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Jeff Salmon is the face of London’s Interior Design scene; he’s the mastermind behind the world famous gallery Decoratum and one of the faces on Channel 4’s hit show Four Rooms, some of his clients include Kate Moss, Uma Thurman and Lilly Allen, but that’s not the impressive part. A true entrepreneur before that title became fashionable; every new obstacle became a business idea, and a striving one at that, from air conditioners to insurance assessments, he even paved the way in the UK for the Rollaramp wheel chair access system. Let’s face it; he’s a true Renaissance man with a column in the Huffington Post, how powerful is that? But lets focus on Decoratum, the story behind it and the inspirations behind the man.
How did you get involved in interior design, and how did the Decoratum project begin?
The Decoratum project began in 2001 but I have been connected to the art world since 1970 when I first joined Sotherby’s, the auction house in London. We had been trading from a warehouse premises strictly “by appointment” and then decided it would be a great idea to open a gallery or two in arguably the main street in London for interior designers to source vintage furniture.
We started Decoratum as a 500 square meter basement area in the famous Alfie’s Antiques Market. We specialised in 1950s through to 1980s furniture and we built a fabulous gallery which Elle Deco magazine in the US said, “If you only come to London for 1 day in your lifetime, we suggest you visit the Tower of London in the morning, and Decoratum in the afternoon”!
We then found a gallery in a far better position at street level and closed the first gallery to concentrate on the latest gallery.
Our philosophy has always been that if a piece of furniture does not sell then would we be prepared to take it home. To put it another way, we would never buy anything just because “there’s a profit in it”. If we don’t like it, we simply don’t buy it.
Check out as well : TOP INTERIOR DESIGNERS | CAMPANA BROTHERS
What makes Decoratum stand out from the highly competitive London market?
Our stock very much stands out from the normal vintage furniture suppliers in London, not least because we are always looking for something quirky and “fun”.
In 2006 we decided to add limited edition contemporary furniture to our collection and very much loved the then very small collection of limited edition furniture designed by Boca do Lobo.
Do you travel to find pieces and products for your projects and shop?
Certainly, when I was younger, I used to do a great deal of travelling to search for great pieces for our gallery. And then, a few years ago, I came to my senses! Rather than travel around Europe and South America looking for great pieces and then getting them back and ending up paying a fortune for reupholstery, we decided to taek a different approach and many of our best pieces are now sourced from other shops within the United Kingdom where the owners of those shops have already done all of the hard work by travelling to wherever, shipping the goods back, upholstering and cleaning the pieces and putting a profit on top. In other words, time is money, and I would far prefer to now buy great pieces that are all ready to put into our gallery, rather than having to wait 6-8 months whilst they are being restored. This is not me being lazy. It is me being able to source the best pieces and me not having to travel far to purchase them in perfect condition!
What was your most memorable/favourite project you worked on in the past 5 years?
My most memorable/favourite project in the last 5 years is Decoratum being asked to decorate all of the main rooms in a new boutique hotel which has become not only famous but a fantastic showpiece for our shop.
See also : TOP INTERIOR DESIGNERS | JORGE CANETE
Which major events or fairs do you attend, and which one do you like the most?
I attend every major art and antiques exhibition in the UK, Italy and every so often New York and Miami. It has to be said that I don’t have any specific event that I enjoy most. Perhaps, the best enjoyment comes from finding great pieces within one or two hundred metres of my gallery.
Do you have any specific favourite furniture style, and which designers currently excite you?
I do not have any specific favourite furniture style but, it has to be said, that 1970’s foam furniture is a minor love of mine, not least that only 5 or 6 years ago, we used to throw it away!
Do you have anything exciting going on at the moment that you can tell us about?
We are buying more and more contemporary design, which we are very excited about, not least because it is far easier to replace than vintage furniture!
How would you describe your gallery in 3 words?
I would describe our gallery in three words: quirky, fun and good-humoured (which is nearly 4 words!).
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