Who are they? Irish-born Gayle Noonan and half-German, half-French Tatjana von Stein (above, far right) met while working at the former concept store and café Clerkenwell London. Von Stein curated the brands and Noonan was creative director. ‘We both had a passion for chairs and started sending each other chair porn,’ recalls von Stein. The pair formed their design studio Sella Concept in 2016 – the name derives from the Latin word for saddle – and married last year under a 700-year-old oak tree in Andalucía, Spain.
Sella Concept’s style? ‘Tatjana has a very daring approach, whereas I’m always considering the details,’ says Noonan of their partnership. ‘She’s macro, designing a 50m by 50m glass ball, and I’m thinking about how it might work.’
Inspired by their travels, their installations and interiors are full of geometric forms and colour, with a hint of dreamlike de Chirico-style painting. Natural materials such as wicker, terrazzo and timber panelling add texture, and they love a liberal dose of succulents and fern-like foliage.
Typical projects Temporary ‘living room’ style installations for Netflix and Google were followed by co-working space De Beauvoir Block, but they cut their teeth in hospitality design. Sella Concept reimagined the rooftop of award-winning Hackney cocktail bar Night Tales into a leafy oasis with ‘Malibu-beach-vibe pastels’, designed the retro baby blue and red interior of Piraña restaurant in Balham and conceived the terracotta-hued and terrazzo gem Omar’s Place in Pimlico (above, top).
Recent work Their ‘Ad Infinitum’ installation (above) took over the windows of The Conran Shop in Brompton Cross during London Design Festival, with mirrored arches, spheres and apertures reflecting Conran designs. They are creating the living room space in the Design Encounter installation at Decorex (above), and recently completed their new two-storey studio in Camden (see also above).
Next is an Olivia von Halle concession in Harrods (above), and apartments for an eco-friendly co-living brand are on the horizon. They say: ‘We take a holistic approach, from the branding through to the interior. There are so many things we would love to do, such as more retail, old people’s homes, a boutique apartment hotel...’ sella-concept.com
This feature appeared in ELLE Decoration November 2019
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