Latest news with #EmmaMaxwell
CNA
16-07-2025
- CNA
Emma Maxwell: The interior designer behind Burnt Ends and Araya, two of Singapore's most striking restaurants
A few years ago, Emma Maxwell was in Madagascar and noticed a piece of stone. The Singapore-based interior designer picked it up, not knowing what it was. 'That turned out to be rose quartz. The colour was warm, soft, almost glowing. I kept it, knowing I'd use it one day,' said the founder of her eponymous Singapore-based design studio. Rose quartz ended up being the main feature in Michelin-starred Chilean fine-dining restaurant, Araya, helmed by chefs Francisco Araya and Fernanda Guerrero. 'When Araya came along, I knew where it belonged. We designed a 10m-long chef's counter from a single slab of rose quartz. It runs the length of the space and sets the tone for everything around it; people respond to it instinctively. It's also common in Chile where the chefs are from, so it felt grounded,' said Maxwell. She described the soft ombre colour as evoking a Chilean desert sunset. In the private dining room, a panoramic wallpaper of Chilean mountains further reflects the cuisine. 'We layered in as many links to their heritage and food as we could,' elaborated Maxwell. The Australian-born designer has created many memorable interiors for popular F&B destinations in Singapore. Aside from Araya, she has also designed the Cempedak Island resort, Michelin-starred and World's 50 Best restaurant Burnt Ends, as well as the recently opened VITIS wine bar. In contrast to the soft, feminine atmosphere of Araya, VITIS is masculine and moody. 'At VITIS, I was inspired by the winemaking process – grounded, sensory, precise. The space embraces those elements; it puts people at ease. Sustainability was built in from the start with timber from fallen trees in Singapore, recycled Japanese paper, vegetable-dyed leather. Spotted gum flooring adds warmth and hand-blow crystals cast a soft, flattening glow. Every material was chosen to feel good underfoot, in the hand and for the body,' described Maxwell. Good spatial design is the crucial missing piece to a holistic, memorable meal experience, she stressed. 'People underestimate how much a space shapes feeling through scale, light, sound, material and furniture. It's not what's seen, it's what's sensed. That's where memory begins.' Maxwell has always sensitive to such sensual attributes, even as a child. Born in Melbourne, she grew up in the Shepparton countryside, within the Australian state of Victoria where she competed in horse riding for agricultural shows. Unlike the horses she controlled, Maxwell pushed against rules and limits. 'Anything that tried to contain me; I wasn't wild, but I never followed,' said the former 'punk-goth-indie kid' who was creative in many fields. 'I was always drawing, obsessed with music, sneaking into gigs and stage diving into the crowd,' she mused. The constraining approach of secondary school left the rebel feeling like an outsider. 'I didn't process things in straight lines. I saw space; I felt light shift. Sound carries and materials hold emotion. Long before I had words for it, I could read rooms like people. I was spatially fluent before I even knew what that meant,' Maxwell reflected. This is still how she designs today, marching to the beat of her own drum, feeling the world around her and then distilling it out through her unique lens. 'Twenty years on, that way of seeing still flows into my work,' said Maxwell. 'I take everything in at once – light, texture, rhythm and tension – and shape them by instinct, not formula.' Interior design was a calling that came after she graduated from sculpture studies at RMIT (The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) and worked a little in advertising – a job that did not win her soul. After being engaged to design an office, Maxwell discovered the bond with interior design. She came to Singapore to work on a project for the same client and never left. I first met Maxwell two years ago when she took me on a tour of Burnt Ends, pointing out all the details of the restaurant. With jet-black hair, steely eyes and a robust, confident laughter, Maxwell is not one to be easily forgotten. But she is also somewhat motherly and cocooning, drawing people into her world with a generous, convivial spirit. Burnt Ends is a special project for Maxwell. She became friends with chef Dave Pynt after becoming a regular patron at the original location in a shophouse at Teck Lim Road. Maxwell was there every Saturday for lunch with friends. 'It was our happy place – high-energy, relaxed, never forced. There was always a pulse in the room with the open kitchen, the counter seating, the food, the music, and over the years, great conversation with Dave,' said Maxwell. When the restaurant moved to Dempsey Roadchef Pynt asked her to do the interiors. 'Dave and I share similar standards and a similar sense of humour. That made the collaboration work. We weren't even trying to reinvent anything. We just wanted to carry forward that original feeling of Burnt Ends. It always had that intensity of being tight, physical and focused. Every material choice, such as the lava stone, charred timber, 10-million-year-old petrified wood, came from that. These all tie to how Dave cooks with wood, fire and smoke,' Maxwell described. The most important part of the design was how it made people feel. 