The Great indoors...with Priscilla Carluccio

By Judith Wilson

Above: The interior at Few and Far

Priscilla Carluccio has had a unique and powerful influence in the design world over the past four decades. This year, she has come to the fore with the opening of her brand new store, Few and Far, in the heart of Knightsbridge on the Brompton Road. But this venture is simply the culmination of a career devoted to design. In 1969, she worked as a stylist on Habitat France’s first catalogue, went on to become buying director at The Conran Shop in 1975, and, in 1981, became the trend forecaster for the Storehouse group. And after she married her restaurateur husband, Antonio Carluccio, she was responsible for turning their original flagship specialist Italian food store into a successful retailing and café brand, overseeing everything from product to logos. ‘It was a wonderful challenge to make the Carluccio concept work as a big business, but with Few and Far I wanted to create an exclusive, one-off shop,’ she says.

Summer visitors to Few and Far will be treated to a dizzying selection of merchandise. The original philosophy was to offer an eclectic range of goods, which – every season – will change and have a new theme. For the summer months, the concept is simple and welcoming: French Café. Carluccio lists the stock she has carefully chosen and ordered in: two types of traditional French chair – the classic metal Tolix furniture and the woven Drucker café chairs – accessories in blue and white Mediterranean colours, traditional fishing nets and sailing boats for children, candles shaped like cacti and shells, picnic baskets for al fresco eating, and antique English furniture. ‘I want the shop to offer a wide range of prices – some things are really cheap, others expensive – so that customers feel they can always come away with a little something they like,’ she says.

In these days of formulaic living, one supposes that opening a new shop involves endless market research and, perhaps, a focus-group potential customer. But for Carluccio, with her years of buying experience, selecting beautiful objects is second nature. ‘I don’t have an ideal customer in mind – almost the opposite, I hope all sorts of people will enjoy the shop!’ she says. Does she have a winning formula for selecting products? ‘I have a very confident eye,’ she says. She adds that, having originally worked as a photographer (she studied photography at Guildford School of Art in the 1960s), she has a sharp visual sense.

Walk around Few and Far and it’s easy to see that Carluccio has very cleverly mixed her stock across categories. There are always fresh roses on sale, and on a Friday, chocolate cakes sit on glass cake stands, tempting buyers to take them home for tea. The customer will find tableware and glasses, beautiful fine cotton and silk clothes from India, Italy and Morocco, all sitting cheek by jowl with jewellery by emerging designers, children’s toys, and modern and antique furniture, which comes on and off the shop floor with amazing regularity, as pieces often sell in a trice. Carluccio has deliberately chosen not to divide up stock into set categories. ‘We don’t have departments in our own homes, do we?’ she says. ‘I wanted customers to see products in juxtaposition, to create a more stimulating and enjoyable shopping environment.’

For Carluccio, it’s not just a question of what she sells, but how she sells it. ‘I wanted to create a traditional shop, where the customer is actually cared for,’ she says. ‘People have forgotten the art of shop-keeping, and I want to bring that back again.’ To this end, purchases are individually wrapped in paper from India, with different coloured ribbons. ‘I tell my staff to pick a colour they think customers would like, and one that matches the paper.’ Once the summer has passed, and fresh stock starts to flood in, Few and Far will look different again, but Carluccio’s strong, personal philosophy is clearly here to stay. ‘This is a personal venture for me,’ she says. ‘If customers come here and they like the things I choose, then they will want to shop here again.’ At the thought of chocolate cake, personalised ribbon and something lovely to take home, how could anyone resist?

Few and Far
242 Brompton Road, SW3 2BB
020 7225 7070, www.fewandfar.net