Gorringe's are pleased to announce that they will be hosting a Meet the Expert event at Standen House on Wednesday 19 August 2026.
The event is part of Sussex Contemporary's exhibition at Standen House – 'Inspired by Standen: The Future of Arts & Crafts' – which is headline-sponsored by Gorringe's. The exhibition runs from 2 July until 30 September and showcases exceptional local and international talent, integrating contemporary artworks within Standen House's traditional Arts & Crafts interior, with the opportunity to purchase every work.
Meet the Expert Event Line-up
Gorringe's Meet the Expert event features an exciting line-up of talks from special guests Sue Timney, Imogen Perreau and Tess & Alfred Newall.
In addition, our own team of experts will be on hand throughout the day to answer any questions you may have about buying and selling at auction, and to provide complimentary valuations.
The outline for the day is set out below, and further information on the talks and speakers' biographies can be found at the end of this article. There’s no need to book places for the talks – they are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
11.30am – 12.15pm | Sue Timney
Arts & Crafts to Modern Classicism - A Design Journey
Sue is a celebrated British interior and textile designer known for her "exotic classicism". She is a Visiting Professor and Honorary Fellow at the Royal College of Art and a former President of the British Institute of Interior Design.
1.30pm – 2.15pm |Imogen Pereau
Rooted in the Landscape - Designing Gardens That Belong
Imogen is a Sussex-based garden and landscape designer with two RHS Hampton Court Gold Medals (including Best in Show 2023) and this year she made her Chelsea Flower Show debut.
3.30pm – 4.15pm | Tess & Alfred Newall
Crafting a Legacy - The influence of the Arts & Crafts movement on Contemporary Design
Decorative artist Tess Newall and furniture maker Alfred Newall are based in Sussex, sharing a love for traditional craftsmanship. Their furniture pieces and murals emphasise the character and integrity of hand processes, and sit as naturally in historic homes as they do in contemporary interiors.
11am – 4pm | Gorringe's Expert Team will be on hand to answer questions and provide valuations
Our experts will be able to provide advice on all major categories, including fine art, furniture, jewellery, silver, watches, ceramics, works of art, books and manuscripts, and Asian art.
Due to expected high demand, we request that you bring no more than two items on the day. For larger collections, we will be delighted to book a dedicated valuation at either our Lewes gallery or Tunbridge Wells office. Photographs of items are very welcome for assessment.
Event Entry Details
The event is completely free for National Trust members. For non-members, you will need to pay the National Trust entry fee, which gives you access to the exhibition and events throughout the day, between 10am and 5pm.
Full Talk Descriptions & Biographies
Sue Timney
Arts & Crafts to Modern Classicism — A Design Journey
Sue Timney opens the day with a look back at the Arts & Crafts movement - its origins and enduring meaning, seen through the work of its key figures, William Morris and Philip Webb. Sue will explore the common threads running through the movement: a commitment to local vernacular, the union of beauty and utility, and a totality of design across every element of their work. She also considers the movement's more ambivalent, selective relationship with modernity — not a straightforward rejection of the modern world, but a careful negotiation with it. Drawing a parallel with how the Edwardians responded to this changing world, Sue asks what that same spirit might look like today, highlighting late 19th-century radical ideals alongside modern creative practices.
She then turns to her own work, tracing its roots back to Arts & Crafts principles, and considers how the enduring appeal of both Morris-Webb and Timney Fowler lies in their ability to make the past feel radical.
In the 1880s, Morris and Webb used medievalism to rebel against industrial machinery. A century later, Timney Fowler's signature neo-classical aesthetic rebelled against minimalist boredom, using the printed image not just as decoration, but as a bold, witty and architectural statement. Sue reveals this shared philosophy and closes by touching on the emergence of the "Lifestyle" movement of the 1980s — the moment when fashion and interiors officially began to merge — and what that has since meant for design.
Biography
Sue Timney is a celebrated British interior and textile designer whose career has spanned Britain, Europe and Japan for over thirty years. Born in North Africa into an Indo-Scots colonial family, her background has strongly influenced her approach to design. Sue is renowned for her distinctive "exotic classicism" and made her name through the influential Timney Fowler brand before launching her own design practice, Sue Timney, in 2002, working across residential and commercial interiors, textiles and product design.
Her work has been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, including in the landmark shows Postmodernism: Style & Subversion 1970–1990 and Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the Eighties. She designed the interior of The Water Tower, a Grand Designs project featured on the BAFTA-nominated Channel 4 programme.
Sue is a Visiting Professor and Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art, and a Fellow of West Dean. She has also served as President of the British Institute of Interior Design and Chair of the Chelsea Arts Club. Most recently, as Creative Director, she has been recognised with multiple International Property Awards for her work in the luxury later-life sector.
In September this year at Charleston, Sue begins her series 'The Uncommon Eye,' starting with her first guest, Bob Geldof on Thursday 24 September at 7.30pm.
Imogen
Rooted in the Landscape - Designing Gardens That Belong
Award-winning garden designer Imogen Perreau joins Gorringe's Oliver Searle for a daytime Q&A at Standen House.
Imogen will reflect on her journey into garden design, sharing the experiences, places and landscapes that have shaped her creative vision. She will discuss the role nature plays in our lives and the sense of wellbeing and connection that thoughtfully designed outdoor spaces can bring, with advice provided for our own outdoor spaces along the way. Plus the story behind her centrepiece feature in the Royal Pavilion at this year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Biography
Growing up on a farm in the Sussex countryside, Imogen spent her early years immersed in the rhythms and beauty of the natural world, exploring fields, woodlands and the changing seasons. From a young age, she developed a deep love of nature, plants and the patterns of the landscape, which would become central to her creative practice.
Imogen’s formal design journey began during a degree in Costume and Set Design at the Arts University Bournemouth, where she discovered a passion for storytelling through space and form. This led to a diverse career across film, television, music and advertising, fusing imagination with intellectual curiosity and taking her to many cities and countries.
A desire for a more holistic life brought her back to Sussex, where she completed a Garden and Landscape Design Diploma with distinction.
Since then, she has won two Gold Medals at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in 2022 and 2023, including Best in Show in 2023. In 2026, she made her debut at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, designing the Monument Feature at the heart of the Great Pavilion.
When not designing, Imogen enjoys walking the South Downs with her Whippet, Sandwich, an elegant and loyal companion.
