August at Compton McRae
Pop-up @ Compton McRae
Throughout August, Chapel Collection is popping up at Compton McRae, and we could not be happier with the company we are keeping. From the 1st to the 31st, we will be there daily, bringing together jewellery, silk, flowers, lavender and some of our favourite pieces from the collection under one roof. Compton McRae is at SP9 7AW, and the doors are open all month for anyone who wants to come and browse, try things on and take their time over it.
Who else is there
We are sharing the space with a small group of makers whose work we admire enormously.
Emma Chapman Jewels will be showing her handmade pieces, carved and engraved using techniques drawn from Islamic, Mughal and Byzantine architecture, and made by craftspeople she has worked with in Jaipur for over a decade. Her jewellery has a haute-bohemian feel to it; regal, but wearable, and exactly the kind of thing that becomes a signature piece rather than a passing purchase.
Henrietta Bevan is bringing her silk crepe de chine shirts and dresses, screen-printed by artisans near Mumbai, along with her cowboy shirts in khadi cotton and handwoven silk. Each piece is produced in small runs, so what you see on the day is genuinely limited.
Charlotte Hepworth's flowers are a craft in their own right; waxed paper blooms made using techniques rooted in the Constance Spry studio, built up over thirty years of practice. They hold their shape and colour in a way fresh flowers never could, which makes them a lovely thing to bring home from a pop-up rather than a market stall.
Elgiva is bringing their lavender, distilled on a single family estate in Provence and bottled in London. It is undiluted, traditionally sun-dried, and one of those things that quietly improves a room, a wardrobe or a bath without asking for much attention.
What Chapel Collection is bringing
We will have a full edit of the collection with us, and this is where I want to draw your attention to a few things in particular.
Injiri will be well represented. We have loved this label since it launched in 2009, and the dresses are as good a reason as any to visit; hand-woven, hand-dyed, and rooted in the weaving traditions of Gujarat, Kashmir and Bengal. No two pieces ever feel quite the same, which is the point.
Hannoh Wessel is another label we are proud to stock, and one that sits slightly apart from the rest of the collection; their dresses and jackets are made thoughtfully in Italy from cotton, linen and wool, simple in shape but considered in every detail. We will have a good range of dresses with us for the month.
We will also be bringing our kantha quilts, hand-stitched by women in rural Bengal using layers of old sari cloth. Every one is different, and they are as much a piece of textile history as they are a blanket for the sofa.
New for this pop-up are our jute and wool rugs, which we are introducing for the first time. They are hand-woven, hard-wearing, and a good example of the kind of craft we look for across everything we sell: made slowly, made well, and made by people who know exactly what they are doing.
If you are near Compton McRae this month, do come and see it all in person. We will be there every day from the 1st to the 31st of August.
Chapel Collection