Alongside the Soft Focus campaign @carlhansenandson have taken over @hollowaysofludlow with an installation on the first floor of their flagship showroom in Bath. As part of the collaboration they have redesigned the colours in @stleointeriors colours.
The walls are painted in this ultra warm sandy-caramel colour, ‘Syntagma’ is named after the Athenian square in Greece. The woodwork is painted in ‘Thorvaldsens’, a rich deep brown-red and perfect accompanist for a modern edge to the Georgian space.
We were thrilled to welcome a lovely group in Bath last night to bask in the space and get creative with a workshop inspired by colour.
We chose to hang this piece by @sourcematerialstudio against Machiya by @stleointeriors This red-brown has a rich body made up of red and yellow pigments with timber undertones which gives it a super warm profile.
Burgundy’s work brilliantly as a deep neutral as they have a grounding weight to them whilst blending seamlessly - especially when paired with artwork like this which draw out the red tones of the digital strokes.
Soft Focus
11th - 15th May
Carl Hansen & Søn
16a Bowling Green Ln, EC1R 0BD
Photography @benandersphotographer
We wanted showcase a selection of chairs to show some surprising colours options that are possible in a number of @carlhansenandson chairs so we created this Chair-Grid to highlight the Pewter, Red/Brown and Blue finish against the classic oak wooden frame.
We chose two colours from the @stleointeriors original pigment range to provide a portion of the grid with wooden backdrops:
Dauphine, a lemon-yellow colour pays tribute to the Art Nouveau metro stations in Paris. It’s a vivid and uplifting colour, which is great for bringing light indoors.
Olufsvej is a soft and subtle light blue shade with a grey base and has a cool elegance to it. The colour is inspired by the painted row houses on a Copenhagen street with the name Olufsvej so we felt that this paid homage to Carl Hansen & Søns Danish heritage.
The chair here is the CH33T is Red/Brown
Soft Focus
11th - 15th May
Carl Hansen & Søn
16a Bowling Green Ln, EC1R 0BD
Photography @benandersphotographer
On the upper floor, the installation extends into the showroom environment, where the panels are positioned alongside @carlhansenandson furniture collection. Here, colour is used to soften spatial boundaries and subtly reframe the presentation of key pieces, offering multiple readings of the same arrangement depending on viewpoint.
Soft Focus
11th - 15th May
Carl Hansen & Søn
16a Bowling Green Ln, EC1R 0BD
Textiles @kvadrattextiles
Paint @stleointeriors
Photography @benandersphotographer
The installation we designed for @carlhansenandson opens this week for Craft Week. It has been a pleasure to walk through the space with fellow designers and take talk about the concept of the showroom curation. With the creative brief of JOY, the inception of the project began with us asking, “What does Joy mean to us?”From here we developed the 5 Etté cornerstones of Joy:
Lightness + Expansion + Spontaneity + Connection + Presence
Through varying textures and woven materials by @kvadrattextiles the installation explores how colour shifts as fabrics overlap and interact with light.
Soft Focus
11th - 15th May
Carl Hansen & Søn
16a Bowling Green Ln, EC1R 0BD
Photography @benandersphotographer
Alongside the installation at ’Soft Focus, an exhibition for @carlhansenandson , we exhibit two digital paintings by Laura Vent of @sourcematerialstudio These abstract compositions draw a parallel exploration of movement and form with colour and with colour and display those moments of fluidity that bring us Joy
Soft Focus
11th - 15th May
Carl Hansen & Søn
16a Bowling Green Ln, EC1R 0BD
Etté has reimagined the @carlhansenandson Clerkenwell showroom for Craft Week with ‘Soft Focus,’ an installation-led exhibition exploring the spatial and perceptual impact of colour. The project translates the theme JOY, into a series of design interventions that examine colour as a dynamic, experiential medium. At the centre of the exhibition is a suspended installation of eight Kvadrat fabric panels, each specified in a different textile and hue. Arranged to be walked around, the panels create shifting layers of transparency, reflection and opacity. As visitors move through the space, colour is continuously altered by light, angle and material.
11th - 15th May
Carl Hansen & Søn
16a Bowling Green Ln, London EC1R 0BD
Sign up to our newsletter called ‘The Vignette’ before tomorrow to get the inside scoop on our Carl Hansen project opening in May. We’ll also be celebrating a new female colour icon, talking to a industry expert about their thoughts and feelings about colour and of course, recommended the hot places we’ve been to or heard about that are worth a visit.
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Developed in response to a brief centred on joy for we looked at the idea of ‘Expansion’ as a sense of opening or widening. @carlhansenandson Translating this into a colour palette lead to us researching refracted light where a prism splits white light into a wide spectrum of colours, bleeding and blending into one another. From here we built a palette of 14 colours inspired from the elements of Hans J. Wegner’s iconic wishbone chair, and centred around our pillars of Joy: Connection, Spontaneity, Expansion, Iridescent, Anchors and Holographic.
A recurring feature in The Vignette, the Etté newsletter, ‘Colour Icons’ celebrates women who redefine our relationship with colour. Their palettes speak not just visually, but emotionally and culturally—expressing identity, feeling and resistance. It’s a space for inspiration, and for recognising the power of colour as a form of voice.
Mary Heilmann is an American artist known for her vibrant, expressive work since the 1970s. Originally trained in sculpture in California, she shifted to painting after moving to New York in 1968. Her work feels enduringly fresh—loose, intuitive, and never overworked. In Surfing on Acid, soft-edged shapes drift with ease, while San Gregorio becomes more fluid still, with blue and green hues overlapping in a quietly energetic rhythm.
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Within The Vignette, our newsletter, we spotlight female Colour Icons—women who have shaped how we see and experience colour. Across art, design and culture, their work moves beyond aesthetics into a language of identity, emotion and quiet rebellion. Returning to their work is both inspiring and affirming.
Lubna Chowdhary’s bold colour and playful ceramic forms feel both unconventional and mesmerising. Her ongoing work Metropolis—first shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize—has grown into a vast collection reflecting the man-made world, with a palette shaped by her cultural heritage: vivid oranges, turquoises, indigos and pinks sit alongside urban greys and industrial tones. @lubnachowdhary
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As part of our newsletter, The Vignette, we have a dedicated segment on Female Colour Icons spotlighting women who have shaped how we see, feel, and experience colour. From artists and designers to cultural figures, their use of colour often transcends aesthetics, becoming a language of identity, emotion, and quiet rebellion. Revisiting their work is not only visually inspiring, but deeply affirming.
Grace Hartigan was a leading figure in American Abstract Expressionism, known for her bold, emotionally charged use of colour. Emerging from the New York School in the 1950s—where she initially painted under the pseudonym “George Hartigan” to challenge gender bias—her work later evolved to merge abstraction with figurative elements, influenced by the Old Masters and city life. Her palette was intense and dynamic—fiery reds, saturated oranges, deep blues and luminous yellows colliding with black and white to create energy and tension.
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