The great indoors with Melissa Wyndham

interview by Judith Wilson

Christmas can be a frantic time, and most of us have our heads down, planning parties, presents and general merriment. Yet it’s also the season for giving something back to those less fortunate, even if we all need a gentle push to do so. The Chelsea-based interior designer, Melissa Wyndham, needs no encouragement to talk about Fine Cell Work, an admirable charity which is close to her own heart. She sits on the board, is a member of its design committee, and is one of its firmest advocates. ‘Fine Cell Work’s web site is very, very good and the standard of work is extremely high,’ she says.

It is no surprise that the charity’s supporters include design luminaries such as Cath Kidston, Jasper Conran, Nina Campbell and Joanna Wood.

For those not familiar with Fine Cell Work, it is a registered charity that this year celebrates its tenth anniversary. The aim of the charity is to teach prisoners the fine art of needlework, then the cushions, tapestries and quilts made are sold, on their behalf, by Fine Cell Work, to provide much-needed funds for the inmates. More importantly, the work provides prisoners with a new sense of self esteem. ‘Currently we have trained 300 prisoners, working in 22 prisons in England and Scotland,’ says Wyndham. The charity aims to extend this to 500 prisoners by 2010. ‘I am always amazed at the quality of the work. For male and female prisoners, this is the first time they’ve discovered they have a creative side.’

Wyndham was originally asked to work with the charity because of her interior design background, which spans over 20 years. As a designer, she has an elegant style, and loves to combine beautiful antiques with more abstract, modern detailing. She is as happy to work on historic projects, such as Longleat House, as on contemporary private apartments. ‘For Fine Cell Work, we have to produce products that sell: buyers are very design-aware these days,’ Wyndham says. ‘With my experience in the design industry, I know what people like, and we try to produce new things by big names in the design world.’ The design committee meets four times a year, and the products are constantly updated with fresh designs.

A quick scan of the website confirms as much. There’s a host of appliqué and needlepoint cushions, featuring vibrant florals, traditional or modern, tiger stripes and contemporary dots and grids, plus patchwork quilts and needlepoint bags. Prices can range from £12 for a hand-stitched Christmas decoration to £1,000 for a double patchwork quilt, with cushions ranging in price from £48 to £199. New for autumn is a hand-stitched needlepoint cushion, designed exclusively by Nina Campbell and featuring a crisp fleur de lys motif, at £125. Has Wyndham designed her own cushion? ‘I have – and there is another in the pipeline – but I can’t say more until all is approved by the committee!’ she says, discreetly.

Wyndham originally became aware of the charity because its founder and chairman, Lady Anne Tree, has long been a family friend. Lady Anne came up with the idea for the project back in the 1960s when she was a prison visitor at HMP Holloway, but it wasn’t until 1997 that the charity was up and running. Nowadays, there is a team of volunteers from the Embroiderers’ Guild and the Royal School of Needlework who go into the prisons to teach. Prison inmates, once sufficiently experienced, may even progress to special Fine Cell Work commissions, which in the past have included everything from work for a barrister’s chambers in Manchester to cushions for Kit Kemp’s new Haymarket Hotel.

For Wyndham, her commitment to Fine Cell Work is characteristic: she has always liked to be involved in a variety of projects. She has recently launched a collection of abstract hand-knotted carpets with carpet specialist Robert Stephenson, as well as a range of fabrics with G P & J Baker. But it’s not long before she steers the conversation back towards the delights of Fine Cell Work. For Christmas, she mentions the Sponsor a Prisoner voucher. A voucher for £50 or £100 pays for the training of a prisoner in fine needlework skills and as a result you receive the prisoner’s first piece of needlework – a Prison Geometric cushion in vibrant colours. What better way, at Christmas, to give a little something back?

Fine Cell Work, 020 7931 9998, www.finecellwork.co.uk Melissa Wyndham, 6 Sydney Street, SW3
020 7637 2529, www.melissawyndham.com