Meet Our Visual Artists

Tucked in the back of every Anthropologie store is what we (in a rather simplistic way) call ‘the art room’. It’s a hub of creativity; the engine room for the innovative visual identity that the brand is renowned for.

Within its walls teams of artists work harmoniously. Combined, they’ll spend 100-plus hours a week using everything from power tools to paint brushes in order to handcraft every element of our in-store displays and window installations. From scratch. It’s an approach that’s extremely rare in a retail landscape which – when it comes to store environment at least – is driven by cost-reducing uniformity.

Over the years this approach has spawned many imaginative outcomes – hand-painted neon wisteria trailing from shop fronts, towering fabric sunflowers dominating windows and five-metre-long whales made from recycled denim to name just a few.

Here, we get to know more about some of these individuals that make our iconic aesthetic possible.

The art rooms are paint splattered. Little flecks of colour cover everything and parts of old displays we can’t bear to part ways with peek out from every corner.

My favourite material of all time is concrete. I always seem to find a way to incorporate it into a project. I enjoy the unpredictable process of casting – you never quite know what you’re going to get.

After hours, I spend my time making concrete home products which I sell in a few independent lifestyle stores across the UK.

My favourite project to date has been working on Octavia, the octopus we made for the Barcelona store opening. A great team of us brought her to life.

During my time at Anthro,I’ve been able to experiment with ink and now I can't live without it. You can use it to treat a million things and it helps create amazing textures.

When I’m working, I listen to rock or ‘90s R&B – it really revs me up. When a task requires lots of love, I listen to thought-provoking podcasts like Invisibilia.

In my spare time I’m teaching myself to speak Japanese. I’m also trying to get back into bookbinding and engraving. I learnt both at school and would love start making my own notebooks again.

The artist I’m most inspired by is Andy Goldsworthy for creating such dreamy compositions and only using what is provided by nature.

I’d describe Anthro’s art rooms as crazy, small spaces where big things happen.

My favourite material to work with is wire. It’s easy to manipulate and can be transformed into anything.

My favourite display so far is my first Christmas window. It was made out of paper and wood and carefully layered. I’m still amazed by how much you can do with such little material.

If I could revisit one exhibition it would be James Turrell’s Backside of the Moon. It’s one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had. You walk into a dark room and as your eyes adjust, these illuminated shapes emerge. It was a totally immersive experience.

I became a visual artist after starting on the shop floor in the Marylebone store. Anthro gave me the opportunity to move between stores and progress into the art rooms.

The art room I work in is full to the brim. I’m a hoarder and love to re-use random bits that I find. My coral reef window was made out of leftover packaging from a store delivery.

My favourite gallery is the V&A. I can spend hours exploring Renaissance paintings, Greek sculptures and ancient Asian textiles.

I love to work with colour. I did a textiles degree, and there were a few modules that focused on colour mixing. I love combining paints and dyes and creating inventive schemes for the displays.


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