'You're not just entering a restaurant; you're stepping into the Burnt Ends world. The atmosphere hits you, holds you and makes you want to stay,' said Maxwell. The partnership was a great one, and she went on to design Audi x Burnt Ends Bakery and GT Bar that opened in February this year at Audi House of Progress along Cross Street. Here, customers in the showroom and office workers in that area can enjoy the bakery's famous doughnuts, as well as German-inspired bites like Bavarian beer-battered waffles and currywurst. 'The goal was to bring Burnt Ends into Audi's world seamlessly, letting both identities speak clearly. Audi brings heritage, innovation and sophistication; Burnt Ends brings rhythm and material depth,' said Maxwell on the direction of the sleek space. Having designed hospitality spaces for more than a decade, I ask her about her observations on F&B industry today. 'It's a complex moment,' she responded. 'The global economy has put pressure on everyone – operators, investors, suppliers, designers. That uncertainty is reshaping how people think about hospitality – on how they spend, what they value and where they choose to go.' Customers want less formality and more flexibility. They also want environments that feel generous, relaxed and convivial. Restaurant owners want customers to linger and spend, and thus have to respond accordingly. 'They're asking deeper questions: How do we create mood? How do we build memory?' stated Maxwell. She added: 'We talk a lot about emotional tempo, how people arrive, how they're 'held' [while in a space], and how they leave. If you design in rhythm with human experience, the space does more than look good; it earns its keep. That's where we're headed: Less noise, more meaning.' Maxwell's current ethos is similar, shaped after the COVID-19 pandemic. 'I struggled deeply. I'm someone who is always in motion between countries, studios and projects. That rhythm fuels my thinking and then overnight, it was gone. There was no team, no site visits, nothing tactile to ground the day. It was confronting,' she said of the difficult period that was a catalyst for introspection and transformation. Maxwell went back to basics, drawing furiously in her sketchbook. 'I couldn't stop,' remarked the designer who studied painting masters like Caravaggio, Albrecht Dürer and Alberto Giacometti. 'Their work sharpened how I see form, light, proportion and feeling. They reset my eye; it gave me a way back. They also changed how I think about presence – both my own and the guests',' she pondered. After the pandemic, she continued her travels to seek inspiration. 'In Georgia, I visited a 1,500-year-old mountain church built entirely from local stone. There were no ornaments, just mass and stone. It made me think differently about spatial pressure and restraint.' In a Slovenian forest, she thought of how the painter Casper David Friedrich used landscape 'to explore the human condition and hold emotion in place; the trees, stone and light – all of that stayed with me.' In any project, the materials are paramount. 'I keep coming back to oiled oak, brushed pewter, slate and thick felt, not so much for how they look but for how they behave; how they influence one's posture, pace and presence,' explained Maxwell. The experimental and ever-curious designer is now working on a textile blend of stinging nettle fibre and silk, hand-woven in Nepal. 'Dyed in layers of mineral pigment, it holds a strange duality. It is dry and raw to the touch, but reflects light like glass,' she described. Currently, Maxwell is working on two vastly different projects. 'One is with a hotel, reworking a legacy property. The other is with a chef, whose precision completely changed how I see space, light, rhythm, movement and response,' she said. Precedents for these and other projects come from spaces around the world that elevate her spirit, are exacting and honest in their intent, and are 'not always about perfection but presence.' One example is La Buvette in Paris. 'It is a tiny, low-lit, chef-filled space, with natural wine, raw textures and soft edges. I always end up staying longer than I plan to,' Maxwell shared. Others include Haawm in Bangkok – 'six seats, no signage, intimate and focus; you feel as if you've walked into a chef's home' – and Ratana in Milan, which is a former train depot 'reworked with integrity; you taste the city in the food, and feel it in the room.' A Slim Aarons photo of Hotel Cap-Eden-Roc's pool drew her to the hotel in Antibes, France. 'The hotel is the pure spirit of the Cote d'Azur. I've been a few times since. It's exactly where you hope it will be,' said Maxwell. In London, she heads to Core Clare Smyth –'it's calm and grounded, a fine-dining room that flows' – and she is also a regular at Satan's Whiskers where she is handed a Negroni and led to her usual seat whenever she's there. 'The vibe is low-key, comfortable and coal. There's no scene, just good energy,' she said of her local London bar. These spaces all have something special, which is what Maxwell tries to bring to the spaces she designs. 'The hotels, restaurants and bars that last are the ones that feel generous, honest and emotionally sharp, not just styled. That's what brings people back,' she commented. Every square metre has to earn its place operationally and atmospherically,' she remarked. 'Design isn't just visual; it's behavioural. That's where the difference is made.'
