This joyful, limited-edition vase is a thoroughly covetable home accessory and a fitting way for an icon of British design to mark a milestone year, says
Jenny Oldaker
OBJECT OF DESIRE
What better way to celebrate a 90th anniversary than with flowers? And that’s exactly what renowned British decorating brand Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler has done. This year marks the company’s 90th year and, to honour the occasion, it has launched a limited-edition of John Fowler’s original two-tier flower holder – a pleasing semi-circular stand featuring test tubes that can be filled with blooms.
The original holder came about thanks to John’s interest in the design potential of old test tubes and their holders, combined with his lifelong love of flowers. The innovative vase was bequeathed to the V&A in 1978, but iterations of his original test tube-style design have been a key part of the brand’s collection for many years. ‘It would have amused John to have elevated a practical object such as a laboratory test tube rack, and adapted the design to become a decorative flower vase,’ observes Emma Burns, joint managing director of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler.
The two-tiered design lends itself perfectly to a display of blooms, and its impact is immediate and dramatic. ‘The very first time I walked into 39 Brook Street, our old headquarters, I fell head-over-heels in love with a pair of semi-circular flower holders filled with multi-coloured ranunculi,’ Emma says. ‘I’d never seen anything so pretty in my life. Either with a single species of flower or with a mix, they looked amazing – the flowers virtually arranged themselves!’
The piece is a perfect vessel for experimenting, too, whether you want to use the showstopping heads of peonies and dahlias or prefer to arrange delicate sweet peas and freesias. There is no end to the effects that can be created, and if you’re short on florals, a herb such a
