sketch: Christmas Here, There and Everywhere
sketch launches the festive season with their 'Christmas Here, There and Everywhere' art installation, transforming the interiors of their iconic food and drink destination.
Iconic food, drink and arts destination, sketch London is never the one to shy away from making a statement. Every year, during the festive period, the collection of artistic bars and restaurants transform their Conduit Street location into a festive wonderland, collaborating with some of the best designers and artists to create unique and impressive installations to mesmerise their guests. This year, the team, have gone all out, showcasing several displays within the Glade, Library, Parlour, Entrance and of course, the ever-popular Egg-Loos.
sketch Christmas Arcades - The Entrance
Making an impression from the moment you step through the front door, award-winning florist and creative director Carly Rogers has worked with a team of prop makers to transform the entrance into a festive old London street-scape, blending the past with the present in a true 'A Christmas Carol' fashion. Referencing sketch's history as the London atelier of Christian Dior, Millner Piers Atkinson exhibits a hat shop window display, featuring some of Atkinson's most precious archive pieces for visitors to admire, worn by a wide range of celebrities and personalities. The lapels and hats worn by sketch's front-of-house staff during this season are also designed by Piers to complement the installations and encapsulate the full festive experience.
The magnificent 'Arboreal Lightning' tree-like sculpture by artist Alex Haw connects spaces, ushering guests as it branches between the cloakroom, up to the Lecture Room's stairway and down to the reception's hallway.
A Storm in a Tea Cup - The Glade
Figa & Co’s creative director Kim Beedie takes over the Glade with an enchanting floral installation entitled ‘A Storm in a Tea Cup’. Faded floral blooms spiral out of a centrally located teacup, billowing upwards in a vortex to create a giant cloud suspended above the restaurant and its guests. Frozen in time, the cloud appears to be ready to break, producing the first snowfall of the season in the formation of beautiful floral droplets
Once Upon a Time at the Court of Catherine the Great of Russia - Lecture Room & Library
Ricky Jackson, creative director at Ricky Paul Flowers, has designed the alternative Christmas tree centrepiece for sketch's three-Michelin starred Lecture Room and Library. The tree recalls the opulence of the 18th-century royal court of Russia, echoing the decorative art form of Chinoiserie. Lanterns, baubles, fans and blossoms in soft hues adorn the spiralling branches as they reach up to the restaurant's domed ceiling.
Christmas Parlour Kaleidoscope - The Parlour
Taking on a contemporary Christmas, paper art studio Pom Pom factory creates a series of decorative structures suspended from the ceiling in the Parlour, inspired by the 'Christmas Parol'; a traditional star-shaped ornament found in the Philippines. The designers reinterpreted the Parol Star as seen through the optical gaze of a kaleidoscope, providing movement as it radiates from the ceiling. Accompanying the centrepiece is an array of intricate Christmas decorations from mirror starburst stars to paper gems, tassels and pompoms as well as a three-metre long origami bow.
Over the Moon for Christmas - The Egg Loos
With a humorous and imaginative twist, Carly Rogers returns to the East Bar and Pods with a space-age Christmas display. Depicting a scene of a far-away planet, visitors to the egg-loos witness an alien spacecraft delivering a Christmas tree and paraphernalia back from its visit to Earth. The installation features a four-metre wide flying saucer as well as ‘The Eclipse’ by artist Balint Bolygo.
Year after year, the team at sketch continue to surprise guests with their appreciation and passion for creativity, inviting talented designers with unique perspectives to offer something fresh and unique. When one thinks they have seen it all, sketch will be on hand to remind them otherwise.
Alongside the exhibition, sketch will host a full programme of festive activities including music entertainment by sketch’s in house trio dressed for the occasion by fashion designer Karim Tassi as well as a series of dance performances by Ballerina Jenna Lee and Christmas Carols. The season comes to a close on 5th January 2020.
