I have always loved an ottoman; in my mind it is quite an English piece of furniture – growing up in Sweden, it’s not something I was used to. The fact that it’s covered in fabric would have seemed impractical to a Swede. To me, it encapsulated how English people decorate and think about homes; it’s about comfort and layering.
Some years ago, I came across the work of American artist Andie Dinkin. I bought one of her pieces for my home and fell in love with her work. Her expression is quite naive and so detailed, and I came up with the idea of commissioning her to create artwork to be made into a tapestry for my own ottoman.
I spoke to Swedish company Vandra Rugs to produce the tapestry. It has an amazing factory in Ukraine with women doing the tapestry work. We picked the yarns and they made a sample – it was perfect. It’s a decadent party scene with all these details: green smoke billowing out from cigarettes, a card game, shoes with a fish coming out of them, cherries and a bit of cake on a plate.
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The ottoman is made in a traditional way using horsehair, wool felt and jute webbing – it’s built to last for generations, hopefully. No one has spilled anything on it yet, but even if it does get marked, it can take it. It’s meant to be lived with.
I have this memory of being at some fancy party and lying on an ottoman, lots of people in their twenties spilling drinks everywhere around me. It’s so different to how people would let a room like that be used in Sweden, and that was so freeing and fun. To me, this piece is about that: not being worried about putting something lovely centre-stage, and allowing yourself to use it. That’s what I want to encourage! beataheuman.com
