productive, more playful, calmer, happier and healthier even.
Where does your passion for design come from?
My father, who worked as a property developer, brought me up with an appreciation for spatial design. He draws technically and designed and build a fair amount of the furniture at my parents 500-year old farmhouse in Sussex. He also collections art and has a classic car or two so I suppose it developed beyond the spatial to a more general appreciation of design in its various forms. It was his influence that inspired me to buy my 1967 Mercedes Pagoda.
In turn, my mother brought my five siblings and me up between the farm and an old fashioned townhouse in Kensington. Both houses were packed with noise, people and things, but also felt intimate, hospitable, comfortable and kind. As a studio, we believe that spaces filled with well-designed thought and feeling aren't just valuable, they can be profoundly life affirming. It's a way of thinking that aligns with that lovely quote from Charles & Ray Eames, 'The role of the architect, or the designer, is that of a very good, thoughtful host, all of whose energy goes into trying to anticipate the needs of his guests - those who enter the building and use the objects in it.' Our studio's intention is to be 'of service' in this way. People should feel better for having been through an environment designed by us.
"The way we work as a studio is grounded in the belief that all good design derives from great story telling."
Do you see your design aesthetic as being very British?
At their best, the Brits are known for their independent spirit and strength, their wit, reserve, manners and regard for tradition. I'd happily align the studio with those traits. Our approach is driven by respect for our client's individual needs, draws on a design vocabulary that runs far and wide and which honours deliberate, considered and consciously related design solutions.
Who has the biggest influence on your career?
The designers who have encouraged, inspired or trained me have been an enormous influence. I have David Collins, Ilse Crawford, Simone McEwan, Phillip Hooper, Emma Burns & Tom Bartlett to thank for that. The biggest influences now would be my private and commercial clients. Our best work is always the result of a successful collaboration with an enlightened, motivated client.
What inspires you today?
The variety of the work inspires me - the people, the places, the projects and objects - each one opens up a new world and the freedom to explore our new ideas within that. For me, design is a form of expression. It is a story we tell without words.
"The variety of the world inspires me - the people, the places, the projects and objects. For me, design is a form of expression. It is a story we tell without words."
Fran wears our Lille Black V Neck Top & Rivello Black Linen Wide Leg Trousers
What do you see for the future of design?
The best direction would be towards a sustainability that reveals opportunities to improve quality, increase value and spur innovation. William McDonough's 'Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things present' presents a timeless framework characterised by principles derived from nature - the most pertinent in this context being that everything is a resource for something else. In nature the 'waste' of one system becomes a food for another. Everything can be designed to be disassembled and safely returned to the soil as a biological nutrients or re-utilised as high quality materials for new products as technical nutrients without contamination. Rather than, seeking to minimise the harm we inflict, Cradle to Cradle reframes design as a positive, regenerative force - one that creates footprints to delight rather than lament in.
What do you love most about your work?
I find interiors endlessly fascinating because they make and shape new realities. The architect Robert Stern wrote 'the dialogue between client and architect is about as intimate as any conversation you can have, because when you're talking about building a house, you're talking about dreams.' The same is true, if not more so, for interior designers, I'm biased, of course, but from my perspective, buildings should be designed from the inside out, with a personal experience at the centre. In the West, we spend 87% of our lives inside buildings. Aside from offering shelter, safety and contentment, our interiors are an expression of the way we live, they shape our everyday routines and fundamentally affect our wellbeing. I believe that if you look after your space, your space will look after you. There is so much more to it than the largely shallow discourse that covers it - it is so much more than aesthetics. Whether it's the intimacy of the home, the efficiency of an office, the spectacle of a nightclub or the luxury of high-end fashion, what ties all our work together is the relationship between people and space. The objective is not simply to make a space feel special, but to make people feel special within it. A happy client and a well finished project gives me a great sense of purpose and achievement.
What is your favourite project to date and why?
