Susi Bellamy creates vibrant interior collections in her studio inspired by her time living in Florence. An ex-Conde Nast fashion editor, Susi has a love for colour, texture, and composition that crosses over the boundaries of fashion and art, into interiors. She was a practising artist in the years after leaving the fashion world and was inspired to create a collection after creating an abstract painting in a square frame.
Since creating her first capsule collection of cushions, Susi has gone on to expand her range into wallpapers, fabrics, and lampshades – with plans to diversify even further as her designs gain worldwide recognition.
She is currently stocked in a selection of exclusive stores, such as Liberty and Heals, as well as some independent interiors boutiques Her designs have a chaotic opulence to them: Boasting planes of rich colour combinations and inviting textures that make an eye-catching addition to any room. Their subtle sheen only adds to this decadent look, giving the designs depth and dimension. Susi Bellamy lampshades are surprisingly versatile, owing to their varied but complementing colourways, and look best when paired with an elegant shagreen lamp-base from Forwood Designs.
Lighting
Lampshades are always a very difficult home accessory to choose. The range of shapes, style, fabrics, and prints can be overwhelming, and finding a base that works with your lampshade and the rest of your room is an equally exhaustive task!
At Forwood Design we were delighted when Susi Bellamy is announced the launch of her small but perfectly formed lampshade range. You can see the selection, featuring some of her best-selling designs with Forwood Design Table Lamps.
Pietra Grigia Velvet Lampshade
Fantasy Tapestry Kaleidoscope Linen Lampshades
Green Lava Velvet Lampshades
Luxury Velvet Collection
The Velvet Marbled Collection looks at recreating the organic movement of water through an interplay of vibrant colours in traditional marbling techniques and places an emphasis once more on naturally occurring colours and textures, re-imagined for the modern home.
Our cotton Lampshade collection experiments with a retro-colour palette and globular details to create spirited designs that verge on the psychedelic. The choice of cotton for these marbled designs gives them a flatness and opacity that command attention and result in an emphatic design statement for the home. A slight nostalgic vibe emanating from the aesthetics of the 1960s and 70s and the mirrored graphics typical of this moment is thrust into the 21st century in unexpected colourways that ripple deliciously across their surfaces.
The linen Lampshade collection marries unexpected combinations of neutral and acidic colours with a woven, organic feel to create a more down-to-earth collection for the home. The plasmic effect created in the marbling process recalls natural textures that float across the surface of the cushion in candied colours. Lamp-bases are still varied in style, we personally recommend pairing Susi Bellamy lampshades with a sleek, perspex lamp-base as this provides a stark and intriguing contrast to their dense colour and texture.
The Forwood Design Diss column lamp is a stand out piece. Elegant and chic, the Diss lamp works well as a table lamp, desk lamp or bedside lamp. Beautifully made from brass and Henry Forwood shagreen it’s available here in seal brown, it comes with a light cream silk drum shade but works well with any of Susi Bellamy lampshade designs. They are perfect as an entry hall table lamp or paired with our Suzi console or side tables in seal brown.
Susi Bellamy’s designs originate from artwork she has created in her studio. Her Abstract Collection, inspired by her time in Florence, has a textural depth that echoes the strata of landscape and layers of crumbling palazzo walls while the Collaged Collection displays an amalgamation of her artistic influences through stucco textures, geodes and religious imagery from the Florentine Rennaissance. The Velvet Marbled Collection looks at recreating the organic movement of water through an interplay of vibrant colours in traditional marbling techniques and places an emphasis once more on naturally occurring colours and textures, re-imagined for the modern home.
Diss Column Lamp in Seal Brown Shagreen
Diss Column Table Lamp in Barley Shagreen
Diss Column Table Lamp in Silver Silk
Stylist Pick
Susi has selected her favourite Forwood pieces from our current collections: “I love the simplicity and elegance of the Christie designs – almost Art Deco in style – and the beautiful detailing of the brass inlays that punctuate the textured shagreen. As a colourist, I am particularly drawn to the coral-coloured Serena console with its gold-leaf trim and have one in my house underneath a large piece of art. The Sputnik mirror is like a piece of modern art with its circular design and patinated finish.”
