I'm Catherine, the founder and curator behind Chalet Art Store.
I'm originally from Ireland and did a degree in fashion design in Dublin before moving to London for an internship in womenswear design. That led to a ten-year career in fashion, designing across a number of well known UK brands.
Fashion taught me to really analyse colour, trends, proportion, texture and how individual pieces work together, all things that still influence the way I approach interiors and art today.
After ten years in fashion, I moved to the Alps and retrained in interior design, going on to work in chalet interiors, designing and renovating properties in the French Alps.
I've always loved art, but I never planned on working with artists or selling art. Chalet Art Store came about quite naturally. Through working on chalet interiors, I saw a real gap for art that felt considered and beautiful rather than simply "chalet themed". I also wanted to create something of my own that brought together my experience in design and interiors.
And so Chalet Art Store began.
What I didn't expect was how much I'd come to love working with artists. I work closely with each artist and see Chalet Art Store as a partnership. I get a huge amount of joy from selling their work and helping it reach people who may never have discovered them otherwise. Many of the artists I work with are based in the mountains, and introducing their work to collectors across the Alps and beyond is a big part of what makes the business so rewarding.
There's a lot that happens behind the scenes when you're selling art, from presenting and promoting the work to helping customers find the right pieces for their spaces. Working with galleries allows artists to spend more time doing what they do best, creating!
I suppose I've ended up combining all the things I've done over the years without ever really planning to. Fashion, interiors, the mountains and art have all found their way into Chalet Art Store and that's what makes it feel very personal to me. I hope it makes you feel inspired too.
