NO. 26 CHARLIE SHEPPARD: Up Our Street - 8 Holland Street's neighbours, near and far

It is a bright Thursday morning in the middle of July. A heatwave has settled over London and the sun pours through the skylights of Charlie Sheppard's home studio, catching stacks of colourful ceramic tiles, books, sketches and half-finished mosaics. Every room seems to hold something creative. Flowers spill from the garden into the house, while ceramic busts left behind by a previous owner sit quietly amongst the borders outside, as though they have always belonged.

Charlie and his wife Rosie, a collage artist, have lived here for a year and a half. Both artists, they have turned the house into a place where work and home fold seamlessly into one another.

"We are in my home studio on the border of Dulwich and Forest Hill," Charlie says. "Rosie and I both work from the house, so every day it's a hive of creativity. She's cutting collages or photographing work in one room while I'm smashing tiles and making a mess in another."

The house, he explains, already had creative bones long before they arrived. "The previous owner was a photographer who used this as her photo studio, and before that it belonged to someone who worked in sound for film. Now it's my mosaic studio. I like the idea that we're simply continuing the creative lineage of the house."

The studio itself is calm despite the controlled chaos of making. White walls are offset by a glorious painted yellow floor, inspired by the warm floors of 8 Holland Street’s Bath Gallery, near to where Charlie grew up. It radiates the same optimism found throughout his work.

"My ceramic materials are so colourful that I wanted the space itself to stay fairly neutral, but I painted the floor yellow because it just makes me happy," he laughs. "I think every year I'll paint it a different colour. Dusty pink might be next."

Above an old plan chest hangs a remarkable wooden sorting rack, once used in a post office to organise letters, now carefully filled with ceramic tiles arranged by colour.

"I found it at a flea market in Shepton Mallet. It deserved a new chapter. Now it helps me choose colour combinations."

Everywhere there are clues to Charlie's process. Drawings and plans lean against the walls. Piles of broken tiles wait patiently to become flowers, leaves and suns. Even the light seems to become part of the work, drifting across the surfaces throughout the day.

Nature has always been the starting point. "One thing that has always been a huge source of inspiration is simply being outside," he says. "My mum is a gardener and she always encouraged the idea that outside is better than in. From an early age she spoke passionately about the changing landscape, the colours, the smells, the way gardens evolve through the seasons. As I've got older, that appreciation has really sunk in. There's a fairly direct line between that and the floral subject matter in my work."

That connection has become even stronger while preparing Daisy Chain. Much of the exhibition has been conceived and made outdoors, surrounded by the very plants that find their way into the finished mosaics.

"Through spring, summer and autumn I make a lot of my ceramic tile work outside, surrounded by flowers and foliage. It's pretty special to experience and it has a significant impact on the work, this show has largely been made outside in the garden.”

Flowers, in Charlie's hands, are never still life. "I love their peculiar personalities," he says. "They splay beyond the edge of their frame or flop from one canvas onto another. They're unpredictable."

Propped against one wall is a large mosaic sun, still unfinished, its rich mustard and burgundy tones waiting for grout to bring the composition together. It will become one of the centrepieces of Daisy Chain.

"This is one of the works for the show. It's an abstracted sun which should really spring to life once it's grouted. I'm still testing colours but I'm leaning towards a dirty burgundy-red. The sun will sit amongst the botanical works, many of which have long shadows running through them. I like the idea that this piece is the source of those shadows."

For Charlie, making rarely begins and ends inside the studio walls. "I work throughout the house, but the physical mosaic making happens either here or in the garden. Creativity doesn't really fit into a neat nine-to-five. I like having the studio at home because I can make whenever ideas arrive."

As we wander back through the house, past bookshelves, flowers and objects collected over time, it becomes clear that nothing feels overly arranged. The house is simply an extension of Charlie's practice: joyful, colourful and always evolving, much like the gardens that continue to inspire him.

My ideal neighbours would be...

"Eccentric and playful. Our next-door neighbour rides a penny farthing, which I think is brilliant. I haven't plucked up the courage to have a go on it just yet... maybe one day."

The house I'd like to live in is...

"We spend quite a bit of time in Mallorca and it's a huge source of inspiration for my work. I'd love a small beachside flat in Portixol or a house with a studio attached in the hills outside Sóller."

Tomorrow I will...

"The weather is looking good, so I'll test a few grout colours for the large sun mosaic from the garden, then make a start on the next piece for Daisy Chain. That sounds like a pretty fun day to me.”

CHARLIE SHEPPARD: DAISY CHAIN, an exhibition bringing together a new body of mosaic works that celebrates the playful relationship between people and flowers on show at 8 Holland Street’s Kensington Gallery from 10 September - 7 November 2026.