Stories of Salt & Starlight by Ruth Steadman

Lindsey Calla is an artist and photographer living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her work is an exploration of the essence of places, the beauty of nature, the sacred harmony of the universe and our connection to the earth’s cycles. Lindsey writes about her personal creative retreat in Greece, where she immersed herself in the ancient mythological landscape, likening it to her ‘personal artistic archaeological dig’.

Sarah Andrews is the creative force behind the celebrated Captain’s Rest in Tasmania, an award-winning heritage-listed property that has gone on to become one of the world’s most sought-after rental lodgings. Sarah is a respected interior designer, stylist and teacher, leading thousands of students across the world through her Hosting Masterclass series. Her love of storytelling has led her to write and publish two beautiful lifestyle books that combine her passions for art, design, storytelling, science, interiors, adventure and poetry.

Caterina Roma is a ceramicist who sources her own wild clay before firing her work in a wood kiln in a remote hut high up in the Pre-Pyrenees mountains, far from creature comforts. Her wood-fired sculptural bowls and vases are a potent reflection of the wild beauty and remarkable power of nature. In 2020, she opened an exceptional studio and gallery space inside a 17th-century building, a former hostel for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago adjacent to Salvador Dalí’s Púbol Castle. 

Antoinette Poisson is a French design house inspired by 18th-century decorative arts and production techniques that has produced exquisite printed dominoté papers, decorative objects and fabrics since 2012. Founders Jean Baptiste Martin and Vincent Farrelly split their lives between their atelier-boutique in Paris and the historical town of Port Louis in Brittany. Their book, A Year in the French Style: Interiors & Entertaining by Antoinette Poisson (Flammarion 2023), is a celebration of all they love.

Jacques Brejoux has been making paper in the South-West of France for the last 50 years. Entirely self-taught, Jacques is an accidental archaeologist, a dreamer, an innovator and a passionate historian who is regularly called on by institutions such as the Louvre, the Prado Museum and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC for his expertise in book restoration. When he is not making paper, he can be found painting and sculpting from paper in his private apartment tucked in the belly of a 16th-century paper mill.

Kennet Williamsson is one of Sweden’s most well-known ceramicists. Living on the edge of a forest in the Närke region of South-Central Sweden, he creates oversized ceramic sculptures and monumental public art as well as delicate utility objects. In recent years he has become a beloved ceramics teacher, welcoming small groups privately in his home. Kennet has exhibited extensively in Sweden and internationally and in 2006 he was awarded the Prince Eugen Medal for outstanding artistic achievement by the King of Sweden.

Jules Milhau is a painter brought up in the heart of the ancient city of Nîmes in the South of France. Cradled by the rhythm of the ferias, from a young age he rubbed shoulders with artists, actors, bullfighters, singers and flamenco dancers. His world is profoundly Mediterranean, and the frenzied rhythm of the taconeo marked by the dancer’s heel, accompanied by guitars, never leaves Jules when he paints, a ritual that is part of his creative process.

Christine Ferrer took a huge leap on the eve of her 50th birthday and decided to leave her career in fashion, media and TV production to devote herself completely to creating contemporary art. From her home and atelier in the village of Ménerbes in Provence, Christine weaves intimate stories of lives lived, both familiar and foreign, and the connecting thread of humanity and intimacy.

Helene Bret lives in the South of France at the foot of Mont Ventoux. In 2021, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. As part of her recovery process, she embarked on a journey of graceful unravelling, exploring her story as a human and a woman. Her story is one of metamorphosis, healing, self-discovery and transmission in the form of teaching and accompaniment, celebrating the arts of attention through sensory, meditative and artistic experiences.

Corrine Hopkins got a part-time job in a violin shop and fell in love with the craft and its community. She has taken on a lifelong apprenticeship, where the variables and combinations of materials are endless. Today, Corinne creates bespoke instruments for musicians as well as restoring rare, historic instruments and awe-inspiring modern instruments from contemporary makers.