I can't choose a favourite but I will always be particularly fond of my first retail project for Moda Operandi, Belgravia and my first hospitality project Chess Club, Mayfair. Both clients were dreamy in that they gave me clear briefs and boundaries in regards to deadlines and budgets and then gave me free reign to play.
"Whether it's the intimacy of the home, the efficiency
of an office, the spectacle of a nightclub or the luxury
of high-end fashion, what ties all our work together
is the relationship between people and space."
Fran wears our Lille Black V Neck Top & Rivello Black Linen Wide Leg Trousers
Design is often surrounded with talk of sustainability. How do you add to the conversation?
From our London base and with an office in NYC, we are engaged in projects across three continents, while our lead-agency expertise is supported by an international network of partner agencies. Operating at a global level obliges us to off-set our carbon consumption completely and consider the long term impacts of our creative choices. The studio reduces, reuses and recycles all its materials in-house and encourages clients to operate responsibly. At the same time we are continuously updating our knowledge in relation to sustainability and the build environment. To this end, we have been working on a limited edition product line made of full recycled materials which we will launch later this year.
How would you describe your style? How do you decide what to wear?
My job demands different things of me, so when I wake up in the morning, I have to think about how my clothes will accommodate my day. From building site to client lunch, my dress needs to be practical and approachable. I keep it simple with well-made tailored staples, inject some colour with a colourful knit and some character with a good shoe.
"We have been working on a limited edition product line made of fully recycled materials which we will launch later this year."
This month, we caught up with London interior designer, Fran Hickman.
We delved deeper on her refreshing design aesthetic and discuss where
her innate understanding for space works. Fran passionately believes in
the potential for good design to be a positive force in the world; and that
the best design is always both serious and playful.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
I reduce or condense every component, detail and junction to the essential and keep shape, texture and colour interesting, innovative and simple. This idea of simplicity is free from an excess of possessions and offers a sense of liberation.
Where do you begin designing a home?
I look at the building and its history and location. I get a feel for its bones. Then I look at the client, their character, their style, who lives in the space, how they spend their day and how they want to us the space. Then you take into consideration things like the light. It's a bit like having parts of a machine, and you've got to make it work.
How do you combine beauty and function?
For any idea to be really appealing, it has to engage your heart as well as your head. Form always follows function, but feel is vital too. Design the right feeling into the right function and the right form will follow.
"I condense every component, detail and junction to the essential and keep shape, texture and colour interesting, innovative and simple."
How do you combine your creative needs with the desires of a client?
The way we work as a studio is grounded in the belief that all good design derives from great story-telling. Our clients are encouraged to play a central role in authoring their own design. We work with them to uncover a design story grounded in their history and their personal or business objectives. The rewards of this approach are huge: unique, personalised environments which directly reflect personal style and/or brand ethos, and the upsides go even further - making life and work more productive, more playful, calmer, happier and healthier even.
Where does your passion for design come from?
My father, who worked as a property developer, brought me up with an appreciation for spatial design. He draws technically and designed and build a fair amount of the furniture at my parents 500-year old farmhouse in Sussex. He also collections art and has a classic car or two so I suppose it developed beyond the spatial to a more general appreciation of design in its various forms. It was his influence that inspired me to buy my 1967 Mercedes Pagoda.
In turn, my mother brought my five siblings and me up between the farm and an old fashioned townhouse in Kensington. Both houses were packed with noise, people and things, but also felt intimate, hospitable, comfortable and kind. As a studio, we believe that spaces filled with well-designed thought and feeling aren't just valuable, they can be profoundly life affirming. It's a way of thinking that aligns with that lovely quote from Charles & Ray Eames: '
The role of the architect, or the designer, is that of a very good, thoughtful host, all of whose energy goes into trying to anticipate the needs of his guests - those who enter the building and use the objects in it.'
Our studio's intention is to be 'of service' in this way. People should feel better for having been through an environment designed by us.
"The way we work as a studio is grounded in the belief that all good design derives from great story telling."
Do you see your design aesthetic as being very British?
