insideKENT Magazine Issue 62 - May 2017 | Page 146

INTERIORS
INSPIRING INTERIORS cont.
British interiors brand, Neptune, has gradually
built its own art collection over the years to
form a core part of its accessory offering. It
begins with playful, coloured prints that are a
perfect way to introduce art into a child’s
bedroom. From there, you can explore
examples of monochromatic portraiture,
delicate depictions of botanicals, as well as
black & white photography that captures
scenes of sailing and architecture, encased
within a painted timber frame. But perhaps
one of the most captivating stories behind this
collection is that a number of the creations
are the work of two up-and-coming artist
sisters – Daisy and Betty Sims-Hilditch – who
happen to be the daughters of John and
Emma Sims-Hilditch – one of Neptune’s
founders and its creative director. Both
daughters are immensely talented, but each
has her own, very distinct signature, and their
works come together to add breadth,
freshness, and extraordinary vision to the
Neptune collection.
Let's begin with the elder sister, Daisy, who is
currently 25 years old, and has recently
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finished studying portraiture at the prestigious
Charles H. Cecil studios in Florence. Daisy has
been painting from the moment she could
hold a brush and grew up capturing beautiful
seascapes of her family’s favourite bolthole in
Cornwall. When she was only 18, she was
shortlisted in the top 20 for the Saatchi gallery;
at the age of 20 she fell in love with
impressionism; and at 21 she made a
commitment to figurative painting. Look out
for her oil-painted landscapes of Cornwall,
Italy and Wiltshire within the Neptune artwork
collection. They pair perfectly with homes
traditional and more contemporary thanks to
their brushstrokes that form a classic kind of
elegance.
Betty Sims-Hilditch conversely is an artist who
toes a slightly edgier line, but no less
sophisticated. Like her sister, her love of all
things creative began with designing and
sewing dresses for her doll collection as a little
girl. From there she went on to study an art
foundation course in the Saint-Germain-des-
Prés quarter of Paris, exploring her wide span
of artistic passions from architecture to life
drawings. Photography is one of Betty’s
greatest artistic skills, as is her gift of drawing
with a mixed-media approach. Her ‘Original
Ink’ series of prints for Neptune, display
London scenes from her favourite area –
Marylebone – using pen, charcoal,
watercolour and pencil. She used a similar
layering process in her most recent trio of
‘pantry’ prints from the spring/summer 2017
collection.
Betty and Daisy’s work is available to view and
purchase at both the Neptune Canterbury &
Neptune Tonbridge stores.
www.neptune.com