EVENT DETAILS
TALK
12 May 2026, 16:30 - 17:30
London Craft Week: The Craft of Colour
Colour Rituals: Unearthed and panel talk, The Craft of Colour - The Psychology of Colour
Location
44 Pimlico Road, London SW1W 8LP
Colour shapes how we experience the world. It influences how we feel, our wellbeing, and even our health. It defines the spaces we create and the objects we live with, from the handmade to the mass produced.
For London Craft Week 2026, we present The Craft of Colour, a multi-faceted exploration of colour through an immersive installation and a live panel discussion. Bringing together leading voices from across design, science and creative practice, we invite you to experience colour as both a material and an emotional force.
Colour Rituals: Unearthed
de Le Cuona present a London Craft Week
programme exploring the craft of colour through earth, pigment and cloth.
Anna Starmer, Founder and Creative Director of Luminary Colour, joins de le Cuona during London Craft Week to present Colour Rituals: Unearthed - an immersive installation exploring the origin of colour through earth, pigment and cloth.
Drawing on themes from Luminary Issue 34, Alchemy; Unearthed - brings together de le Cuona’s textiles together with beautiful objects and vessels crafted from the Earth in London and across the UK. The hand-crafted earth pigment spheres by Polly Bennett, and the mudlarked clay ceramics of Neve Beill. Foraged from landscapes across Britain, these mineral hues are transformed into refined surfaces, inviting a deeper connection to material, place and process. Plus, the handcrafted tiles by Aldershaw, made using ancient techniques from Wadhurst clay dug onsite near Hastings in the Sussex Downs.
This sensory experience reimagines colour as something elemental and emotive - rooted in geology, shaped by hand, and elevated through design. Guests are invited to reflect on the origins of the materials they specify, and to consider colour not only as surface, but as a visual story, an ancestral memory that imbues a deeper sense of belonging. This is a live colour ritual; the installation will be created onsite on Monday 11th May.
Meet Anna, Polly and Neve on site between 11.30am and 2pm 11th May
The installation remains on view until 15th May.
EVENT DETAILS
11th,12th,14th and 15th May 2026, 10:00 - 18:00
13 May 2026, 10:00 - 20:00
The Psychology of Colour — Panel Talk
On Tuesday 12th May, we continue the conversation with The Craft of Colour: The Psychology of Colour, an intimate panel discussion hosted in our showroom.
Bringing together expertise from across disciplines, this talk explores how colour influences human behaviour, design thinking and cultural expression. From scientific research to creative intuition, we will consider how colour operates at both an emotional and analytical level.
Anna Starmer is joined by Professor Stephen Westland, Chair of Colour Science and Technology at the University of Leeds School of Design. An authority in colour research, his work spans colour communication, machine learning, consumer insight and digital colour strategy.
Our Founder and CEO, Bernie de Le Cuona, also joins the panel. Since founding the company in 1992, she has built an international reputation for natural textiles rooted in craftsmanship, sustainability and a deep connection to nature — shaped by her upbringing in South Africa.
The discussion will be moderated by Dylan Jones OBE, author and journalist, who brings a wealth of editorial and cultural insight to the conversation.
Bernie de Le Cuona
Founder and CEO of de Le Cuona. Founded in 1992 the brand is renowned for its luxury interior textiles and accessories, responsibly made using natural fibres. Bernie grew up in rural South Africa and its landscapes, flora and fauna continue to inspire the brand’s textures and colours.
Professor Stephen Westland
Chair of Colour Science and Technology at University of Leeds School of Design. Stephen is an expert in colour communication, colour design, machine learning, consumer insights and digital colour strategies. He has worked for over 35 years in academic and industrial colour research.
Anna Starmer
Founder and Creative Director of Luminary. Anna works as a colour futurist and photographer. She has an exceptional sense of colour and materiality, gathering ideas and inspirations from around the world. Through her research studio, Luminary, Anna has guided global colour direction for more than 25 years.
Dylan Jones OBE
Author and Journalist. Over a distinguished career Dylan served as editor of GQ magazine for 22 years. He is the chair of London Fashion Week, Men’s, has won the BSME Editor of the Year Award seven times and is a best-selling author. Dylan was appointed OBE in 2013 for services to the publishing and British fashion industries.
A Shared Language of Colour and Craft
At our core, we are rooted in nature. The textures, tones and rhythms of the natural world inform everything we create.
Our collaboration with Anna Starmer reflects a shared commitment to materiality, craftsmanship and creative exploration. Through this installation and discussion, we invite you to consider colour not simply as decoration, but as a language, one that connects design, science and human experience in meaningful and unexpected ways.