Wallpaper, Art or Both?

Claire Coles has a unique approach to wallpaper. This British designer collects vintage and antique wallpapers, and then cuts them up to create new collage-style designs. To bind the various papers together, Coles sews them on her sewing machine, adding texture to the designs. The results are absolutely irresistible three-dimensional incarnations of whimsy.

The wallpapers she uses for her collage papers range from wild flocked prints to demure, traditional florals. Her preferred motifs are mostly sweet, humble images that allude to her English roots: Tea cups, cottage roles, horses and antique furnishings.
Coles' work hasn't gone unnoticed. After graduating from art school, Coles' first commissions included a wallpaper display for Liberty of London -- not bad for a first gig. More recent commissions include wallpaper designs for Ted Baker and textile designs for Anthropologie.

Coles' wallpapers straddle the line between art and consumable object. In fact, she's shown her work at both art and design fairs, like the Affordable Art Fair and The International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York. Art or mass market, Claire's work doesn't come cheap; a three-meter roll of wallpaper retails for £480 (or about $770). However, you'll get a one-of-a-kind, custom piece, if you should choose to take the plunge.

If you happen to be in London between now and February 5, Claire Coles' embroidered vintage wallpaper 'Tea Cups' and 'Room Scene' wallpaper are on display at Flow Gallery, 1-5 Needham Rd., London, W11 2RP. www.flowgallery.co.uk

Want to see some more unusual wallpaper? Check out Jaime's post about wallpaper's new look or my post about Tracy Kendall's off-the-wall designs.