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Scotsman
01-07-2025
- General
- Scotsman
How to search for your Scottish ancestors and unravel family histories
Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Tracing the family tree can be a sentimental business, not least when powerful tales of our ancestors - often laced with a little romance - have gained currency over the generations. For genealogist Emma Maxwell, finding the ancestors of her clients can be an exercise that can both uphold these family stories, or dismantle them as the puzzle starts to solve and truths emerge. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Maxwell said: 'There are so many reasons behind these family stories. It could be somebody has literally told a story to cover something up. 'Families can be left with romanticised ideas - because there was no one around to say that was not quite how it happened. The challenge is how do you present that to the client? Some people are very attached to the family story.' She added: 'It can be hard. We have had people come to us believing they were Scottish and they were not Scottish at all. They were from Cumbria.' Ms Maxwell has been a genealogist for almost 25 years and, along with her husband Gavin, runs the Scottish Indexes website, which is a portal to family research and thousands of records from courts, prisons and asylums. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Genealogist Emma Maxwell, who runs the Scottish Indexes website, a portal to family research, with her husband Gavin. | contributed The majority of her clients are from the United States, where around five million people claim to have Scottish ancestry, with family histories bound in stories of emigration and exit from the old country. Ms Maxell said: 'The people who left may have taken the photographs with them, the pictures of mum, brother and sister. They pass down the generations. 'I think some people who are descended from those who have left Scotland would still consider themselves to be Scottish. I don't think that is universal, but I think some people would feel that. National World 'They may never have been here. It was perhaps their great, great grandfather who left, but somehow they still feel very connected to Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'If your ancestors emigrated 150 years ago and your family has been living in the United States, there is no way you are just Scottish. 'You are clearly going to have people from an awful lot of countries in their family tree. And yet, for some people, they are Scottish. I think that therefore shows that it is something that appeals to them. It is quite sentimental for some people.' Prison record in Scotland can be a powerful tool to help crack open the true family story and chart the fate and fortunes of our ancestors. PIC: Aberdeen City Archives. | Aberdeen City Archives For Ms Maxwell, who has appeared on BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? advising comedian Diane Morgan on her Scottish roots, said old family photographs were a good starting point in a search. The faces and occasions captured in the fading prints - and the names and dates sometimes scribbled on the back - can be unique, powerful tools in the search. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Maxwell said: 'They can be good for clues if they have names on the back. Even the date for a wedding or an anniversary can be very helpful. 'If you can take that to your older relatives, such as a grandmother or a great aunt, it is a brilliant way to have that conversation because photographs can jog the memory. 'If they are happy to do so, it is good to record the conversation. But later, as you uncover more, it might make more sense what they have said.' Researching death records comes next. These can be found on Scotland's People website, run by National Records of Scotland, which Ms Maxwell described as a 'fantastic' site. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She said: 'Then it's just a case of putting the pieces of the jigsaw together, from the birth to the marriage to the death. That is the skeleton. That has to come first and once you have done that you can move onto some really exciting stuff.' Records kept carefully for hundreds of years can hold the tiniest of details about the lives of our relatives. PIC: CC | Records kept carefully for hundreds of years can hold the tiniest of details about the lives of our relatives. PIC: CC Find My Past - where residents of Scotland can access some records for free with a National Library of Scotland card - and are two other 'really good websites', Ms Maxwell said. Once the basic outline of a family tree is mapped out, a family search can then advance through church records, which date back to 1553 and offer a rich vein of information. Relatives can be found in poor relief accounts and records of those who paid fees to use a mortcloth for a burial of a family member, for example. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Kirk Session papers often throw up scandals and morality crimes, such as sex outside marriage and the names of the fathers of illegitimate children. 