Today I would like to introduce you to Emma Veiga-Malta who runs I Love My Chair, and the design service My Bespoke Chair. Emma believes happiness is a beautiful chair and life’s too short for an ugly chair. We agree. Through her business, Emma can help you create your dream chair. I spoke with Emma last week, and she shared with me some examples of her work and some of the stories behind the chairs she has created.
“Vogue Living magazine discovered that I am a bona fide artist who paints on canvas and then prints it as limited edition fabric. So they commissioned a fabric inspired by seaweed; their cover story theme for that month. The result is this stunning turquoise fabric, inspired by English Victorian beachcombers’ sketch books. It has been a best seller and has also been printed onto velvet. It is still in print.” Emma, I Love My Chair
With a background in art and fashion design, Emma soon found that her passion lay in illustration and design. Born in England, and having spent 12 years designing in Geneva, Emma now calls Australia home and has established I Love My Chair in her north-shore Sydney workshop. I Love My Chair, offers six different services:
- custom fabric design,
- fabric sourcing,
- chair sourcing,
- chair repairs and re-upholstery,
- ready-to-buy chairs and cushions,
- and design-it-yourself chairs through My Bespoke Chair.
Through My Bespoke Chair, you can choose from 5 different style chairs, you then specify which paint or varnish you would like and choose a fabric to upholster the chair in. Emma makes up the chair and it’s delivered to your door.
“I designed this for a little girl, who was a big cupcakes and polka dots fan. So I combined them! This chair became her desk chair for when she started Big School. This fabric is still available though stocks are low.” Emma – I Love My Chair
Through the years Emma has been operating My Bespoke Chair, she found that many of her clients had a ‘special’ chair that they wanted to do something with. These chairs had a history and emotional attachment. It might be a chair that belonged to the client’s grandparents, or their childhood chair, but it was special and meant something to them. So Emma now offers a repair and reupholstery service through I Love My Chair to give these chairs a new lease of life.
“Toile de Jouy continues to inspire generation after generation, which inspired me to produce this screenprinted fabric. It is currently out of print but I can resurrect it and produce it in any colour palette for a client.” – Emma, I Love My Chair
The feature of I Love My Chair that I find so appealing is that Emma offers custom printed fabric. Being a talented artist, she can paint a unique design, and have this printed onto canvas or velvet fabric to use on your chair.
“My Chinoiserie inspired fabric designed specifically for two 1930s chairs I picked up at a French flea-market (brocante) when I lived in Europe. These gorgeous sleigh backed chairs were in perfect structural condition but needed a fabric that echoed their Art Deco heritage, when Chinoiserie was a luxurious trend.” – Emma I Love My Chair
I just love this chinoiserie design that Emma painted. Just think you can have any design created for you, painted, then printed onto fabric and upholstered on a beautiful chair. That’s incredible.
“Another example of how and why I create custom fabric. My client and her daughter wanted a room that would take her from teen to university; she loved all things French and Chinoiserie, blended with a dash of youth. We worked together, the daughter and I creating a vision board of all her favourite imagery and colours. It was the perfect starting point for me to get designing and painting. She was very much part of the design process and the result was a stunning triptych of artwork and a chair that will be cherished for years. Her room truly shows her personality and tells her story.” Emma – I Love My Chair
To create your perfect chair visit:
I Love My Chair | Facebook | Instagram
