By Patricia Belyea
LONDON UK It was a few minutes before 9am when Brandon opened the door to the Kaffe Fassett Collective studio, tucked away in the Camden district of London.
We began our visit in his private first-floor space, where Brandon introduced me to his lively hat collection. “Hats make the man!” he declared. The knit bowler he wore that day certainly made its own statement.
We climbed upstairs to the living room — an eclectic space brimming with china Buddhas, needlepoint pillows, a mantle topped with ceramic treasures, and closets bursting with quilts.
Settling into a large white couch, Brandon told me his story. As a young man, he dreamed of attending art school, but his parents sent him to catering college instead. After three years of culinary training, he apprenticed in London. When he spotted an ad for a cook at a camp in upstate New York, he was off to America. There he made his way up to head chef over the next few years.
On one of his returns to London, fate intervened at a bus stop. Brandon struck up a conversation with a tall American in a long black coat — Kaffe Fassett. Kaffe invited Brandon to visit his art studio, described simply as “a second floor flat, no curtains, big tapestry in view.”
When Brandon stopped by a few days later, Kaffe’s studio was a whirl of creative chaos. Brandon’s natural instinct was to bring order to the place, so he began turning up two days a week to help out.
After three months, Kaffe accepted Brandon’s proposal to join his studio full-time. Not sure how it would all work out, Kaffe charged Brandon that he would need to form his own way. That was in 1990. Thirty-five years later, Brandon has become a leading textile designer and quilting personality. Brandon commented “it is an incredible journey we have shared.”
After a time, Kaffe and Brandon became a double act. And the Studio expanded to the bottom flat and then the top flat of the three-story townhouse.
As we finished tea, Brandon shared a bit of life wisdom: "Nothing is ever one-sided. Learn where it’s best to put your energy, or you won’t find yourself."
Before beginning our tour of the grand house filled with decades of artistry, we compared notes as fellow twins. We both admitted that we enjoyed being twins. Brandon’s twin sister Belinda is his best buddy and she helps the studio with social media.
In the hallway-turned-library, two vivid pillows caught my eye. “We designed those for Fine Cell Work,” Brandon explained. The next design will read: YOU ARE LOVED.
I learned that Fine Cell Work is a British charity that teaches prisoners fine needlework skills and pays them for their work.
The bathroom offered a colorful surprise — a watermelon-themed sink commissioned by Kaffe from a pottery friend.
On the staircase hung a vegetable needlepoint kit that could be stitched as one large tapestry or made into six smaller projects.
In the sunlit upstairs studio, easels stood ready for painting. From a flat file, Brandon pulled one of his fabric designs: “My style is bolder and more modern than Kaffe’s,” he said.
We stopped by Dorothy’s office — she’d made me a lovely lemon-ginger tea earlier — where I spied graphic buttons by Dill Button Factory in Bavaria, spools of ribbons by Renaissance Ribbons, and shelves of books. Since 1985, Kaffe and the studio team have authored 62 books, with three more due out this year.
In Kaffe’s workspace, Brandon showed me the new Oliso iron collection. Over the top of the door hung a length of Brandon’s own fabric — joyful flowers and polka dots in a riot of color.
Brandon had a busy day ahead so I departed just before 11am. It was a delight to spend my morning with Brandon.
Color Confidence in America
Next year, Kaffe and Brandon will bring their Color Confidence workshops to the U.S. “It will be lots of fun,” Brandon promised.
A Week with the Color Guys: Kaffe and Brandon
GLORIOUS COLOR RETREAT
Hosted by Madeline Island School of the Arts
Tucson AZ
SUN Jan 25 to FRI Jan 30, 2026
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Santa Fe NM
SUN May 10 to FRI May 15, 2026
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ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria import vintage Japanese textiles, host in-person and online creative quilting experiences, and lead textile tours to Japan.
FOLLOW OKAN ARTS ON INSTAGRAM @okanarts
