Take an ‘Old Deer’ home to your fireplace
Some of you may be disappointed, but we’re not suggesting that Grandma should come to stay indefinitely. No, we’re introducing you to the latest product of beauty, ‘Old Deer’ – Silver plated Scottish red deer antlers mounted on dark walnut or oak.
Phil Ward, co-founder of Eskimo, better known for gorgeous radiators and beautifully designed hot things in general, designed Old Deer. Old Deer is Phil’s first foray into designing a purely decorative product with no heating function.
Phil developed the idea after he was introduced to deer stalking in the Scottish Highlands.
Phil loves his ‘Old Deer’. “It’s been a real joy to design and work with a product where the process of manufacture partly involves a magnificent red deer stag wandering around a Scottish mountain with only hinds on his mind. The plating process then lifts the texture of each set of antlers, in particular bringing out the contrast between the lovely matt sections on the main body of the antlers and the polished tips where he’ll have sharpened his antlers against a tree. If you want guaranteed uniformity then this is the wrong product for you, the Stag was in charge of production and quality control, if you don’t like the imperfections take it up with him.”
Scottish deer stalking is essential in enhancing and preserving biodiversity and woodland habitats in the Highlands. It is the lifeblood of the Highland rural economy and is ultimately the only way to preserve the wild red deer herds that roam this part of Scotland from the west to the east coasts. Phil works closely with a number of professional deer stalkers from selected estates in the Highlands, to ensure that everything is carried out in the correct way with total respect for these beautiful creatures always at the forefront of their minds.
‘Old Deer’ is contemporary playfulness on the beauty and decadence of the traditional grand house and hunting lodge interior. This time accentuating the precious nature of a truly natural product.
The antlers for ‘Old Deer’ come from sustainably managed wild red deer herds and the stalkers carefully select and prepare each set of antlers, marking each one with the date and where the stag was shot on the mountain. The antlers are then taken for silver plating in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter before being mounted on gorgeous dark stained walnut or oak shields with an attachment suitable for hanging on your wall. A small subtle plaque, on the back, records the source and date of the antlers, together with the quantity of Old Deer manufactured that year.
What Phil most likes about using real deer antlers is that each one is as unique as the deer from which it came – clues to the habitat and life cycle of the stag are recorded in the shape and size of the antlers. For instance, deer which spend more of their time in woodland, tend to have antlers with a narrower spread than those which live on the open moorland, and those which have access to better grazing grow thicker antlers than those which don’t. Also many of the antlers are polished in places where the stag rubs them to sharpen their tips for the rut and some may even be scratched and have the odd broken point if they belonged to a particularly feisty beast. The silver then provides a lustrous uniform decorative coating that brings the texture forward without hiding any of the imperfections, which make each beautiful ‘Old Deer’ unique. Never a truer word spoken.
Managing the deer herds is the responsibility of the Scottish Estates and the Deer Commission. Maintaining a healthy viable population is the goal. To achieve that the stalker aims to take out only the old and the sick animals (hence the product name) consequently the quantity of antlers available for Old Deer in any one year reflect deer numbers in the previous season – the product is by nature limited edition. This year numbers are limited to 76 pairs of antlers although Eskimo expect to obtain a slightly larger number next season.
Old Deer are available direct from Eskimo or via selected distributors throughout Europe.
www.eskimodesign.co.uk
For prices and information, contact phil@eskimodesign.co.uk louisa@eskimodesign.co.uk