At their best, the Brits are known for their independent spirit and strength, their wit, reserve, manners and regard for tradition. I'd happily align the studio with those traits. Our approach is driven by respect for our client's individual needs, draws on a design vocabulary that runs far and wide and which honours deliberate, considered and consciously related design solutions.
What inspires you today?
The variety of the work inspires me - the people, the places, the projects and objects - each one opens up a new world and the freedom to explore our new ideas within that. For me, design is a form of expression. It is a story we tell without words.
"The variety of the world inspires me - the people, the places, the projects and objects. For me, design is a form of expression. It is a story we tell without words."
What do you love most about your work?
I find interiors endlessly fascinating because they make and shape new realities. From my perspective, buildings should be designed from the inside out, with a personal experience at the centre. In the West, we spend 87% of our lives inside buildings. Aside from offering shelter, safety and contentment, our interiors are an expression of the way we live, they shape our everyday routines and fundamentally affect our wellbeing. I believe that if you look after your space, your space will look after you. There is so much more to it than the largely shallow discourse that covers it - it is so much more than aesthetics. Whether it's the intimacy of the home, the efficiency of an office, the spectacle of a nightclub or the luxury of high-end fashion, what ties all our work together is the relationship between people and space. The objective is not simply to make a space feel special, but to make people feel special within it. A happy client and a well finished project gives me a great sense of purpose and achievement.
"Whether it's the intimacy of the home, the efficiency of an office, the spectacle of a nightclub or the luxury of high-end fashion, what ties all our work together is the relationship between people and space."
What is your favourite project to date and why?
I can't choose a favourite but I will always be particularly fond of my first retail project for Moda Operandi, Belgravia and my first hospitality project Chess Club, Mayfair. Both clients were dreamy in that they gave me clear briefs and boundaries in regards to deadlines and budgets and then gave me free reign to play.
Design is often surrounded with talk of sustainability. How do you add to the conversation?
From our London base and with an office in NYC, we are engaged in projects across three continents, while our lead-agency expertise is supported by an international network of partner agencies. Operating at a global level obliges us to off-set our carbon consumption completely and consider the long term impacts of our creative choices. The studio reduces, reuses and recycles all its materials in-house and encourages clients to operate responsibly. At the same time we are continuously updating our knowledge in relation to sustainability and the build environment. To this end, we have been working on a limited edition product line made of full recycled materials which we will launch later this year.
Shop Fran's Edit
This month, we caught up with London interior designer, Fran Hickman. We delved deeper on her refreshing design aesthetic and discuss where her innate understanding for space works. Fran passionately believes in the potential for good design to be a positive force in the world; and that the best design is always both serious and playful.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
I reduce or condense every component, detail and junction to the essential and keep shape, texture and colour interesting, innovative and simple. This idea of simplicity is free from an excess of possessions and offers a sense of liberation.
Where do you begin designing a home?
I look at the building and its history and location. I get a feel for its bones. Then I look at the client, their character, their style, who lives in the space, how they spend their day and how they want to us the space. Then you take into consideration things like the light. It's a bit like having parts of a machine, and you've got to make it work.
How do you combine beauty and function?
For any idea to be really appealing, it has to engage your heart as well as your head. Form always follows function, but feel is vital too. Design the right feeling into the right function and the right form will follow.
"I condense every component, detail and junction to the essential and keep shape, texture and colour interesting, innovative and simple."
Fran wears our Azores Dust Blue Linen Blazer
How do you combine your creative needs with the desires of a client?
The way we work as a studio is grounded in the belief that all good design derives from great story-telling. Our clients are encouraged to play a central role in authoring their own design. We work with them to uncover a design story grounded in their history and their personal or business objectives. The rewards of this approach are huge: unique, personalised environments which directly reflect personal style and/or brand ethos, and the upsides go even further - making life and work more productive, more playful, calmer, happier and healthier even.
Where does your passion for design come from?