'You then want to start to look for clues, so you can build up what is going on in that person's life,' Ms Maxwell said. 'For example, if you find your family on the census and a member of the family is missing, then where were they? I have seen a scenario where you had all the children listed, but not the parents. The parents were in prison.' Ms Maxwell added: 'That's the tragedy of it sometimes. Either your ancestors are really rich or terrible things happen to you . And that is when you find out more about them.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scottish court records offer another powerful glimpse into our past and the character and circumstances of those who came before us. Details in testimonies, such as names of witnesses, can open up new lines of research. Pictured is Mary Ritchie of Lanark in the dock during her trial for culpable homicide at Glasgow High Court, around 1925. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/) | Getty Images One research project carried out by Ms Maxwell traced the story of a young girl who witnessed a 'terrible accident' when a boiler exploded as it was transported through central Glasgow in 1871, killing many children. After coming across the girl's witness statement in court records, Ms Maxwell was able to trace her path through life. Later, as a woman, she worked as a prostitute and then appeared in asylum records. Church records showed her care was paid for by poor relief. 'I am not a psychologist, but this kind of research can really help to understand how someone's life has unfolded,' Ms Maxwell said. The genealogist is often approached by clients who have come to a halt in their own search and who need to find a way forward through the available information. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad She said: 'I love a puzzle and the question is what records can we look at to solve this puzzle. That could be a huge variety of records and you need to use different ones depending on what the problem is. 'Often it is going to depend on the status of the person you are looking for and the time period. 'So if somebody is wealthier- and we are not talking about extreme wealth, perhaps business people - there are deeds. Deeds are amazing - almost any deed could be useful.' Generations gone: Finding your ancestors and getting in touch with your roots is made easier in Scotland with a vast array of records, many which are available on the Scotland's People website. Pictured are fishermen in Newhaven, Edinburgh in 1845. PIC: David Octavius Hill, Robert Adamson, (Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images). | Heritage Images via Getty Images 'A marriage contract, an apprenticeship, a bond or a tenancy listed in deeds could offer well of information. If there was a dispute - you are cooking with gas.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms Maxwell said researching family history offered 'really good insight into the history of ordinary people' with glimpses of everyday life found tucked away in the records of institutions.
Powys County Times
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
Powys florist hiding bouquets as quirky treat for public
A Powys flower grower has been leaving hidden bouquets in beauty spots around the county for people to pick up as part of British Flower Week. Emma Maxwell of Welsh Flower Barrow has been celebrating British Flower Week by dropping off a series of bouquets in Powys towns, such as Machynlleth and Llanidloes, leaving clues on social media for people to find them. She said: 'British Flower Week is designed to promote UK grown flowers, which there has been a bit of a resurgence in of recent years. READ MORE 'I dabbled in the idea five years ago and trialled it with Welsh Horticultural, but then last year British Flower Week it coincided with the launch of Welsh Flower Barrow and seemed like a good opportunity to create a bit of publicity and do something fun and different in the summer.' The bouquets, each made up of Welsh-grown flowers, are dropped off by Emma and colleagues in a Powys town at a quiet time of day. Afterwards she leaves clues on the Flower Barrow Facebook page to give people the chance to find the bouquet. She added: 'We place them at each spot during different times of the day, ideally when it's not busy. We tend to pick spots based on errands we're already running or deliveries we're already making, then drop them off. 'It has to be a spot that's quiet so as not to be spotted but also enticing enough that people might go over and see what it's about. We have a rough idea of what town it will be but have to look for a specific area.' Emma added that she enjoyed the idea of promoting both the flowers and a small spot of Mid Wales with each flower finding mission. 'It gets people talking a little bit,' she said. 'Commenting on the quality of bouquets and the beauty of British flowers as they discuss whatever abstract clue I've put with them. 'It also promotes the area as well and shines a little spotlight on it. "I get so many messages commenting on how beautiful the area the bouquet is in is. It brightens a spot up and complements it really well.'
