The Interview: Jimmie Martin
From British Pop Culture icons to Naughty Angels and antique furniture, welcome to the world of Jimmie Martin...
Established in 2004, Jimmie Martin breathes new life in to vintage antiques. Full of character, charisma and stylish chaos, Jimmie Martin represent the best in modern British interior. Founded by design due, Jimmie Karlsson and Martin Nihlmar, the Jimmie Martin brand is stylishly sophisticated with a contemporary edginess. Located in Kensington, the brand is surrounded by a trendy urban playground of design. Notoriously innovative, Jimmie Martin develop exquisite pieces of furniture, art and homeware for a range of clients from Madonna to Royalty. We caught up with the team at Jimmie Martin to find out more about what British design means to them and what’s on the horizon for these Baroque & Roll rebels of design…
What does British design mean to you?
British design means breaking the rules and not being scared to make a statement. Not being so serious, having a bit of fun and daring to be original
What do you think of the British design scene at the moment?
There is more focus on adding personal touches, mix and matching rather than playing safe with neutral colours and designs. We started out 15 years ago, and we've noticed that in the last 5 years it has become a norm to break the rules, an ethos that we had since day one. Perhaps we had something to do with this?
You often include British icons and motifs in your products, can you tell us more about the influence Britain has on your designs?
We live and breathe London and we've always been surrounded by British art, design and culture. With a background in fashion and art many icons, some of which British have inspired our work and our designs.
How do you want your clients to feel when they purchase a Jimmie Martin design?
Have you ever seen When Harry met Sally?
Can you tell us a little bit about the design process at Jimmie Martin?
We like to include our clients in the design process of each piece to make sure that the client gets the perfect piece to fit their space, something unique, that nobody else has.
What’s the best part about creating a new collection?
The best thing about creating new pieces is the excitement and the potential of something new coming to life. As a designer, you never know what will take off or not, so it's always a trial and error. When a design does take off it's always very satisfying. We don't create new collections as and such like most designers, we create new pieces as and when we get new ideas. Many of our pieces are now design classics so sometimes we take old existing pieces and we relaunch them after re-working and tweaking colours and finishes.
You’ve created bespoke designs for global superstars including Madonna, do you have an all-time favourite piece?
We are very proud of each unique piece. However, the work we're having most fun with at the moment are our interior design projects. These give us the opportunity to play creatively, bringing in pieces sourced from our favourite designers in combination with Jimmie Martin pieces to create personal, interesting and exciting spaces for our client’s homes of businesses.
Where does the inspiration for your designs come from?
We are inspired by the every day life, street, music, fashion, tv, social media, politics.
You’ve collaborated with legendary photographers Terry O’Neill and Christopher Makos to create two very unique collections, do you have any more plans to collaborate with other artists in the future?
2019 is going to be an exciting one, we are about to launch limited edition neon artworks in collaboration with God's Own Junk Yard, preparing a new series of "Naughty Angels" for Design Shanghai and getting ready for a Jimmie Martin POP UP store at the prestigious KaDeWe department store in Berlin.
Describe the Jimmie Martin brand in five words
Naughty, Daring, Sophisticated, Unique & Unexpected.
