LOUISE HEIGHES
Profile
Louise Heighes creates beautiful sculptural wall art from leather.
Her designs are inspired by the repeating elements of flowers and leaves in nature.
Louise graduated from Central Saint Martins, London, selling her degree collection to Chanel. She went on to work with companies like Alaia, Louis Vuitton and Chanel, creating bespoke textile concepts for couture and runway collections.
It was during this time that she fell in love with working with leather. It gave her the opportunity to enjoy the way leather can be cut and not fray, be woven and folded and not crease and turn into 3D shapes whilst still remaining strong, and in all of this time still remaining soft and tactile. It acts as a perfect material for her imagination
Working from her studio in Margate, England, she creates art pieces in which sculptural surfaces play with light and shadow.
In 2020, Louise founded her own eponymously named studio, where she creates bespoke, craft driven pieces of art working on projects for yachts, hotels and private homes.
Inspirations
Louise grew up in the Sussex countryside, surrounded by fields and woodland and this became her inspiration.
She loves the flow and movement which she sees in the natural world. Be it a field of wildflowers or the blossom on a tree, she has always been in awe of the way the shape of a single petal or flower can be repeated over again, creating a myriad of ever changing new patterns.
She is interested in the way two surfaces can become one when intertwined, cut or woven together and she delights in the way her work looks simple, yet is deceptively complicated. For Louise, every element of it has to be mathematically perfect..
Lime Tree
I wanted to work with a new technique that allows me to create stems, and branches on the trees and flowers I design. I like the idea of working with multiple techniques within one design and I love the combinations of the richness and also the subtleness of combining the embossing with my weaving technique.
Swirl
Simple repetition of curved tabs.
Oak leaves
Reminiscent of Autumn. This piece is inspired by the dancing leaves of the oak tree.
Wave
These pieces have been inspired by basket weaving.
I love the way a simple pattern can be created in weaving that from a distance looks pretty uniform, but upon closer inspection each small element of the woven pattern is completely unique and slightly different from its neighbours. .
I have recreated this idea using thousands of tiny pieces of leather woven together. Each one slightly different from the next and catching the light in a different way.
Weave
These pieces have been inspired by basket weaving.
I love the way a simple pattern can be created in weaving that from a distance looks pretty uniform, but upon closer inspection each small element of the woven pattern is completely unique and slightly different from its neighbours. .
I have recreated this idea using thousands of tiny pieces of leather woven together. Each one slightly different from the next and catching the light in a different way.
Shiny and matte plumage.
Ruffle
Sculptural curved ruffle.
This technique creates a beautiful very 3D surface.
Blossom
One of the first signs of spring is the sudden appearance of an amazing mass of blossom. It always makes me feel happy.
I wanted to re-create the feeling of this with a mass of simple shaped petals running across the leather.
These petals can be grouped together with a leather branch to create a blossom tree or be scattered randomly across the design.
Blossom upholstered onto a chair.
Blossom
Blossom design re created using two different kinds of leather. Combining a textured background leather with a smooth leather for the blossom petals.
Feather
I have always loved the subtle changes in the size and shape of the feathers that make up the wings of a bird. I wanted to play with this idea and make something more geometric in design than my other works.
Chrysanthemum
The Chrysanthemum looks quite different from all other flowers. The big mass of repeating petals create a pom-pom appearance on a long stem.
I wanted to show the beauty of this flower and the compact nature of its petals. Created using the finest Italian leathers, the Chrysanthemum can be used as a single flower on a panel or repeated to fill up a whole wall.
Grasses
I have been inspired by the way grasses sway on mass by the wind and the beautiful patterns this makes.
Grape Hyacinth
I was inspired by the slightly eccentric shape of the Grape Hyacinth. The way its small circular layered petals look like sequins is a delight.
Fern
The way the tips of the fern curl and unfold has always been a thing of beauty to me.
The leaves of the fern almost resemble a feather and make the plant look so light and delicate. I was interested in the way the leaves overlap each other and give volume to the design and I wanted to re-create this in leather.
Wildflower
The Black Medic is a striking yellow wild flower that flourishes in hedgerows throughout the summer. I love the combination of its tight mass of petals in the flower heads with the scattered leaves in this design.
Dahlia
I have tried to capture the mass of small ringed petals that make up the head of the flower of the Dahlia.
I like the way that this design looks almost like a texture of small confetti-like petals.
Bespoke
Louise creates luxury, hand-sculpted leather designs for interiors, furniture and installations.
Louise loves the process of working on commissions, challenging and adapting her work as she takes onboard a client’s new thinking which in turn pushes her boundaries and expands her thought process. This gives each client a completely personalised design.
She loves the repetition involved in creating her artwork and seeing her designs develop and transform over the weeks as she works on it.
Crafting something beautiful by hand, in many cases using simple tools that have been used for decades and the hours of labour involved is joyful, as is working with luxury materials and forging pieces of artwork that will last generations.
The leather she uses is from a sustainable tannery in Italy. The waste produced in the tanning process is reused, so there is less environmental impact.
Please contact Louise at her studio for more information and details on how to place a commission.
Commissions
I appreciate the privilege of private commissions.
Accordingly, unless agreed, all private commissions are executed and archived in confidence.
Californian home
Inspired by the earthy tones of their new home in Reno and its beautiful surroundings.
Brooklyn Home
This work was commissioned by a private client in Brooklyn.
Inspired by the Grape Hyacinth. The three colours in this piece were chosen to fit with the beautiful decor in this home.
London House
I was commissioned by a private client to create a sculpted floral piece of art for their home.
The Studio
Louise Heighes founded her studio in 2020.
Here she uses her distinctive delicate and subtle artistry twinned with her attention to detail and couture artisan skills to create her artworks.
Her work is crafted from two layers of sustainably sourced leather meticulously cut and intricately woven together, creating a rich sculptural surface. When installed the 3D nature of the work creates beautiful shadows that add an extra depth to the work.
The importance of simplicity, craftsmanship and creating something by hand is key to what she does.
She enjoys creating handcrafted, enduring pieces and her work is bespoke and is designed for a specific space or project. No two pieces are the same.
Louise exhibits her work at Decorex in London and has a few pieces available to purchase directly from her studio.
