Charleston Keepsake Box

Image: The sitting room at Charleston Farmhouse

With Mother’s Day fast approaching, Selvedge is delighted to have teamed up with Annie Sloan to offer a free gift of her covetable Charleston Keepsake box to new subscribers. The perfect introduction to upcycling and transforming home furnishings, the paint-your-own kit contains Annie’s three new limited edition Chalk Paint® colours that were inspired by the interiors and patterns of Charleston Farmhouse, and will appeal to those fascinated by the grand history of the decorative arts.

Image: The Studio at Charleston Farmhouse

The products of the Omega Workshops - founded by Roger Fry in 1913 - were largely dreamt up and created by Bloomsbury Group members Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant who took the French Post-Impressionists’ ideas, such as their bold non-naturalistic colour spectrum, and applied them to ceramics, textiles, carpets, lamps, furniture and children’s toys. However, the most striking example of their vision is the Charleston Farmhouse in Sussex. In the midst of the First World War, Bell, Grant, and David Garnett decorated every inch of the place in what is now the distinctive Bloomsbury style. Their home is a riot of print and pattern, which, in keeping with the vast collection of art on its walls, is bold in its use of colours and shapes.

Image: Duncan Grant's Studio at Charleston Farmhouse

Part of the exhilaration that people visiting the house now experience comes from the sense of confidence and fearlessness these artists had. A symphony of rude lines and sudden gentle shading hurtles off its every surface, making their home itself an uninhibited, irreverent work of art. Annie Sloan’s Keepsake box champions the exuberance of the Charleston Farmhouse and the hand-painted aesthetic that adorns the place, and will inspire you to create your own joyful and colourful box, to house treasures and be treasured for years to come. Why not paint the box yourself and fill it with keepsakes for your Mum as a gift, or perhaps embark on a creative project together — the kit contains enough paint to complete the box and another small project too after all!

Find out how to claim this free gift on our subscriptions page. You can read more about the Charleston Farmhouse in Issue 99 Home.