Channel 4
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Channel 4
Deescalating Iran/Israel conflict dominates G7 agenda
The G7 leaders are gathering for their summit in Canada with the Iran-Israel conflict set to overshadow talks. Producers: Robert Hamilton and Emma Maxwell Camera/Picture editor: Philippa Collins Graphics: Mike Smith
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Moment actress Diane Morgan discovers shocking family secret about her four times great grandmother - and jokes 'I don't know whether to be ashamed or proud'
Diane Morgan was left stunned after finding out her four times great grandmother had five 'illegitimate' children with four different fathers. The actress, from Bolton, will appear on tonight's episode of the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are to learn more about her ambiguous family history. The 49-year-old described having an interest in her family tree but said that she has never been good at compiling information on her computer. During the show, she said she was eager to learn more about her Scottish heritage after finding out that part of her family comes from a small village outside of Dumfries. Diane met with genealogist Emma Maxwell in a library in the Scottish town who told her that by the age of 30, her great, great, great, great grandmother Isabella Hope had given birth to five illegitimate children - a term used to describe babies born outside of marriage - from four different fathers. She took Robert Robson, John McMurdo, James Ferguson and George Rome to court throughout the 1840s for not financially supporting their children and ended up winning all of her alimony money back. It was not uncommon for women to have illegitimate children in rural Scotland during this time, but few took up their right to take fathers to court to get their maintenance cash back. 'She must've been quite confident then to go through with all that,' Diane said of her great, great, great, great grandmother. 'Other women at the time I can see them being quite put off by having to go to court and the shame of it as well.' Upon finding out that Isabella had a third child out of wedlock and successfully won her money back for the third time, Diane added: 'This is starting to look like a career for her. I can't believe this.' Emma said: 'This is a small village outside Dumfries, everybody would've known each other.' Isabella - who was described as an 'improper character' in court documents - then had her two twins, belonging to a fourth father, George Rome. When Diane was handed the paperwork, she said: 'Oh no! Dirty bugger. I don't know what to make of her really. I don't know whether to be ashamed or proud.' Emma added: 'She certainly tried to make sure her children were cared for. And she wasn't intimidated either. 'These records really reveal an aspect of women's history in Scotland, which is really fascinating and it was perhaps unexpected that women had this ability to be able to do this, to be able to go to court and pursue the father of their children.' Isabella had given birth to Adam Robson, Elizabeth McMurdo, Jemima Ferguson and two unidentified male twins. Isabella - who was described as an 'improper character' in court documents - then had her two twins, belonging to a fourth father, George Rome Reflecting on a church that Isabella would have likely visited with her family, Diane said: 'I thought you were going to tell me I was related to Robert the Bruce or Robbie Burns , one of the Roberts. Instead, my great, great, great, great grandmother is a bit of a hussy. 'But let's give her the benefit of the doubt, she just couldn't find the right man and there wasn't much to do around here wasn't there. She got some security for her kids I suppose, not a lot of women of that era would have done that, would they? Good for her.' Meeting the local museum's curator Judith Hewitt at St. Michael's Graveyard where she was told more about what Isabella's short life was like. After giving birth to five children, she then worked in the town as a servant to bring in a wage, while her mother looked after her kids. This job often involved her making frequent trips to the river to fetch water, which left her at risk of catching bacterial diseases like cholera, as it was the same stream where the town's was dumped. Dumfries had experienced disastrous effects from cholera in 1832 after the illness claimed more than 400 lives. The town then experienced another outbreak 1848, six years prior to medics discovering it was a bacterial disease spread through contaminated water. Locals blamed loose morals and the weather as medics were not sure where cholera had come from. Isabella died aged 30 from the disease in December 1848 and left behind her five children. Emma told Diane that Isabella took all four of her children's fathers to court throughout the 1840s for not financially supporting their children and ended up winning all of her alimony money back She was buried in St. Michael's Graveyard and while there is a headstone to mark those who passed away from the 1832 outbreak, there is no distinct grave for those who died from the 1848 wave. Judith said: 'We know they were burying dozens of people a day but there is no memorial stone for that outbreak.' Diane added: 'It makes me want to go out and get a stone and put it up. Not just for her, for all of them because I think they should have something.' She was then curious to know whether Isabella would've been buried in a coffin, to which Judith said: 'If people couldn't afford coffins, they might be buried in a mortcloth, which is a piece of material that the parish owned. You would be placed into the grave wrapped in something which would later be retrieved. 'Given her status and her finances it's very likely she would've had that poor person's burial.' Before leaving the graveyard where her great, great, great, great grandmother is buried, Diane met with local photographer Graham Robertson, who told her he was working on a project to remember those who passed away during the 1948 cholera epidemic. He is planning to install a copper plate engraved with all of the names of those who have passed away, located in the church. Diane said that she would 'definitely' be making another trip up to Dumfries to visit the memorial plate when it is complete in the next year or so. 'Well, I thought I was going to go away from here really sad that that my great, great, great, great grandmother Isabella doesn't have a gravestone. But to see that, what Graham's made, it's lovely. It's given me peace that her name is there and that people will see it.
