Kit Miles is a multi-award winning textiles and wallpaper designer who runs a highly successful design studio in North London with a worldwide reputation that continues to grow. Fine draftsmanship is at the core of his work which is exuberant, luxurious and bursting with colour.
What role does colour play in your work?
Colour is as an orchestra, I am the composer and at any given moment a symphony is possible.I am always looking at how colour is used in film, text, art and sometimes even the absence of colour can be the most profound use of it. I am very much drawn to the concept of how colour affects our perception of value and narrative and how they are both linked to consciousness.
What are your next creative goals?
I just have this sense that we, as a culture need a new revolutionary rebel movement. Let's make art that challenges what is going on in the world and make it confrontational and beautiful. Now is not the time to shy away but to explore how we use subtleties and moments to enhance our experience of the now - and to engage more deeply with our realities. I am very excited to explore the idea of deep time, technology and humanity in the present and to invent a new definition of it.
What makes you tick/want to get out of bed in the morning (caffeine aside)?
A deep innate curiosity about things and the world we live in and a desire to build for tomorrow. I just find things to be so much fun a lot of the time.
Highest creative point in from the last 5 years?
I feel the most creative right now! I have so many ongoing projects and I am being challenged all the time with new works in the pipeline, I feel most intellectually engaged when I am researching and developing a new design.
And the lowest…
Probably yesterday, maybe tomorrow. I was recently told this wonderful quote that will stay with me forever…“The migrating bison runs into a storm when it knows it is coming so it passes faster. The animals that avoid it endure the beating rains for longer”.
Can you tell us about some people who specifically helped you on the path to success in your creative field and what did they do that make a difference?
I have been so lucky to have gained support by some of the most wonderful people from my now agent's Miles and Caroline from Saffron interiors to people like Jimmy Mc Donald (Director of Tent London) who introduced me to Moooi and the wonderful Marianne Shillingford who took me under their wings and helped me to shine even brighter and bolder. Those people celebrated me for who I am and for that, I am eternally grateful. I am a strong believer in the phrase “your reality will be shaped by what you dare to dream”. Barbara Chandler (Evening Standard) has been incredible and countless others. I must thank all of them one day with a banquet.
What was it like to be a judge for the first ever Colour in Design Award?
Marianne selected a brilliant cast of creative minds where the waters of creativity and commerce meet. Being a part of the panel was an honour - to see and support graduate stars who are the future of design at the very start of their careers.
What would you like to say to the winner?
Congratulations, you opened a door into a universe filled with hidden beauty, nuanced understanding and a glimmering display of your craft. May your skill and passion enable you to fly.
What is your favourite colour?
White light.