If you had told us when we started Forivor that one day we would be asked by one of the most prestigious department stores in the world to create a special design for them I wouldn't have believed you. But amongst all the disappointments and 'almost' moments life brings to our doors, it is also true that it brings moments filled with unexpected joy and pride. This is one of those moments. The illustration process behind this piece reminded me that drawing is the perfect portal to our childhoods. Reflected in many ways in the experience of visiting Fortnum & Mason, where we take a nostalgic journey back to the wonder of a sweet counter as a child, holding a parent's hand.
Growing up near Fortnums I was lucky enough to visit as a child and the memories of seeing their window displays (particularly at Christmas) are deeply rooted in my imagination. They sit somewhere between a lived reality and a dream which fits perfectly with how we approach each of our designs. When we were asked to create a bespoke design for Fortnums I immediately began to reconnect with those memories and how I had felt as a child.
The lovely Fortnum's buying team were completely trusting and really left the brief very open for us which was amazing. To begin with Rebecca and I visited to find some inspiration, we already had the food hall at the forefront of our minds and thinking about how we could use that as a way to connect the artwork to nature and the world of Forivor. What struck us was all of the beautiful architectural features too, the central staircase as well as the side entrance on Duke Street which feels like a secret way into the store somehow. The illustrations themselves echo vintage children’s books, particularly from the 1950s and 60s which is reflected in some of the clothing such as the gloves and handbag worn by the mother. It's an aesthetic style I love but I also understood it as a vehicle to pull out the rich history of Fortnums and provide a nostalgic feeling for people who look at the artwork. Without realising I drew my mother and l hand in hand, as we so often went about West London.
On the daytime side of the design we enter the store from Duke Street and all seems in order until you look more closely. Amongst the shoppers and mother and child on the staircase there are tea plants, strawberries and blackberries growing around the periphery. A rabbit on the staircase and a hedgehog are visiting too. We wanted to provide a connection between the pots of delicious jams and jars of tea you find at Fortnums and the idea that the natural world lives there too, by providing all of the ingredients.
We always strive to create a connection with people through evoking or creating an evocative feeling but we equally strive to do this through the wonder of nature; joining up the dots that can feel dissociated from one another in the world today.
As day turns to night, nature has completely taken over the store and the stairs have become like a slide which now circles a huge oak tree that’s grown through the building. The woodland creatures are having a midnight feast; You can spot a harvest mouse amongst the sugar mice and a rabbit inside the huge glass jar of sweets. I wanted to imbue the illustrations with a sense of unbridled playfulness that comes so easily to children and which adults are always searching for. Through the years we have discovered that grown-ups want more than ever to connect to a sense of playfulness and joy and that our collections offer this to them (not just children).
We wanted the illustrations to delight children and also be evocative for adults who remember holding their parents' hands as they were taken shopping, marvelling at the shelves above them and the people walking by. Drawing all of the cakes and creatures has been like revisiting our own childhoods and the joy we took in imagining we could stay in Fortnums overnight and make it our home.
