Ma Belle as I call her, moved in almost next to me longer ago than we can recall, and has been steadily creating her very personal niche in the world of design ever since.
Her screen prints are legendary as is her family background, and I am lucky enough to possess her beautiful clothes and textiles. She has painted my lampshades to go with 17th Century needlework, my coal bucket...a huge flower pot decorated with a regiment of flames marching round it, and my musical boxes.... a series of very lightweight briefcases which never leave me and get regularly beaten up at airports. They are filled with scores, recording equipment,water and practice shoes and Cressida has painted each one with legends, to go with my voice and winter coat.
Her scarves are so gorgeous that I can't bear to put them away and they just hang around the house - or hotel rooms - upliftingly.
My practice skirt is made from her offcuts,and a magnificent length of silk velvet, somewhat Art-Nouveau/William Morris, is now an off the shoulder sheath, cunningly transformed by Sandro my dressmaker in Milan, who managed to do it without cutting the fabric.
It's in her genes of course.
All that she touches is transformed by her magic from carpets to furniture, even cakes, and I can't wait to see what happens next. We did a photo shoot last week for a magazine when I wore her wonderful jacket, and my roses arrived by courier from Hitchin in the nick of time to be included too as we chatted away about hats and gardens and calligraphy.
She is a stalwart friend and I am proud to know her.
Heaven help the person who has to live in between us!
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