Melissa French

Melissa’s design career began early on working the school summer holidays in the sample room of the family textile business Anna French. Surrounded by textiles Melissa went on to specialise in weave selling work at Indigo and designing fashion fabrics for a commercial shirt maker. However Interior textiles was where her heart lay and Melissa went on to develop a career in interior styling and editorial, starting at Home & Gardens and three years at Country Homes and Interiors.

Missing the excitement of creating her own work an MA in Design for Textile Futures followed at Central St Martins graduating in 2008. Here Melissa developed her love of textile design combining her background in interior textiles with future concepts culminating in Urban Upholstery.

The Urban Upholstery concept explored her dream of covering the entire city with her bold patterns: combining floral ornament and geometry. Beyond just a great surface pattern, this time-based work uses various metals in her weaves to enable them to endure time and weather whist evolving gorgeously through natural rusting or oxidising. Inspired by graffiti, urban guerrilla movements and traditional interior textiles and design, she wants to bring an element of beauty, pattern, design and ultimately surprise to the urban landscape.

Melissa firmly has her feet in the world of commercial and conceptual textiles. This allows her to produce work informed by the industry yet with a new perception, engaging people to re think textile design and it’s uses.

Melissa’s professional work has seen her exhibit with Puff & Flock in Milan, New York, London and Birmingham taking part in workshops and seminars. She has expanded Urban Upholstery to include hand made delicate metal lace panels and embroidered furniture both for indoors and out alongside commissions for Line Consultants, working for Loop.PH and trends bible WGSN. She also undertakes commissions for private clients with an Urban Upholstery bench in Brooklyn, New York and embroidered tables and benches in gardens across London. Fabric samples and lengths are also available to commission.