Live and Love The Art of Craft with Rolls-Royce

Once upon a time, a gentleman lived in the elegant Mayfair’s Hill Street. This was no ordinary man; his name? Sir Charles Rolls. Yes, he is of Rolls-Royce fame. His motor company still today produces the most luxurious crafted works of art within the car industry. In celebration of the legacy of Rolls-Royce craftsmanship alongside the tenth year of London Craft Week, the company are debuting their exhibition of craftsmanship at the marque’s flagship residence in Mayfair. Literally around the corner from its founder’s initial home, this special show highlights both heritage alongside modernity, unique creativity as well as the art of craft. Find out more in Live and Love The Art of Craft with Rolls-Royce here

As ever with this prestigious brand, they are celebrating the tenth year of London Craft Week by showing their crafts in their ‘second home’ in Mayfair London. Not only are they celebrating the location in the city by showing off specialist techniques, but the theme chosen this year is to explore the handmade and technical artistry within the City of London as a whole.

London is after all, home to some of the most famous luxury locations in the world, with many marvellous examples of design and architecture. And it is this heritage that Rolls-Royce is exploring this craft week. Their artisans wanted to capture both the modern and traditional culture and style of London, showcasing a rich tapestry of landmarks within the items they are crafting for the event.

Starting from the famous haunts of London they have created a true work of art; a map of London presented on the magnificent canvas of a Phantom car bonnet. Intricately hand-painted this highlights the depth of artistry available to the brand’s customers. This highly Bespoke bonnet, features over 20 coats of paint and took over 100 hours to complete.

The LONDON BONNET

Firstly, the bonnet was painted with a base coat of the company’s Andalusian White paint. Next up a crystal clearcoat was applied and the outlines of the map of London were sketched.

After that, an artisan airbrushed the bonnet using a colour gradient technique, to conjure the impression of a focus on Mayfair, the home of the exhibition.

After multiple layers of airbrushing, a unique interpretation of some of London’s most recognisable landmarks was meticulously hand-painted onto the bonnet, before the artwork was finalised with a sign-written ‘London’ motif and the careful application of gold leaf highlights.

The LONDON ICONS DOOR CARD

The door of any Rolls-Royce is always iconic. No need to put any pressure on the door to close it. A simple light tough and the doors glides closed. Here the highly skilled artisans from the Interior Trim Centre have created a vibrant door card for the event.

This special Bespoke sample showcases a unique perforated artwork, a staggering 7,700 perforations to reveal a blue layer shaped across the face of the door in the shape of the River Thames.

A vibrant Turchese leather has been chosen for the base leather on one side of the door. The leather has then been covered with a layer of Scivaro Grey which, when perforated, reveals the Turchese undercolour, conjuring an aerial view of London’s historic and important river.

Raised stitching highlights, in an elegant way, the areas of London as grouped on a map by boroughs.

Similarly, on the other section of the door, a vibrant Lime Green leather has been selected as the base leather colour, uncovered only when tiny perforations in the Scrivaro Grey overcoat create a contemporary yet abstract expression of the city’s world-famous architecture. The colour combination is striking with a pink trim and a clock face motif in the door corner.

The PICNIC TABLE

Don’t forget that every car from the brand has picnic or work tables. So this year, continuing the London theme, Rolls-Royce’s specialists working in the Interior Surface Centre have created a beautiful picnic table, celebrating again, some of the city’s most famous London landmarks. To create this special picnic table, one highly skilled artisan spent over 50 hours cutting, pressing and assembling perfectly tessellated pieces before the picnic table was lacquered.

Each of these unique pieces are indicative of the marque’s fluency in the world of luxury Bespoke craft.

As Rolls-Royce has been part of Craft Week for eight years here are a few past projects to enjoy.

For Craftweek 2023 Rolls-Royce celebrated internationally renowned, super luxurious, stunning scenery, and sparkling hues of the Mediterranean Sea, of the French Riviera, as its starting point.

The SHORELINE INSPIRED FASCIA

Artisans from the marque’s Interior Surface Centre drew inspiration from the beautiful beaches of The Riviera, to meticulously craft a special shoreline-inspired Fascia.

To replicate the idyllic golden sands, the lightest in the marque’s portfolio of veneers, Ash Burr, was selected. A special ‘candy‘ paint – a light translucent paint that gradually builds up to appear darker in colour – was created specifically for the exhibition by the marque’s in­ house colour experts and was chosen to mimic the deep hues of the Mediterranean waters.

To showcase the movement, myriad colours, and depths of the sea, one talented individual sketched the outline of the waves, and then carefully spray-painted layers upon layers of paint at different angles and lengths. A delicate brush was then used to gently draw on the finer details of the waves.

Once the hand painting was finished, this magnificent piece of artwork was lacquered multiple times before being meticulously hand-polished to achieve a perfectly smooth finish.

Since 2016, the marque’s Global Centre of Luxury Manufacturing Excellence, located on the Duke of Richmond’s Goodwood Estate on the edge of the South Downs National Park, has been home to the Rolls-Royce Apiary- six colonies totalling about 300,000 English honeybees. So for Craft Week 2021, this is exactly what the brand celebrated.

Allie Knight an artisan from the marque’s Exterior Surface Finish Centre, demonstrated her unique talent on a Rolls-Royce Phantom bonnet.

The bees forage across the site, and on the Goodwood Estate, to produce what has become known, worldwide, as ‘the Rolls-Royce of Honey’. These honeybees and the Phantom Rose, an English Tea Rose bred especially for Rolls-Royce and found only at the marque’s headquarters were the inspiration for the highly Bespoke bonnet.

Craftsmanship lies at the very heart of Rolls-Royce with creativity nurtured at every turn. As a brand synonymous with perfection and craftsmanship, London Craft Week – a celebration of the very best of British craftsmanship – is a truly important occasion in our annual calendar.

Boris Weletzky, Regional Director – UK, Europe, and Central Asia, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

These unique pieces, indicative of the marque’s fluency in Bespoke will be displayed in the window of Rolls-Royce’s flagship showroom,

To view please visit Rolls-Royce Berkeley Street, Mayfair, from 13th to 19th May 2024.

To find out more about the brand and this project please visit www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

If you enjoyed reading Live and Love The Art of Craft with Rolls Royce then why not read Not Telling here.

.Cent magazine London, Be Inspired; Get Involved