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The Vogue team has been enamored with Sadie Perry’s taste since she first launched Mantel in 2021 with a collection of modernist objets truffled out during pre-dawn trips to antiques fairs across Europe. Having trained as a silversmith in Mexico and worked as a jewelry designer for years beforehand, she’s as thrilled by discovering distinctive pieces by someone technically accomplished yet “completely unknown” as a rare Edgar Brandt lamp or Catherine Noll jewelry.
Her curated “chrome, wood and glass” finds, European shopping director Naomi Smart enthuses, “often have an Art Deco feel to them”—and “come to life” in her newly opened studio on Wilton Way in Hackney, East London, which Perry decorated herself, giving the walls a lick of Farrow Ball’s New White and making her own tasseled shades for the pendant lights.
Dealing with people exclusively from “behind a screen”, she says, “can feel a bit soulless” after a while, with the long-awaited space enabling her to take customers through her Secessionist trinket boxes and Monique Vedie clip-ons in person. “Some of my favorite interactions, though, have been with the local elderly people who pass the shop on their daily walks and come in to tell me about their own collections,” she jokes.
Here, she answers Vogue’s questions about her life, style, and the points where the two intersect.
Vogue: What’s on your bedside table right now?
Sadie Perry: It’s a high-low mix; my mouthguard sits next to a trinket dish that I put my jewelry in before going to sleep, a pot of melatonin, a tiny René Delavan lamp, and a tub of Sudocrem.
And in your bathroom cabinet?
Evolve Beauty’s Gentle Cleansing Melt, mainly because it smells like Turkish delight; Dylure for dyeing my eyebrows at home fortnightly; and Sans[Ceuticals] Shampoo and Conditioner, plus Oway H Melt Mask in Divine Gold for keeping my color warm.
How can I make a rental property more appealing?
A good trick is to invest in table lamps with warm bulbs, so you never have to turn on bright overhead lights. Also, add some curtains, put a rug down, and change any lampshades – and, if your landlord will let you, install some shelving for objects you really love.
Mexico is a constant source of inspiration in your work; if I’m going there on holiday, where should I visit?
If you’re in Oaxaca, visit the Graphic Art Institute and make a trip to Teotitlán del Valle to visit the artisans there, while in Mexico City, you should order pastries at Panadería Rosetta, wander through Casa Estudio Luis Barragán, and visit the flea market, La Lagunilla, on Sunday morning. I’d also recommend a pilgrimage to Museo Guillermo Spratling to marvel at its collection of pre-Hispanic silver.
Which scents are most nostalgic for you, and why?
My father’s saxophone reed, the sea in Brighton where I grew up, my family cat Claude’s fur, and Mexican copal.
You’ve got an hour before people are coming over for dinner. How do you prep?
My culinary repertoire is admittedly limited; I’d usually make something like a spinach-and-feta pie with a crunchy green salad or a lemon and ricotta pasta. I tend to stock up on wine in French supermarkets when I go to the fairs, Sancerre in particular. And in terms of décor? I love the way white tulips look when they’re wilting and drooping over the edge of vases.
Which jewelry designers and galleries are you excited about at the moment?
Galerie Parisienne and Galerie Subra Woolworth are both perennial sources of inspiration; their vintage collections are really incredible. I’m also coveting one of Camille Surault’s ear cuffs after meeting her at my pop-up in Paris earlier this year.
Which area of London do you live in, and what are some of your favorite spots in the area?
I’m based in southeast London. Chichirara down the road from me has great vintage, and El Vermut is a fun vermouth bar in Nunhead. I’ve been spending most of my time in Hackney since Mantel opened, though; I’m constantly popping into the Wilton Way Deli for espresso and canelés.
What should be on my autumn reading list?
The Tenant by Roland Topor, Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys, Hollywood Babylon by Kenneth Anger (which basically reads like the original Daily Mail Showbiz pages), Real Estate by Deborah Levy, Hotel Room Trilogy by Barry Gifford, and Role Models by John Waters. I’m also looking forward to reading the latest issue of Neptune Papers.
Who—and what—is on your creative moodboard (literal or metaphorical) right now?
Black lacquer, Eugénie O’Kin and Henri Simmen’s ceramics, Kyran Thrax on this season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK, Nancy Cunard’s bangles, this specific look from Belle de Jour, Thérèse Bonney’s ’20s and ’30s photographs, and garden snails.
Which essentials do you need to get through your working day?
Orwell PVC Laundry Bags for lugging my packages around, a head torch for scouring fairs before sunrise, and lots of vintage, stacked jewelry made from silver, bakelite, or resin.
What’s on your fantasy shopping list right now?
A pair of satin-jacquard Sleeper pyjamas; a Sophie Buhai Teardrop Pouch for transporting my jewelry; and—if I win the lottery—a Ruhlmann Besnard lamp I spotted on 1stDibs.