Neowise in Tan.
Cofounders Brynn Gelbard and Lisa Donohoe of Londubh Studio explain how their experimentation with decorative applications led to this embossed leather wallcovering collection with Illuminare Studio.
Talk to us about your studio.
Brynn Gelbard: Londubh Studio specializes in surface design. My co-founder Lisa Donohoe has been in the decorative arts for a long time, originally working at a high-end New York studio doing work for designers like Ken Fulk and Peter Marino. I worked in independent film production, and we met on a project.
Lisa Donohoe: When we started the company, we wanted to push the envelope and keep experimenting with decorative applications—the potential is truly endless.
Tell us about your friendship and collaboration with Illuminare Studio.
Brynn: Yes! Judy Amicangelo of Illuminare Studio has been designing car interiors since the ’80s, working with Mercedes, BMW and Porsche. She swims against the tide and is a real force. She taught us a lot when we launched our first collection of wallpaper, but this new release is all leather which is her specialty. We worked with a 130-year-old factory in upstate New York on the production.
Lisa: When we got the first samples back, they took our breath away. Our work is very maximalist, and with these leathers we had an opportunity to explore something new.
And the designs?
Lisa: The Greased Lightning pattern feels rock-and-roll, but there is a lot of architectural influence as well. For example, Neowise was inspired by a comet that was photographed over Newgrange, a 5,000-year-old Stone Age monument in my native Ireland.
Brynn: Each pattern is created from steel plates engraved with motifs and then embossed onto leather. We started with two designs because they work best with the intricate process and hope to reach a different audience than perhaps our work has thus far.
