Joanna Buchanan known for her unmistakable vision in luxury, color, texture and pattern. Her 20 years in the fashion retail business combined with her Hong Kong childhood, adult years in Europe, and extensive travel in India all influenced and shaped her coveted brand today.
WHERE DID YOUR APPROACH TO COLOR, PATTERN AND EMBROIDERY DEVELOP?
Joanna - Growing up I was always creating my own fabric and was super interested with pattern and tech- nique on textiles... I remember making a huge tie and dye tablecloth and matching napkins on our small roof in Hong Kong. That love of creating has stayed with me – and I so enjoy exploring new techniques and trying things that our factories and artisans have not tried before. I love juxtapositions and do NOT love anything that feels too matched or themed....
Everyday I am looking for color play and internalising everything I see – I may not recall the exact name and place of date night...but if there was a mood or visual in that restaurant that I liked,... it will be locked in my memory bank for future use!
I have always loved surface pattern and much of it is very instinctive...I truly appreciate the idiosyncrasies of hand touched/created products. As I have gotten older I find it easier to determine and define what feels ‘mass’ and what looks ‘designed’. That’s very important to me – our collection is all designed by me and whilst there is so much available to ‘source’, we never go down that path.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL WAS THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOUR DESIGN AESTHETIC GROWING UP IN HONG KONG?
Joanna - The love of glamour and sparkle is prevalent in everyday life in Hong Kong and that had a huge im- pact on my visual language. What’s interesting is when you contrast that with my equal love of grand but shabby old English homes... I think that’s where the unique aes- thetic of Joanna Buchanan comes into play. Perfect gloss mixed with perfect quirky!
WERE THERE ANY OTHER TRAVELS THAT INSPIRED YOUR COLLECTION AND MADE A LASTING IMPACT ON YOUR STYLE?
Joanna - I have a huge passion for India and adore traveling there... the unexpected color combinations are everywhere you look. I worked for an Indian textile com- pany for four years and understand what is possible to create on a loom which really helps the creative process.
Indian pattern and embroidery is a recurring theme in my design...But I don’t want things to look too ethnic – so we will take a traditional pattern and print on linen instead of cotton and add a gold trim, for example...or a traditional Indian embroidery technique and pop it into a bee motif ...then its glamorous enough to be JB.
The markets there are such an amazing feast – I always buy snips of ribbon, vintage fabrics colored threads to bring home and work with in my studio in the gar- den... so the juxtaposition of worlds is very real!
YOUR LOVE FOR GARDENING WEAVES ITS WAY THROUGH YOUR DESIGNS WITH THE BEAUTIFUL BEE COLLECTIONS AND MANY MORE. WHEN AND HOW WAS THIS LOVE CULTIVATED?
Joanna - My parents had a summer home in England and neither of them were particularly interested in the garden but I saw a blank canvas for creation!
I was out there during the summer holidays digging beds and asking Mum to drive me to the garden centre for plants... I was probably ten years old... and I loved weeding and edging and keeping everything immaculate! Learning what liked being where, eagerly waiting for the next year to see what had grown...it is a lifelong love and if I could, I would be outside working every day.
When I moved to London and then New York, that passion had to take a back seat but now we are in Connecticut – we have three wonderful acres to plant. I am always so inspired by the ‘moods’ of other people’s gar- dens and everyone who comes to our garden always says they feel transported to England. I love deep messy beds and a mix of plantings...no straight lines here! Except for my topiaries which are an eternal work in progress!
WHEN YOU ARE AT HOME, WHERE DO YOU DO MOST OF YOUR ENTERTAINING?
Joanna - We love outdoor entertaining in the summer – we have a lot of friends with children and they love to run about outside – it just makes everything so fun and casual.
In the fall, I so enjoy setting a beautiful table and making things a little more sophisticated. We have a lovely bright dining room with high ceilings, so in fall, I dim the lights and light the candles and create a super cosy and moody vibe.
WHAT WILL BE THE DESIGN FOCUS OF YOUR HOLIDAY TABLE THIS YEAR?
Joanna - We are only talking about grown up glamour this Christmas.... we are banishing all things childlike!!
Our new capiz trees are the most exciting way to decorate
your holiday table – they are instant “impact” and such a stunning centerpiece. I will be building greenery and florals around the trees as they give the best structural starting point for any concept or color scheme you want to create.
So we will all enjoy fabulous extravagant tables and also our new celebration crackers. They are such a fun way to get the party started... crowns, riddles, games and gorgeous Joanna Buchanan sparkling gifts inside! Our reviews are fantastic and I can’t wait for the new sets to ship!
YOU SEEM TO ENTERTAIN SO EFFORTLESSLY DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR THE REST OF US?
Joanna - Plan and prep – very little in life is truly effortless!
