Last week we went to New York. The city will always be special to Charlotte and I. Not only because it always feels the most exciting place to be, but where we have the opportunity to work with the most talented and innovative designers and architects. It is also the city where we met and fell in love all those years ago when Charlotte was working in New York. It was amazing to be back.
News From New York and Other Stories.
3 November 2019
We went because we are at a most exciting point in the company. For the first time ever we have a dedicated team within Jamb working solely on product development. An incredibly talented group of people creating new products and perfecting finishes. I have nicknamed the room within our London warehouse ‘Bletchley Park’ It really is a highlight of my week to be there. I find it utterly intoxicating and beyond exciting working on and tweaking designs and pushing the envelope on creativity and skill set of manufacture. We’re using high - tech methods and combine them with ancient processes such as the Lost- wax casting method to push the boundaries of quality further and further.
To accompany the trip Charlotte created the first ever edition of the Jamb Journal. Jamb is so many things to so many people and we wanted to work on a journal that reflects all the facets. A testimony to everything that Jamb encompasses: from our important antique chimneypiece collection to the ever- expanding reproduction lighting collection. Exploring the inspiration behind our collections along with fascinating stories about the rare and unique antique furniture collections. The journal was so successful it will be something we will be creating bi -annually.
Still warm off the press, we boxed the Journals up together with the hand -carved candle sticks we made from the ‘off cuts’ from Jamb’s bespoke mantels for us to give to our press and clients.
The wonderful events began with a kitchen supper laid on to welcome us to New York, organised by Anne Hardy of Hardylon, within the effortlessly chic Plain English showroom. It was great fun and a perfect start to the week. Many of the Jamb reproduction lighting designs have been selected by Plain English for their NYC showroom and it couldn’t be a better backdrop for our designs – it’s a great marriage.... a combination of our hanging lanterns and our wall lights.
The next night we held an intimate dinner at La Mercerie created by the extraordinary and exceptional design duo Roman and Williams Guild in Soho. It was a fantastic evening, held in their intimate and beautifully presented private - dining room. It was great to meet new people and see existing clients.
The next day we spent with the family at the MET museum looking at ancient Roman and Greek antiquities through to the extraordinary ancient Egyptian collections which include the Temple of Dendur that was awarded to the U.S.A from the Egyptian government for saving this great work of art. It was extraordinary to see and surrounded by pools of water, a reflection of its original setting, made a very moving experience.
The children had been admirably patient with the work we came out to do, but don't share quite the same passion as Charlotte and I do for ancient art and had to have a lie down. Meanwhile Monty was quietly fuming he couldn’t roller blade around the museum..
During the weekend we were able to catch up with old friends and favourite haunts. There is nothing like filling one’s head and hearts with inspiration and the MOMA also never disappoints. With one last special supper at the touch stone restaurant The Gramercy, it was time to fly home.