Livingetc Discovers: Edit58

WHAT'S EDIT58 ALL ABOUT?

It’s the latest online boutique of lovely things brought together by an interiors fanatic with a great eye and a brilliant sourcebook of artisans around the globe.

WHO'S BEHIND IT?

Former ad director Lisa Mehydene, who made the most of years living abroad by building up enviable relationships with talented artisans that she turned into an e-commerce business once she returned home. Edit58 is an emporium packed with the kind of colourful, handcrafted pieces that give a home personality. Everything in the collection is tied to an artist who Lisa has met on her travels and the pieces she has bought or commissioned for her own home.

IT SOUNDS EXPENSIVE. ARE WE TALKING INVESTMENT PIECES?

Although not high-street level prices – £140 for a cushion, £75 for a Moroccan Tamegroute jug and £56 for a personalised embroidered market basket might seem a little pricey – all the pieces are handcrafted, unique and absolutely tried-and-tested by Lisa first, before she sells them online (or via stockists, such as Liberty and The Conran Shop). Her aim, she says, is to create ‘beautiful, individual, not too over-designed pieces at a fair price.’

APART FROM THE CURATED COLLECTION, WHAT'S THE BRAND'S USP?

Rugs. When setting up her own home, Lisa was frustrated that there didn’t seem to be anything in the market between mass-produced high-street options and ridiculously priced bespoke pieces.

‘Vintage rugs at reasonable prices that aren’t intimidating’ is her mission.

And she stocks a great range of unique and brightly coloured Moroccan Kilims, wedding blankets and runners.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE SOURCING PROCESS.

It started after Lisa had done up her own house. ‘Friends started asking me to buy for them too when I was travelling, which then led to helping with ideas on how to decorate,’ Lisa says. The pieces she came up with were the sort of items ‘you need to go on holiday to find, but when you’re there, you worry about being ripped off and aren’t sure how you’ll get them home’. Here’s where edit 58 can help – with great contacts and knowledge, Lisa’s secret address book leads her to those little shops down dark alleys where the truly special finds lurk.

WHAT'S WORTH LOOKING OUT FOR RIGHT NOW?

Lisa recently commissioned Kana London’s Ana Kerin to create edit58’s Bow and Splatter collections. ‘Ceramics lend an affordable interest to any space. The colours don’t have to match and the wonkier they are, the better,’ she says. She also has begun a new collaboration of hand-block printed eiderdowns with Molly Mahon.

CURRENT INSPIRATIONS?

Atelier Vime’s vintage and newly reinterpreted rattan pieces (and its founders’ 18th-century house brought back to life in the Provençal village of Vallabrègues). It has inspired edit58’s new rattan shade designed in collaboration with Matilda Goad, featuring her signature scalloped edge, painted in colours such as olive green and bright red.

WHAT'S BEHIND THE NAME?

It’s actually the street number of her southwest London home, which is furnished with the rugs, cushions, baskets and decorative details that Lisa bought when she and her husband Hil, and twins Milla and George (now six), moved into it in 2014 after years of living in the Middle East then Singapore.

SOUNDS LIKE WE SHOULD BE FOLLOWING HER ON INSTAGRAM?

Definitely. You’ll be joining the other 28,000 followers seeking her styling tips and travel stories. As most of the imagery is shot in her own home, it gives a real sense of who she is, what she loves and how it all works in a family space.

WHAT'S LISA'S PERSONAL STYLE?

As she says herself, ‘traditional with an eclectic, vintage twist’. She has a knack for mixing pieces from her own collection with high-street essentials and vintage finds – ‘things with a sense of a backstory to them,’ she says. She loves cool and comforting colours, always with a hint of knocked back, painterly pink – ‘it works so well with Little Greene’s four shades of French Grey we’ve used throughout the house.’

SO, IT'S A BIT OLD AND NEW?

An antique apothecary cabinet for the living room kick-started the style for the rest of Lisa’s house (and it’s perfect for storing household detritus like adaptors and stationery). Her living room walls are a great example of how she teams photographs, paintings, ceramics and metal letters. Some are new, some vintage, some by friends, some expensive, some cheap.

ANY TRAVEL TIPS FROM ALL THOSE SOURCING TRIPS?

In Marrakech, after scouring the souks, Lisa likes to escape to Beldi for lunch by the pool (it has a cute shop, too). In Porto (where edit58’s animal heads are handmade), Lisa loves the Majestic Café for its Twenties glamour and charm. Near Lille, she loses hours exploring Espace Nord Ouest, her ‘died-and-gone-to- heaven’ source for dozens of fabulous brocante dealers all under one roof.

Explore more: edit58.com; @edit58.