My father, who worked as a property developer, brought me up with an appreciation for spatial design. He draws technically and designed and build a fair amount of the furniture at my parents 500-year old farmhouse in Sussex. He also collections art and has a classic car or two so I suppose it developed beyond the spatial to a more general appreciation of design in its various forms. It was his influence that inspired me to buy my 1967 Mercedes Pagoda.
"The way we work as a studio is grounded in the belief that all good design derives from great story telling."
Do you see your design aesthetic as being very British?
At their best, the Brits are known for their independent spirit and strength, their wit, reserve, manners and regard for tradition. I'd happily align the studio with those traits. Our approach is driven by respect for our client's individual needs, draws on a design vocabulary that runs far and wide and which honours deliberate, considered and consciously related design solutions.
Who has the biggest influence on your career?
The designers who have encouraged, inspired or trained me have been an enormous influence. I have David Collins, Ilse Crawford, Simone McEwan, Phillip Hooper, Emma Burns & Tom Bartlett to thank for that. The biggest influences now would be my private and commercial clients. Our best work is always the result of a successful collaboration with an enlightened, motivated client.
What inspires you today?
The variety of the work inspires me - the people, the places, the projects and objects - each one opens up a new world and the freedom to explore our new ideas within that. For me, design is a form of expression. It is a story we tell without words.
Fran wears our Lille Black Linen V Neck Top
"The variety of the world inspires me - the people, the places, the projects and objects. For me, design is a form of expression. It is a story we tell without words."
What do you love most about your work?
I find interiors endlessly fascinating because they make and shape new realities. From my perspective, buildings should be designed from the inside out, with a personal experience at the centre. In the West, we spend 87% of our lives inside buildings. Aside from offering shelter, safety and contentment, our interiors are an expression of the way we live, they shape our everyday routines and fundamentally affect our wellbeing. I believe that if you look after your space, your space will look after you. There is so much more to it than the largely shallow discourse that covers it - it is so much more than aesthetics.
Whether it's the intimacy of the home, the efficiency of an office, the spectacle of a nightclub or the luxury of high-end fashion, what ties all our work together is the relationship between people and space. The objective is not simply to make a space feel special, but to make people feel special within it. A happy client and a well finished project gives me a great sense of purpose and achievement.
What is your favourite project to date and why?
I can't choose a favourite but I will always be particularly fond of my first retail project for Moda Operandi, Belgravia and my first hospitality project Chess Club, Mayfair. Both clients were dreamy in that they gave me clear briefs and boundaries in regards to deadlines and budgets and then gave me free reign to play.
Design is often surrounded with talk of sustainability. How do you add to the conversation?
From our London base and with an office in NYC, we are engaged in projects across three continents, while our lead-agency expertise is supported by an international network of partner agencies. Operating at a global level obliges us to off-set our carbon consumption completely and consider the long term impacts of our creative choices. The studio reduces, reuses and recycles all its materials in-house and encourages clients to operate responsibly. At the same time we are continuously updating our knowledge in relation to sustainability and the build environment. To this end, we have been working on a limited edition product line made of full recycled materials which we will launch later this year.
"We have been working on a limited edition product line made of fully recycled materials which we will launch later this year."
Fran wears our Lille Black Linen V Neck Top
What do you see for the future of design?
The best direction would be towards a sustainability that reveals opportunities to improve quality, increase value and spur innovation. William McDonough's 'Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things present' presents a timeless framework characterised by principles derived from nature - the most pertinent in this context being that everything is a resource for something else. In nature the 'waste' of one system becomes a food for another. Everything can be designed to be disassembled and safely returned to the soil as a biological nutrients or re-utilised as high quality materials for new products as technical nutrients without contamination. Rather than, seeking to minimise the harm we inflict, Cradle to Cradle reframes design as a positive, regenerative force - one that creates footprints to delight rather than lament in.
How would you describe your style? How do you decide what to wear?
My job demands different things of me, so when I wake up in the morning, I have to think about how my clothes will accommodate my day. From building site to client lunch, my dress needs to be practical and approachable. I keep it simple with well-made tailored staples, inject some colour with a colourful knit and some character with a good shoe.
Shop Fran's Edit