Inside the colourful world of Palefire

And so, in 2021, she launched Palefire. She admits that leaving her job in the midst of a global pandemic was 'a bit mad, but I thought, what's the worst that could happen? I wanted to create something that was sustainable, but it had to be beautiful, too'. She knew she would start with lights, having struggled to find ones for her own home that felt daring enough. Inspired by a papier-mâché bowl given to her by a friend, she decided to experiment with the material herself, but soon discovered it was a job best left to professionals. Luckily, she found a small, family-run workshop just outside Barcelona, which has been working with papier-mâché since the 1890s - making everything from rocking horses to furniture. Here, recycled paper is combined with water to make a pulp, which is injected into moulds designed by Rowena.

The collection started with five shapes, influenced by the work of several Art Nouveau and Modernist designers, including Émile Gallé, Gio Ponti and Carlo Scarpa. These are combined in a variety of ways to make up what is now a selection of 14 lamps and shades configured into table, wall, ceiling and floor lights. When the forms arrive at Palefire's studio, they are cardboard-hued. Their tactile, uneven silhouettes are then brought to life with paint, applied in vibrant stripes, wiggly lines and block colours. At first, Rowena did this herself, but she soon decided to employ a dedicated painter and today Georgina Bevan is in charge of decoration. 'I'm drawn to a 1970s palette of dark browns, terracotta reds and acid yellows,' says Rowena. In line with her original vision, the paints are all sustainably made in Iceland and Sweden, using geothermal energy, and maintain a low level of 'potentially harmful' VOCs.

A bespoke Graphenstone paint in the stairwell sets off ceramics, including a row of Arjan Van Dal's porcelain pieces, and the Robert Adams print and orange dot canvas designed by Rowena in the hall.

Dean Hearne

In the early days, Jacques was able to offer advice, having started Fitzcarraldo Editions in 2014. The couple met when Rowena was in her twenties through her university friends and, having bonded over a mutual love of design and art, they married in his native Burgundy in 2017. His intention with Fitzcarraldo Editions has been to seek out literature that pushes the boundaries and publish it in beautifully bound, collectable editions. Some of Jacques international authors, including Svetlana Alexievich, Annie Ernaux and Jon Fosse, have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature after first being published by him, but he remains rather discreet about this, preferring to discuss book's plot rather than the awards its author has received.

Rowena shares his modesty, admitting she was surprised when her lamps sold so quickly. They were available on Palefire's own website, but she also found a stockist in online homeware store Glassette. 'I credit its co-founder Laura Jackson with a lot of the press coverage and attention we received in the wake of Glassette's own launch, just two weeks after our own' she says. Most orders are direct. but Rowena still sells through Glassette and her lights are also stocked by 8 Holland Street and the contemporary design webstore of Chiara Colombini in France.

In the couple's bedroom, Nicola Tassie ceramic slip pillows and a woven paper panel by Catarina Riccabona hang above a Palefire 'Parasol' table lamp in brick on a flea-market table. Bed linen from LinenMe sets off a vintage throw from Marrakech.

Dean Hearne

All of this had been happening from a shared studio in Brixton. But, in 2022, needing more room, Rowena found a small, light-filled space in Camberwell's Vanguard Court studios, a 19th-century former factory for vehicles, just a 10-minute walk from her house. It accommodates her now four-strong team, which includes managing director Anna Hyde, who, Rowena says, has not just a good business sense, but also a great eye. Anna looked after the company when Rowena was on maternity leave in 2023 and, to Rowena's delight, stayed on when she came back.

For Rowena, Vanguard is more than just a workspace: it is a creative community through which she has acquired a legion of imaginative, entrepreneurial friends. An early introduction was to George Townsin, an interior designer who launched Studio George the same year as Palefire and serendipitously shared a vision for Rowena's house. She came along at the perfect time to help with all the finishing touches. 'After having Vita, I had decision fatigue. She was brilliant,' says Rowena. It was George's idea to hang block-coloured curtains across the cupboards in the small bedrooms as there was no space for doors, and to bring Rowena's much loved, mid-century armchair back to life with paprika wool from Rose Uniacke.

Rowena at her desk in the attic office she shares with her husband Jacques Testard, where books by his company Fitzcarraldo Editions line the shelves.

Dean Hearne

Like her lamp designs, Rowena's house is colourful and bright. A new extension by Howland Evans Architects - a blend of breeze blocks and wooden beams - is filled with bold colours. Panels of burnt orange and cobalt-dyed hides on the dining room wall create a decorative detail that also helps to absorb sound. Throughout, the walls play host to work by small, independent makers, including the paper yarn and raffia tapestry hand-woven by Catarina Riccabona hanging above their bed. A piece like this has a lead time of eight weeks and is created on a large mechanical loom in Catarina's tiny workspace in Cockpit studios in Deptford.

Palefire is exploring new sustainable materials to build on its use of paper pulp to meet a growing demand for eco-conscious interior design choices. Rowena is also updating the colours of the existing collection and though she has yet to decide on these, you can be sure they will be joyful.

Palefire: palefirestudio.com