‘Our bespoke work is akin to couture, whereas Peascod Select is ready-to-wear,’ says Emma Peascod, neatly defining her new venture with partner in life and work Tobias. Together, the two artisans make up Peascod, producers of breathtaking verre églomisé and bas-relief designs.
Until now, their work has been reserved for only the highest end of residential and hospitality projects – you may have marvelled at Emma’s reverse gilded glass in Claridge’s ballroom or above the reception desk in the Mondrian hotel in Shoreditch.
‘A bespoke piece like that can take anywhere from two to six months to create but, for Peascod Select, we are looking at a lead time of six to eight weeks,’ says Emma, who notes that the initial choice of designs (nine in total) includes some of Tobias’s most requested classics. Creations such as the delicately beautiful ‘Evening Swallows’ and texturally rich ‘Swan Feather’ were obvious choices, but there are also new designs made especially for the range and inspired by the new processes used to produce them.
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When it comes to the relief panels (‘available in joinery-friendly dimensions’, notes Tobias) the initial approach is the same as for his bespoke pieces. He begins by sculpting in wax, taking inspiration from photographs he takes of the wildlife in the woods around the couple’s home and studio in Somerset.
‘There are still some wonderfully unspoiled corners and, when you’re walking there, it often feels like you’ve stepped into a secret, enchanted place. That atmosphere definitely feeds into what we do,’ says Tobias. ‘But we try to avoid being too literal about it – you won’t find landscapes in our work. Instead, it’s more likely to be a texture, a colour palette or a dramatic sky that influences us.’
Once the painstakingly detailed sculpture is complete, a silicone mould is carefully taken and used to cast panels in jesmonite – a water-based acrylic resin polymer that retains the intricacies of the original sculpture – even the toolmarks and fingerprints.
For Emma, the new method also begins in her usual way: ‘Painting, gilding and dyeing papers to create a layered composition.’ Once she is happy, the design is photographed in extreme detail using a rig she and Tobias have set up in their workshop to capture every nuance. The finished piece is a combination of serigraphy (artistic screen-printing) and hand-applied processes.
‘The glass itself,’ says Emma, ‘can be cut to size and used in many applications, such as doors, wardrobes, cabinetry and wall panels, with options for cutaways, slots for lighting and so on.’ ‘For us,’ she adds, ‘it’s about pushing things forward, experimenting and seeing what’s possible, while always being careful not to be seduced by technology for its own sake. We’re not interested in being luddites but, equally, we don’t want to lose sight of craftsmanship.’
For both her and Tobias, it’s the possibilities of how these new Peascod Select designs will be used that fills them with excitement. ‘We love creating one-off pieces, however, naturally, our production capacity for these is limited,’ explains Emma. ‘We’ve always aspired to bring our work into more interiors and make it accessible while preserving the integrity of the craft.’ peascod.studio
