Following the spirit of Bloomsbury group

100 idées magazine from 1983, Omega workshop and Bloomsbury group.

I've always been a magazine addict. In the 70s, Ozone, Ajoblanco or Disco Expres. In the 80s, 100 idées, a French magazine, a catch-all for decoration, fashion and art. In it, in 1983, I first heard about the group Bloomsbury and from the workshop Omega.

At that time I was a weaver hangings and “flying” carpets and this group of English artists from the beginning of the 20th century, who at one point shared a house –Charleston house– painting and decorating each of its corners in a personal and unique way, fascinated me.

My sons Marc and Esteve next to one of my tapestries in the early 90s.

Bloomsbury group, formed by Vanessa Stephen, her sister the writer Virginia Woolf, the art theorist Clive Bell, the painter Duncan Grant, the writer Lytton Strachey, Maynard Keynes, the art critic Roger Fry, Leonard Woolf, husband of Virginia or Desmond McCarthy. This Bloomsbury group (or non-group) was above all a gathering of friends that began on February 16, 1905 at the home of the four Stephen siblings (Toby, Adrian, Virginia and Vanessa), at 46 Gordon Square in Bloomsbury, west London.

Omega Workshop at Charleston House

His inclinations and activities were very varied but could be summarized in two: the literary aspect, which included the production of essays, fiction, editing, and political intervention, and the artistic aspect, which focused on the plastic arts: painting, sculpture, design, decoration.

In 1913 Roger Fry founded a decorative arts workshop,Omega Workshops, in which a team was dedicated to design furniture and household objects, from a coffee set to a screen, including rugs, tapestries, lamps and fabrics. All of them were dominated by one obsession: painting. Paint eclectic in which abstract and figurative influences were combined with an evident sense of humor, fauves,cubists and futurists. 

Reviewing this copy of 100 Idées from 1983 I read: “…ils se sont toujours insurgeés contre le “as it should”, le chic, le bon goût, tueurs de création et de vie…”

Virginia Woolf would say: “We have invented the art of living”

Behind the aura of the Bloomsbury group, Robert and I We started in decoration, lthe antiques and restoration in the 90s.
First in a textile workshop and painted furniture in Sineu, later one of antique restoration in Llubí.

Noëlle and Robert, Taffeta workshop, 1996.

It was then that we had another professional crush: his name was Tricia Guild, Also English -coincidence or not- a textile designer and decorator, but above all, a lover of color.
Her beginnings in textile design were closely linked to art. Tricia set up a small shop where she sold fabrics for decoration, curtains or tablecloths, which had previously been hand-painted by some of her artist friends.

Chair painted by Marie Noëlle Ginard in Pollensa, 2007

The colors of Tricia Guild

Tricia Guild He transferred the application of color to doors, cabinets, chairs, tables, everyday objects such as ceramics.
A true revolution in the interior decorationand an indisputable influence on both of us.

At that time my foray into painting began, decorative, yes, but no less interesting.
An indisputable school of color and painting techniques.
The 10 years we spent at Pollentia Decoración (Pollença, of course) were a real learning experience for us: Antiques, architectural materials, restoration techniques, old houses, interior design.
This was the baggage with which we arrived Can Monroig.
What is the art of living that you were talking about? Virginia Woolf?

This is the little house of “The quiet man” in Mallorca.
From our series “Houses we would love to restore”
Places in Mallorca that inspire us, houses we would like to restore.

The colours of Mallorca
Ultimately we are the result of what we have vivid and experienced. Our work is linked to our way of being, to our talents, I would say to our way of see life.
I often wonder what impression we should give from the outside, through the facebook For example, those who don't know us personally... and I laugh, because I know that many will think: who are these two snobs who dedicate themselves to decoration and organize concerts at their house?
We also ask ourselves who we are and what we want.
The words of come to mind Ramon Trecet, years ago on Radio 3: “Beauty is the only thing worth having in this disgusting world.“
And maybe this is what we are, this is what we want: a beauty that speaks of our personal history, of the history of other people, that brings us closer to them and their talents.
We have a project that wants to recover a forgotten Mallorca, some lost colors, some unknown textures: simple architecture and beautiful.
We have a project that does not only want to be architectural or decorative. 
Following the spirit of the Bloomsbury group; following the beauty of an island that we must not abandon at this time; following the talent of musicians, creatives and those who want to share with us moments of magic in Can Monroig.

Today I found this video Patti Smith and Bloomsbury where another of my references, Patti Smith and since Charleston House, The house shared by the Bloomsbury group speaks of the influence they have had on his life. Coincidence? I don't know.