David Nicholls talks to the decorative artists about their in-demand surfaces studio
Mathew Bray and Matthew Collins met at school in Pembrokeshire when they were 16. 'We were thick as thieves from the first day,' Mathew recalls. 'Our mothers each considered themselves as having two sons named Mathew.' They are immensely likeable, chatty and creative - at ease finishing each other's sentences. And they knew from an early age they wanted to work together one day. 'We'd spend weekends making crazy things,' Matthew says. And they still do, although today, as they are decorative artists servicing the great and the good of the interior-design world, the fruits of their labour are more sophisticated.
While Mathew went to study fine art at Goldsmiths, Matthew was at the University of Plymouth, where he studied international business and modern languages. After graduating in 1999, they both trained with a large decorative-finishes company in London, before each set up his own decorative-arts company - Mathew in London and Matthew in Melbourne, where he was living with his Australian girlfriend (now his wife). When his father became ill a few years ago, Matthew returned to the UK and joined forces with Mathew again. Mathew's wife Branca Bastos is an alumna of the studio of Geoffrey Preston, Britain's leading decorative-plaster artisan, and she completes the trio of directors of the Mathew Bray studio.
Based in south London, with a second workshop in Somerset, the studio works with plaster, mirror, metal, resin, wood and more to create surface finishes. The trio also designs and makes the furniture its decorations adorn, and have turned their hands to flooring, creating artwork from myriad grains.
They work with interior designers and architects only, but are coy when it comes to naming names. Matthew eventually concedes that the House & Garden 100 Leading Interior Designers is essentially the company's client list. Mathew adds that Emma Burns from Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler was particularly supportive from very early on.
What is unusual about the studio is not only the breadth of the work it produces, but also the level of involvement at every stage of the making process. 'It is an insane amount of control,' explains Mathew. 'But it takes away so many logistical problems for clients.' At times, their ambitions require them to make the very tools needed to achieve their unique effects. To illustrate this, Matthew points to a Heath Robinson-esque 1.5-metre-wide brush he made to create the patterning on a metal-resin tabletop, which is reminiscent of the markings on a vinyl record. 'Clients don't come to us for an off-the-shelf experience,' he explains.
The studio has worked on new wings of old country houses, bringing in teams 'to smash it up a bit and put some soul into the place', as Matthew describes it. But the process is less brawn than brain, involving aspects such as making a paint that will degrade for an authentically aged look to match the rest of the house.
Another major focus for the studio is colour mixing. Before they were hired, each of the 25 artists who are employed full-time had to undergo a colour-matching test, whereby they had to create a paint from pigments to match a piece of furniture. 'It's highly competitive,' says Matthew. 'Mathew's record is six minutes.' The pair 'lead from the front', colour mixing, sanding and plastering with the staff. And they have the wounds to show it. Mathew lost the tip of a finger not long ago. 'Furniture making is dangerous work,' he says.
'The current job list is as tall as I am,' he continues. However, when there is downtime, the pair experiment - rather in the way that they did when they were young. Techniques are explored or refined; products are developed. 'It is a chance for us to exercise our own tastes and desires.'
That is how an extraordinary new 'oystered' yew floor was created; the wood is cut in a cross section rather than in lengths and the thin, uneven slices are pieced together like a jigsaw. It will cost about £4,000 a square metre. 'That is one of the reasons we like designers to bring their clients to the work- shop, so that they can see how we make things - eight or 10 people working just on their one piece,' Mathew says. 'It's good for them to see where the money is going'.
Mathew Bray Decorative Arts and Furniture: 07815-904173; atelier-arts.com
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