Celebrating 20 Years of Zardi & Zardi
written for Zardi & Zardi
Zardi & Zardi celebrates 20 years in business by launching six new colourways of its popular Chinoiserie wallpaper. Growing to become the leading supplier of reproduction tapestries in the UK, with a unique portfolio of designs sourced from public and private collections, we aspire to create products that are sympathetic to the original, whilst being relevant in a contemporary setting, bridging old worlds and new.
PJ Keeling, owner of the business, escaped a career in the city to study Fine Art at Central Saint Martins and The Slade. A timely meeting with Stephen Lewis of Lewis & Wood led to the idea of harnessing the digital fabric printing revolution to copy valuable tapestry wall hangings. An early commission followed in 2004, when the conservation of a set of Brussels tapestries at Houghton Hall, home of The Marquess of Cholmondeley, commenced. Zardi & Zardi were asked to produce quality reproductions so that visitors to The Green Velvet Bedchamber could enjoy the tapestries while the originals were away…and the rest is history.
The Zardi & Zardi Team. Image c/o Mike Garlick Photography.
Many fascinating historic projects have followed in the years since. Highlights include tapestries reproduced in 2007 for The Metropolitan Museum of Art for their
‘Tapestry in the Renaissance’ touring exhibition of 15th-century European tapestries.
Curated by Thomas Campbell, tapestry specialist and former Director of the Met, this was the most comprehensive collection of Renaissance tapestries brought together in the past twenty-five years.
An exciting commission arrived in 2014 through the BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, reproducing the Salomon Et La Reine De Saba tapestry as referenced in the novel, The Devonshire Hunting Series and Esther and Ahasuerus tapestries for key scenes in this televised masterpiece.
The World of Interiors ‘Showstopper Award’ for the Venus and Adonis tapestries at Houghton Hall soon followed in 2017. This elegant pair of tapestries were designed by Jan van Orley circa 1700-20 and are available to buy as tapestry wall hangings. Their success precipitated a considered move to create a Capsule Collection bringing together a range of unique, user-friendly products at a competitive price, aimed at interior designers. With nothing else comparable on the market at the time, designs such as Frampton Verdure and Verdure with Birds were an instant hit.
Our Leeds Castle Aubusson wallpaper was central to the library created by interior designer Tim Gosling at the WOW!house event in 2023. Inspired by the library in the Normandie Chateau he is currently restoring, the space was an elegant showcase for this classic design and a special opportunity to work alongside one of the UK’s leading design teams.
In recent years, discerning collaborations have proved fruitful. A range of elegant tablecloths have been designed with Miranda Uechtritz, founder of Maison Fête et Cie, the queen of tablescaping. We have enjoyed our involvement in the renovation of the Admirals House, a thirty bedroom Georgian manor house, under the guidance of Greg Penn, internet sensation Man with a Hammer. Our Chinoiserie wallpaper takes centre stage in the stunning, oval dining room.
Working alongside the award-winning team on the renovation of Stowe House in 2023 has been a significant achievement. This Grade 1 listed property, one of England’s finest Georgian country houses, required our specialist expertise to recreate a rare orange damask in the Temple Room and wallcoverings in the State Dining Room.
Summer 2024 sees the unveiling of the Boleyn Apartment at Hever Castle after a year-long restoration of the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. Working closely with a dedicated textile advisor and historian Sir David Starkey, we reproduced wall hangings and bedcovers befitting of the Tudor period.
Launching six new colourways to our best-selling Chinoiserie panorama wallpaper design seems an appropriate way to celebrate 20 successful years. It is our great pleasure to present them at Focus Design Week 2024. With a new London showroom opening imminently and more collections to follow, we continue to work with historic documents to develop exciting new products.
Chinoiserie Panorama wallpaper in Mazarine Blue Vivante (Petite) by Zardi & Zardi. Image c/o Mike Garlick Photography
Note to Editors:
All products are printed to order with a 4-week lead time.
To receive Trade Prices, please open a Trade Account at https://www.zardiandzardi.co.uk/taaf
General Enquiries: +44 (0) 1452 814 777 / enquiries@zardiandzardi.co.uk
For all PRESS enquiries please contact:
Sarah Edmonds, Sales & PR +44 (0) 7990 587967 sarah@zardiandzardi.co.uk
Images are available on request.