“Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition”.
– James Baldwin, , Giovanni’s Room
People, please let the Guru know if she’s going crazy or is it just her fixation for beautiful things that make her want to just grow roots and stay forever in one place? Because that’s precisely what happened to her when visiting Saga Furs Design Centre. This place just invites you to unpack and choose in which of its cosy rooms you want to stay… to live forever! You might believe it’s another of my outbursts of passion for the homely and beautiful places but it’s not (promise). You just have to look at the pictures the Guru took in this heavenly, inspirational (and certainly creative) hub and you tell me if I’m exaggerating.
This place is warm, it smells of home and it certainly puts you in the mood for looking, appreciating and mimicking the beautiful things in life. Every single little corner has been well thought out to inspire people, to welcome them and to stop thinking of the rush and hectic lifestyle out there, in the daily and ordinary life.
The people in it also make this little oasis what it is; they are calm, gentle and fun. They encourage you to explore but, most importantly to enjoy, your surroundings. They achieve it with their lovely personality and the support of delicious and sweet treats, a warm tea and good conversation. They transported the Guru back in time. Those days when after a long day at work, she would arrive back to mum, who would be waiting for her with warm soup and the little lamp lighted on beside the window to let her know she was there, finally back home.
Outside this glorious cottage, more beautiful spaces await for the visitor. Here, it’s all about work and creativity. But the feeling is the same: you are working with friends. And these friends happen to have one of the richest and most beautiful collections of fur. New and established designers have passed through this place and have left behind their innovative and resourceful approach to fur and design. Visitors, as well as staff, have enriched this compendium of innovative techniques for the world (and this Guru, of course) to enjoy and reproduce.
The range of colour, treatments and embellishment they use for mink, fox and finnraccoon appears in such a generous manner that you really don’t know where to start. Their collection teases and dares the creative minds to go further and break boundaries. It’s daring but also it’s so much fun! Designers such as our dear REMIX 2017 Silver Award finalist ÓLÖF SIGRÍðUR JÓHANNSDÓTTIR and brands such as Fendi have been up to the challenge and created pieces of fashion and interior design born through their time in this place.
This place is for avant-gardists, pioneers, trend-setters, for the bold. But not those loud ones, in your face. They are after those who pay attention to detail, observe, study and generate ideas from quiet dreams that came up during a restful night, sharing dinner with other creative minds, having fun exploring materials, sketching or reading.
So, the Guru has to leave this heavenly piece of Earth, as she has to catch a flight and go back home. She waves good-bye from the cab and can’t help to feel confused. Behind her she leaves the soft lamplight reflecting outside the window, the warm-heartening tea, the cosy sofa, the sweet treats, the peaceful conversations, the dreams (that came in fur, sparkle and colour), the comforting smell of home.
P.S. Next week, the Guru will bring you some updates about the amazing exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the age of black power. Join her in this provoking and powerful visual journey that came as a loud cry for African American pride in the 60’s.
The Fur Guru xx