Clapton Bite in the Round
Like other large City of London institutions, Linklaters – one of the four ‘Magic Circle’ law firms – has an art collection. Among the more unusual of its impressive holdings is an 1880s Steinway Model D – a.k.a. ‘concert grand’ – piano. And very grand it is; almost three metres in length; deep, glossy rosewood in colour and with a set of sturdy but elegant Victorian legs.
Late last year I took a call from the Curator, Catherine Shearn, asking if I’d be interested in constructing a cover for it. Linklaters were moving into a magnificent new building early in 2026 and the piano would be in full view in the first floor auditorium lobby and main hosting space. The standard-issue quilted black nylon cover would be a blank in such surroundings. I leapt at the opportunity to do a 3-dimensional patchwork project.
It got better. Linklaters Social Responsibility team works with four London schools, and was anticipating a visit from eighteen sixth formers from Clapton Girls’ Academy in a few weeks’ time. Might there be a way to involve them? Again, music to my ears, having spent ten years leading a creative programme for schools and teachers which developed from an explicit focus on design.
We developed a day-long design workshop, starting with a tour of the Collection, moving through the development of a family or ‘language’ of shapes inferred from a favourite work (a version of ‘Simplify, Then Multiply’ from the design exercises we published in 2017 with Princeton Architectural Press) and finishing with a collage on a template of the piano in plan: eighteen sketch designs.
Catherine, I and senior Linklaters colleagues shortlisted six to develop as designs in plan and elevation, as it were, that is, including a 40cm drop around the sides. A couple of maquettes later we settled on Samaha’s design. Its strong language of bowed shapes with ‘jaws’ cut left and right in alternation was not only immediately coherent, but I could see how it would afford fabrication in inset patchwork.
I drew the design at 1:1 scale on card, and cut the pieces out as my 63 net templates, adding seam allowance and position markings to the linen pieces as I cut them. I sewed the linen into two quite complex jigsaw patchworks – a top and a side piece – taking lots of care at the junctions
The top and sides were valiantly quilted by Julia Gerry at on her long-arm machine, and stitched up into three piped dimensions by Neil Riley. I was delighted when Neil told me that as a City & Guilds apprentice upholsterer, he and fellow trainees were issued grand piano covers on which to practise their skills.
Clapton Bite bespoke grand piano cover; linen patchwork; machine-quilted; piped and bound in handloom cotton; 290 x 160 x 40cm.
Please click on the still below to watch the film by Erin Francis commissioned by Linklaters.
