House of Hackney conjures woodland spirits with Alex Merry

Velvet holds a peculiar power to capture light and shadow simultaneously, and in the hands of House of Hackney, that luminous quality becomes positively theatrical. The London textile house has collaborated with artist Alex Merry to create a collection of pillows that pulse with folkloric energy, each one a portal to the British woodland rendered in sumptuous fabric and embellished with playful narrative.

Three creatures emerge from the collection, each with its own irreverent personality. A wild boar strides through forest depths, emblazoned with the motto ‘Boar to be Wild’. A beaver appears equally untamed, promising ‘Beaver Fever’ to anyone who dares approach. Most mischievously, a bat swings through the night sky, untamed and unashamed, framed by a purple dusk that feels both ancient and immediate.

What distinguishes these pillows is not merely their graphic appeal, though Alex Merry’s illustrations carry considerable charm and narrative wit. House of Hackney has developed a pioneering velvet using one hundred per cent regeneratively farmed cotton, filled with responsibly sourced British wool. The construction speaks to a broader philosophy: that beauty and ecological consideration need not exist in opposition, that the wild creatures depicted within deserve a world tended with equal care.

The pillows arrive finished with silk tassels in soft rose and sage, details that suggest both luxury and a certain restraint. Set against the forest wallpapers and woodland backdrops of House of Hackney’s own designs, they create rooms that feel less like domestic spaces and more like enchanted thresholds where the line between folklore and interior life dissolves entirely.

Imagery courtesy of House of Hackney (@houseofhackney).