The whole world, inside, mostly.
"It has been said that nothing dates faster than a man’s vision of the future. This sentiment has felt alarmingly true in recent years. It requires grit to withstand the communal whiplash we experience on a daily basis as we lurch from one uncertainty to another. And yet, each morning we take steps into an unknown future; we buy groceries, we make plans to meet a friend for dinner, we tell a joke, send a text, take a book out from the library, we move incrementally forward.
As I write this letter we’re coming to the end of London Design Festival, a week in September when designers, decorators, writers and editors pound the capital’s streets and bear witness to the talents of makers and artists. The event opened just days after the latest round of warnings about the catastrophic threat of AI, and, for me, there was something galvanising about seeing a community of people come together who believe in making useful, beautiful things for humans to hold and love. Seeing guests at the Serpentine pavilion for our annual WoI party was a physical expression of just how much knowledge and skill the creative industries contain; it was a reminder that neither history nor progress is determined by a single person (despite what every hero-centred film and novel might insist). They belong to and are realised by everyone. Each issue of The World of Interiors is an invitation to extend your imagination: this month’s edition houses our Art & Antiques supplement, and indeed throughout the whole magazine, we look at homes and spaces belonging to artists, curators, gallerists and collectors."
