Mapperton, Julie Montagu and a Scarf with a Story

Earlier this summer I had the great pleasure of working with Julie Montagu, Countess of Sandwich, on a pair of silk scarves inspired by Mapperton, her extraordinary family home in Dorset.

For me, the most enjoyable collaborations are those that begin with a place and its stories, and Mapperton provided an abundance of both. I spent time looking through the house and its collections, eventually drawing together details from an eighteenth-century tapestry, a Charles Worth dress once worn by a Gilded Age heiress, the Montagu tiara and a wonderful Rococo ceiling. Each element was drawn, carved into lino and printed by hand before being brought together in the finished designs.

The scarves were created to support the restoration of Mapperton’s West Room, with proceeds from their sale contributing towards bringing this remarkable room back to life. You can discover the Rory Hutton x Mapperton collection on the Mapperton website.

I was delighted when The Gloss invited me to write about the project and, rather than repeat the whole story here, you can read my piece for them, in which I delve into Mapperton, its collections and the inspiration behind the designs.

Read: “Irish Designer Rory Hutton on Discovering Inspiration in Dorset” in The Gloss →