Salisbury and Maude is the bespoke quilt brand you should know about
Sarah Stamm’s rare handmade pieces may be celebrated as works of art but they’re also being snapped up as investment pieces.
Bespoke handmade treasures by Beechworth interior designer Sarah Stamm grace the homes of many Australian celebrities, including Kate Ritchie, Edwina Bartholomew, Johanna Griggs and Bec Hewitt.
Stamm creates knitted originals and beautiful quilts that are quickly snapped up and considered collector’s pieces. She likens her quilts to a well-worn pair of Italian leather shoes.
“I feel people love my quilts because of the beautiful array of fabrics I source – many are rare and exclusive and have been created for interior designers,” Stamm says. “Each quilt has a unique story, not only because of the beautiful fabrics but because of where they come from.
“They take on the stories and in essence the form of the person who has been wrapped and cocooned in one.”
Stamm established her brand, Salisbury & Maude, in 2005. She works from a home-based studio on a picturesque hill overlooking the Victorian Alps, and sells the quilts online via Instagram.
She started making designer quilts 12 years ago because of the growing piles of fabric she gathers on her travels.
“Through my work as an interior designer and my background in textiles, I have a long history with fabric and I am following my own quilting conventions,” she says.
Stamm cuts each length of material into squares to create a frame around a highlight, and is confident that when all the squares come together they will enhance an interior and pique interest, just like an artwork.
“Ultimately, I am following my creative instincts and using my experience and knowledge of textiles and interiors,” she says.
After studying textiles at university, Stamm has enjoyed a long career as an interior designer, including a stint in Sydney working with high-end clients.
As well as other bespoke pieces, she creates quilts for summer using lightweight fabrics and tweed quilts for the cooler months with fabric sourced from Scottish mills.
“In summer I am attracted to bright, character-laden, happy colours and in winter I am drawn to sullen, deep earthy tones,” Stamm says.
“It’s amazing how often I look out the window and the quilt I am working on reflects the mood of the day.”
Last year Stamm and her husband David drove 8000km in nine weeks, sourcing and collecting fabrics from Amsterdam, Stockholm, Prague, Munich and Milan.
“There were so many stunning little studios, boutiques and textile mills around Europe where I purchased fabric, including Radspieler in Munich, a stunning home decor store,” she says.
She also loves Tinctoria in Amsterdam, run by the now retired Dutch designer Leentje van Hengel, where she found some hand-dyed fabric that was inspired by van Hengel’s garden and surrounds.
Other favourites include the Swedish store Svenskt Tenn in Stockholm, home to stunning Josef Frank fabrics. The late Austrian architect, artist and designer worked on designs from the 1920s to the 1960s and some of these fabrics feature in Stamm’s latest quilt collection. She also admires Australian textile designers Anna Spiro and Cassandra Harper, and looks forward to working with more.
She has already planned the next European trip for her and her husband to hunt down textiles.
“This time we will head to Norway, Finland and back to the magnificent Swedish lakeside landscape. I will immerse myself in more of Josef Frank’s ultimate design world, where ‘artistry meets precision in a symphony of design’ – he is my kindred spirit,” she says.
Stamm says she believes what sets her quilts apart is that they are made by an interior designer for interiors.
Some are also being purchased as investment pieces to be handed down through generations.
“I feel very sentimental and proud that my work passes through generations as every stitch is placed with care and plenty of heart – I am honoured to make treasures that last a lifetime and beyond,” she says.
The first thing she does after completing one of her quilts is stand back and admire it.
“It’s the end of my journey with the quilt, which can be an emotional but satisfying experience,” she says.
For sale details visit @salisburyandmaude
This story is from the May issue of Mansion magazine, out on Friday, May 30.
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