80 You recently took part in season five of Interior Design Masters on BBC1. How did you get involved with this? Over lockdown, my focus shifted from my craft business to my home renovation which I documented online. There was loads of interest in what I had done in my flat, especially with colour and textiles and we even started to get requests for photoshoots. I had really loved the process so when I saw there were applications for another season of the show I thought, why not? You narrowly missed being a finalist in the show but did very well. How was the experience? It was genuinely incredible. Every single person who works on the show is so lovely and creative and loves design. It was so sad to just miss being a finalist! But being in the top five is still a massive accomplishment and I got to work on so many spaces that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do. I learnt an incredible amount as well - you have such limited time and tight budgets and now I know I can make amazing spaces with very little resources. I also learnt a lot about joinery which I didn’t have a clue about at the start. What was your favourite space you designed on the show? I loved my private box at Ascot! I was just having a lot of fun that week, it was so wild to be at Ascot and have full reign of what we were doing in those rooms! I’ve always wanted to design fancy, high-end spaces that feel really experiential and Ascot is also so camp, I just loved making a totally different, kitschy area. I based my room on luxury mid-century retro private bars and went entirely baby blue with checkerboard floors and handmade chandeliers. The criteria the judges were looking for that week was ‘elegant, original and uplifting’ and they said that my room ticked all the boxes which was amazing. Kelly Hoppen even said that my room was in vogue which was all the feedback I could ask for. Has life changed much since being on TV? Are you being recognised? I’ve been recognised so much! I really didn’t expect it. The craziest is when people want to take a selfie together. The main thing that has changed for me is that I have all these new ideas and plans for projects that have come as a result of what I’ve learnt both about design and myself as a designer on the show. I also have some collaborations planned with a couple of the other designers from the show which I’m so excited about. Tell us a bit about your crafting past. What crafts and hobbies are you into? I love anything textile related. I think my gateway craft was embroidery which I started doing when I studied in Amsterdam. I’d embroider little figures onto handmade bags and accessories for a shop near my flat and make very twee felt badges like tea bags and portraits of Bette Davis. When I was travelling in my ’20s I discovered tapestry weaving and got absolutely hooked. I studied Saori weaving in Japan and New York before founding London’s first ever drop-in weaving studio, The London Loom, in 2016. I ran The London Loom for four years, teaching beginners weaving workshops on beautiful Japanese floor looms until lockdown coincided with my studio lease renewal and I realised that I was ready for a new challenge. Running Crafty interiors Craft and textile enthusiast, Francesca Kletz, recently took part in BBC1’s Interior Design Masters. Here she chats to Craft Focus about her time on the show and what the future may look like...
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