Nature and Nurture

Karen D. Singh and Mark McMenamin -- Interior Design, 4/1/2009 12:00:00 AM

 

Through two decades in fashion, including a stint as head knitwear designer at Benetton, Caroline Swift shuttled around the globe, sketchbook in hand. Then she had an epiphany. Disillusioned with the pressures of the garment business, she moved to South Asia and volunteered teaching English. After returning to her native U.K., she channeled her creativity into baking cakes. She began making her own plates for photo shoots when she found herself struggling to find exactly what she needed. Suddenly, Swift was in the midst of Career Number Four.

Focused on delicate china and nature imagery, her signature line quickly grew beyond tabletop to include accessories. Glass Baubles, a string of three dangling 5½-inch-wide vessels, are handblown in Italy in Mandarin, lime green, pale rose, or black-amethyst. Stoneware Flowers, handcrafted in the U.K., are one-of-a-kind natural-colored or charcoal-gray blooms 3½ inches across, including removable centers. Black or white Porcelain Hanging Flowers, ranging from 1 to 3 inches in diameter, come 30 to a string. And white Porcelain Leaves, paper-thin at approximately 2 by 3 inches, are sold in strings of 40. 44-7814-250032; carolineswift.com. circle 417