Virginia White

I started the Virginia White Collection out of a curiosity for how to make the things I liked and an impulse to create. This has firmly stayed as a passion as the Virginia White Collection continues to grow and expand.

With a childhood surrounded by art and antiquity, thanks to my classical archaeologist father creating a museum in Germany, I went on to study Art History at the University of St Andrews.

After graduating, I worked at Sotheby’s in the Antiquities Department, followed by the Guggenheim in Venice and the Venice Biennale. It was after this that I then decided to become more practically involved with the arts and went on to study Interior Design at Chelsea College of Art in London.

I then worked and trained under the great Interior Designer John Stefanidis and later some other architectural practices before setting up my own Interior Design & Art Consultancy in 2000.

In 2012 I designed a capsule collection of Klismos furniture having been inspired by a trip to see the Villa Kerylos in Cap Ferrat. It was around this time that I also designed some fine classic Georgian inspired pieces, notably the Temple House Sofa, as well as Pop additions to create a unique and eclectic set of furniture items that I could use within my own interior schemes. My interior design philosophy is much inspired by that of Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge, where art is mixed with a selection of carefully edited furnishings, all of which are beautifully and harmoniously displayed.

When exhibiting my furniture for the first time in 2013, I asked the artist and potter Rose de Borman to paint a wild forest scene which acted as a back drop for my black and green furniture pieces to stand amongst. The resulting painting within the show space was so wonderful that I decided to turn it into my first fabric for the Collection, calling it ‘Forest’. This was the start of many more fabrics and wallpapers created by myself and a team of young talented British designers whom I work with closely and commission to design exclusively for the Collection.

The Collection is a medley of bold, vibrantly colourful fabrics and papers which show the influences of my favourite Pop and Op artists, such as Bridget Riley and Victor Vazarely, as well as more quintessentially English painters like Eric Ravilious. For the more whimsical designs, many of the colours originate from my love of the Scottish land and sea scapes of the north east coast, where I enjoy holidaying with my family.

Our fabrics and wallpapers are hand printed in England on first rate Belgian linens and thick papers and all have a sense of being an original art work. All our furniture is handmade in London and uses the finest C18th traditional methods.

I am passionate about modern art and design and my love of travel constantly fuels new designs and commissions.

I run the Collection in parallel to my ongoing work as a Decorator.