Belfast’s Merchant Hotel has joined forces with a leading Northern Ireland textile designer to bring a chic local feel to the interiors of its stylish bedrooms.
Award-winning textile designer, Jude Cassidy has created a collection of bespoke Irish linen cushions to add an elegant local accent to The Merchant’s 36 contemporary Art Deco rooms.
Having started her business in 2009, Jude credits The Merchant as a key player in her success story.
Her first major commission was for a collection of cushions for the iconic five-star hotel, as it prepared to open its art deco New Chapter in 2010. Five years on, Jude has been commissioned by the five-star hotel for a second time to create a fresh, new bespoke collection of cushions as part of a refresh of The Merchant’s bedroom interiors.
Since her first collaboration with The Merchant, Jude has worked with other worldwide hotels as well as Christian Dior retail shops and well-known interior designers, including Peter Marino, David Collins and Helen Green.
A First Class Honours Graduate in textile design from the Glasgow School of Art, Jude developed her design skills working in Paris, London and Thailand. Reflecting back on the rich heritage of Irish hand weaving, linen is at the heart of her latest collection. The material for the cushions is designed and produced in her studio in Saintfield and uses a variety of yarns, including linen, cashmere and silk, with a neutral yet rich palette of greys and silvers.
Jude’s collection of cushions for The Merchant Hotel has been expertly hand-crafted on a traditional 150 year old loom. Luxurious linen is combined with a glowing palette of soft oysters, soothing tones of soft whites and cool greys with glistening flecks of metallic. This harmonising colour palette is only further enhanced by the refined simple elegance of the textures, which pairs beautifully with the chic interiors of Art Deco rooms.
Eve Tumilty, Head of Housekeeping at The Merchant Hotel said: “Jude Cassidy’s stunning luxurious range of cushions for our Art Deco rooms perfectly complements the contemporary elegance of the interiors. The Merchant is famed for marrying the best of international and Irish design and we are proud to once again partner with such a creative local design talent to being an accent of Northern Ireland into the furnishings of our stylish bedrooms.”
Speaking from The Merchant Hotel, Jude said: “Having a five-star hotel as one of my first customers has been a fantastic help to expanding my business and gaining attention for my work; it helped give customers confidence in my young business. I now work for five-star hotels worldwide but I feel a particular attachment to The Merchant Hotel, given the opportunity they afforded me at the beginning of my career.
“The cushions that I have designed for the hotel are the ultimate in linen luxury and set off the Art Deco rooms perfectly. All of my collections are focused on texture with subtle colours and the elegant backdrop of The Merchant Hotel provides the perfect setting for these cushions.”