Rural Maps

I spend a lot of time with people who know about geography. One who shall remain nameless is also obsessed with fashion. I am constantly told that rural geography is the key to understanding everything you need to know about ruralEngland. It is the root of all wisdom and all evil, the inspiration for planners good and bad and the means by which we can understand how the countryside shapes people’s lives.

This article is revelatory in that context. It reveals that the skills honed in academic institutions the length and breadth of this land in terms of Geographers and their key props ie maps, are ultimately more influential in terms of interior design than social policy. It tells us:

“Once the preserve of outdoor types, maps are now as much a part of the interior decorator’s armoury as magnolia paint and stripped-wood floors. American magazine Elle Decor recently ran a feature on decorating with maps. John Lewis reports a 150 per cent increase in sales of its decorative maps in the past six months. “Sales of our Bold & Noble’s range ofUKmaps are increasing by 24 per cent each week,” says a spokeswoman for the store. The art crowd is getting in on the act, too: an exhibition of map art opens atLondon’s Air Gallery in November.”