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The Druid Way

Save Talliston House and Gardens

May 24th, 2014

GilesG The Watchtower sofassmallA campaign has been launched to save Talliston House & Gardens. The ex-Council house transformed into an interior design wonderland is on the brink of being lost forever.

Once an ordinary house in an ordinary street, over the past 24 years, Talliston House & Gardens has been transformed into a wonderland of unique and inspirational locations. Set to be completed in October 2015, recently the project has been hit with severe financial hardship resulting in the launching of an Indiegogo campaign to help save this unique interior design project, art installation and community for craftspeople, writers, artists. Click here to find out how you can help save Talliston House & Gardens.

At its core, the project is an exploration of the concept of the extraordinary within the ordinary. It’s about exploring how we all have inside us the power to be whatever we want or can imagine.

So it began with the ordinary:

Three-bedroomed semi-detached ex-council house in Essex

And will finish with the extraordinary:

Talliston will comprise thirteen stunning locations, grouped into five elements and set across more than six-thousand years of history, from 4000 BC to 2228 AD. Each room or garden is infused with a rich story, incorporating hundreds of authentic antiques and objects sourced from across the globe.

And all this was done by one man and his growing team of artists, craftspeople and volunteers – all inspired by the project’s unique vision. Now, the culmination of over two decades of design, sourcing and  rebuilding is threatened due to financial difficulties of the driving force and creator, John Trevillian.  As the project is internally funded, Trevillian is calling for help and support from the interior designers, art and history lovers alike who have already discovered and are captivated by Talliston – and want to see the future of this unique and magical place secured forever.

“The process is to deconstruct each room back to the brickwork and rebuild from scratch, has always been limited by the factors of time and money. This house is funded by myself and the generous support of the Friends of Talliston. Now with the news that financially we are less than three months away from repossession is devastating.

“Building Talliston was always quite a brave undertaking, but made more so because the person who started this quarter-century journey – ie. me – could not even wire a household plug. Talliston is a house designed as a place where time has no power, akin to stepping inside a living, breathing work of art… It is a massive enterprise, and we are only eighteen months from making it a reality. Any help to secure the project’s completion and future will be of inestimable value. ” – John Trevillian  Creator and Project Lead, Talliston House & Gardens

The Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign begins on 24th May 2014 and runs for 31 days.

Before and after photography and full information on each location can be found on www.talliston.com.

About Talliston House & Gardens

Talliston House & Gardens Mission

1. TASK: To take an ordinary house (three-bedroomed, semi-detached, ex-council house in Essex) and transform it into an extraordinary labyrinth of locations from different times and places, so that not a single square centimetre of the original house remains, while:

– keeping the orientation and use of the original rooms

– only adding those elements that a typical council-bought house would contain (conservatory, kitchen extension, garden shed, etc.)

– utilising only those tradesmen and craftspeople required by law or necessity, with all other work accomplished by core team and volunteers.

2. TIME: Exactly twenty-five years, starting at midday on 6th October 1990 and finishing at midday on 6th October 2015.

3. COST: To do so without any outside funding over and above the time and finances of ordinary people.

The Friends of Talliston is a non-profit group being created to preserve and restore the house, gardens and inventory.

Web links to the Indigogo page can be found here on the Talliston website.

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