Alistair and Paul started Timorous Beasties in 1990, mainly because “there seemed to be so many ‘crap’ contemporary fabrics, or rather dull traditional fabrics and wallpapers on the market”. The company name, Timorous Beasties, is from the Robert Burns poem ‘To a Mouse’, and from the first line “wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie”, from this poem comes the line, “the best laid schemes of mice and men gang eft aglay”, which influenced John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. It also has obvious Scottish connotations, but speaks to everyone in a global way. Here, Inex talks to Paul Simmons about Timorous Beasties and how he and Alistair work together to produce their award-winning designs.
What do you personally believe makes Timorous Beasties so successful?
I think it’s just following your own nose, and also doing it yourself. We started by printing our own fabrics because we couldn’t find anyone that would take a chance and produce them. We started our own retail shop because nobody wanted to sell them, and now we are thoroughly independent and able to do what the hell we want! And that’s a great thing.
How do you both work together to produce designs?
We don’t both work on the same design, we design separately, but what we share is a common outlook and attitude to design and the market, and yes of course we sometimes disagree. I can’t quite imagine not working together because that’s all we have ever done, although these days it’s not just me and Ali in the studio, there are 10 of us.
Do you each have different design styles? What are these styles and how do you merge them together?
Our style has changed from when we first started. We are very different people, but do have very similar objectives and attitudes to life and business, and I think that is more important to have than similar styles.
How important do you feel print is when it comes to interior design?
I think it simply depends on the function of the room; a pattern can change the ambiance of the room quite dramatically, whether it’s a simple vertical stripe or a large rich pattern; they can definitely be the killer punch in what you are trying to achieve. A small boutique hotel reception in Paris, ‘Bloody Empire’, a hotel lobby in Miami, ‘Merian Palm’, a contemporary minimal space, ‘Kaleido Splatt’, I could go on.
What’s the biggest accomplishment Timorous Beasties has achieved?
Maybe being selected for ‘Designer of the Year 2005’, because it was a turning point for our company and somehow it validated all the hard work we had put in.
Where do you both source inspiration from for your designs?
Anything and everything inspires us. I can’t remember who said it but “most things when you look at them long enough are pretty inspirational!”
What colour palette do you both personally believe is the most influential when it comes to print?
It’s very subjective again, I like to strip a room right down to white, then start adding. At the moment I love a bit of green or teal.
Do you have a favourite aspect of your job?
I do like a wallcovering, it is pattern in its purest form (if there is such a thing), nowhere to hide the repeat (curtains are usually folded up); you see the pattern flat, any flaws are easy to spot – the repeat has to be dead on.
What do you believe is the most extravagant design that Timorous Beasties has produced so far?
Probably our Golden Oriole panels; hand-made paper, hand-printed with six different screens to make up the repeat, and the ink costs more than a single malt whiskey! I keep telling the guys when they are washing and cleaning the screen: “You’ve still got a good quarter gill left of whiskey there!”
What’s your favourite fabric to work with and why?
I do love velvet because it absorbs the inks so well, it becomes quite luminous.
How would you describe a Timorous Beasties customer?
Somebody who doesn’t particularly like fabric or pattern – we like to win them over!
What do you personally believe that Timorous Beasties brings to the interiors industry?
Our initial drive formed our ‘identity’, as we had a passionate ‘hatred’ of many of the ‘twee’, boring fabrics and wallpapers that had flooded the market in the 80s/90s. Our Timorous Beasties identity was an irreverent reaction against what was out there.
What are Timorous Beasties’ plans for the next year?
We are working towards Milan Furniture Fair just now with Nobody and Co on some ‘socks’ which fit onto minimal chairs, with a lot of embellishment. Also, lots of blotches and splatters, as well as working on leather and marble.