Savoir collaborate with designer Bill Amberg to reawaken the leather bed

The two new designs, Sky and Ocean, are a celebration of British craft and innovation. A modern aesthetic, pioneering leather printing technique and heritage craft combine to deliver a fresh update to a classic piece of furniture.

Inspired by the gentle movement from night into day and the shift from sleeping into the waking hours, Sky evokes the transition from dark to light, the fading of the stars and an emergence as dawn moves into day. Ocean plays on the idea of swimming from the depths towards the surface at day break, and the refraction of light through water during these early hours.

Wanting to translate these calm and cathartic reflections into watercolours suitable to be applied to a head- and footboard, Bill experimented with a mix of sprays and marbling techniques in his studio. Once happy with the mood of the artworks, he recreated these as full-size paintings, which were scanned 1:1, in preparation for digital printing.

The science behind the Bill Amberg Print collection has been three years in the making. To produce a suitable canvas for printing on, the Bill Amberg Studio developed a leather tannage from scratch. This was carefully designed to accept the dyes used in digital printing, whilst still retaining the luxurious handle and character of the leather. The printing itself uses advanced technology that affords a deeper dye penetration to the leather than had previously been possible; resulting in a robust design that will never fade or crack. The two new additions to the Bill Amberg Print collection are exclusive to Savoir.

Selected for its softness and malleability, a solid brass frame and trim provides a sympathetic partnering to the leather, and maintains a contemporary silhouette. Through time-honoured bed making and upholstery techniques, Savoir have realised a design that integrate both elements.

The two new designs draw on over 100 years’ combined experience creating bespoke beds and fine leatherwork. Combining technology and heritage craft to reawaken the leather bed, Savoir and Bill Amberg have embraced innovation to create the extraordinary.

Savoir Managing Director, Alistair Hughes, commented, “All aspects of British craftsmanship are central to the work of Savoir and Bill Amberg Studio which is why this felt like a very natural collaboration. We are experts in making the most comfortable and extraordinary beds imaginable so working with Bill, the master of leatherwork, was an exciting journey developing such an innovative leather bed design.”

Bill Amberg continues, “I’ve known Alistair for some time and he always asked me to visit, as both of our businesses are so engaged in the craft of making. When I called in on the factory, which is just around the corner from us in North West London. I was in awe at the quality of their work. That really got me thinking about sleep and my perfect bed, and started the thought process about the transition from dark into light, and how we might realise that together.”

Ocean and Sky will be available from July 2019. Ocean featuring a Savoir No. 3 bed set is priced from £47,000 and Sky featuring a Harlech headboard with No. 4 bed set is priced from £18,500.

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