The Monkey Puzzle Tree Pop-Up

The studio founded by Charlotte Raffo got its name from the ‘unusual, spiky tree’ planted in the garden of Charlotte’s childhood Yorkshire home. With 8 years of independent and collaborative furnishing designs rooted in Northern England, including fabrics and wall coverings, the design range celebrates artistry.

From abstract ink designs to detailed illustrative works, design is explored through materiality to give interior spaces, including those of a more commercial setting, a joyful lift. We’re really pleased to have a showroom pop-up from the first week of February, where you can come and see the pieces in person. This is a unique opportunity to explore the studio’s work in London as they are based in Northern England. 

With a roster of artists built since 2017, each encapsulating unique styles and techniques, there’s a lot to see from The Monkey Puzzle Tree. Designs include the ‘Hit the North’ wallpaper, which shows a bold graphic architectural illustration printed onto cork and the African and Art Deco fusion of ‘Blues Fantasia’ by Josephine McYebuah. What gives Monkey Puzzle true integrity in design is its commitment to supporting heritage craftsmanship, working with local mills, many of these designs are screen printed with precision, taught through generations.

How to turn the February slump into one of the most inspiring of the year? Time to bust the blues and explore the exciting potential of all things design. Look no further than our East London showroom we’ll be hosting a pop up with award winning studio The Monkey Puzzle Tree during the first week of February. 

During the same week as nearby The Surface Design Show in Islington (just one stop away on the Northern line), we’ll open our doors for an evening of inspiring making stories from the studio along with a spectacular showcase of wall and fabric coverings. We’ll have a few of our latest rug launches on display so this really is an opportunity to max out on a design trip. 

Join us throughout the week or for the evening event from 5PM on February the 6th. 

We hope to see you there!

We chat to The Monkey Puzzle Tree founder Charlotte Raffo to gain some deeper insight into her perspective on design and making.

What’s your favourite thing about collaborating with an artist?

I love to be forced to think differently and to have a completely new and unexpected starting point for each design. For the majority of the artists I work with it’s the first time they’ve designed for products with a pattern repeat, so the collaboration is a welcome challenge for both sides.

Our designs are always a true collaboration between the artist and I, with equal inputs on both sides. Often the starting point is a pencil sketch from the artist and I will work on the repeat, colours and materials choices. Sometimes the idea is more fully formed and the work is in capturing the artist’s essence and process in the final product.

Having to solve problems pushes design in different directions and means that you come up with something exciting and new. It’s a different process each time and it’s that variation that makes it so interesting and keeps things fresh. 

What’s been a pivotal project in The Monkey Puzzle Tree’s history and why?

The projects we work on are always interesting and varied. One year we supplied our cork wallpaper for an 8m high wall for an escape room in Texas!

Our Hilton project last year has definitely been our largest project and a turning point for us. We adapted a conceptual design created with artist Joel Weaver. It was a wallpaper I loved but had thought wasn’t very commercial, so it was an amazing surprise for it to be chosen for the Hilton hotel.

The 29 completed bedrooms and suites are stunning! We were awarded ‘Highly Commended’ for the wallpaper used in that project at the Hotel Designs Brit List awards. 

What have you learnt from working with Heritage Mills?

My background is in manufacturing so working with local heritage mills is very close to my heart, and one of the founding principles of the business. My first role after University in the early 00’s was designing and developing surface effects on leather in a tannery based in Leeds. This experience has been really invaluable in shaping my approach to the way I work with our suppliers.

The relationship we have with our manufacturers is fundamental to the business. It allows freedom on both sides to experiment and try new things, with the understanding that it doesn't work out that’s fine. 

I always keep an open mind and designs regularly don’t come out like I initially visualised them, but that doesn’t necessarily make them wrong. Sometimes the result of this trial and error can be better and more original than the initial concept. 

That said, on our most recent design - ‘Celestial Promenade’ it took us two goes to print the fabric and get the effect right. Garry, who printed the fabric for us, has 39 years of experience, and this complicated design really needed that depth of knowledge, patience and persistence to get it right.

Have you any design tips for incorporating vibrant textiles into a space?

Experimenting with cushions is a great place to start if you’re new to colour, You can then move onto curtains or blinds as you gain confidence, bringing real character into your home.

Re-upholstering a vintage or inherited chair is also a great way to start with bold colours and vibrant textiles. Or you can take a bold design as the starting point for a scheme, building up colour, texture and form around that design to create something really memorable and uniquely yours.

I love to create interiors where every element has a story and a connection. If your surroundings mean something to you and aren’t just trend led, you will love them for longer and they won’t date.