hempel yacht design

Anouska Hempel’s sailing boat is as legendary as the designer herself

Legendary designer anouska hempel holidays in grand fashion—on her personal sailing boat, a traditional gulet with black sails.

• Share on facebook
• " data-post-id="94278">

Anouska Hempel—or Lady Weinberg, as she is known in her private life—is dealing with a downpour. Or rather her crew is. This is the downside of having a boat, even if it is in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Mallorca in May. Men far more dashing than your typical deckhand hurry below with cushions and mattresses, as the boat’s owner and designer takes refuge beneath the expansive awning to chat.

If the unexpectedly inclement weather is the downside, the upside is the 28-metre-long boat itself. A traditional wooden gulet, the purchase of the Beluga 1, as it was named, took place in Bodrum, Turkey, some 15 years ago. Out of the water and perched on stilts at the end of the season, even in its poorly state it was a case of love at first sight. The decisive Hempel went into the nearest bar and “chatted up” two trusty sailors (“one’s name was Genghis”) willing to navigate it to Mallorca “by the stars and the moon”, a journey that took three weeks.

SLOW, STEADY The restoration and renovation job took well over a year. And it’s an ongoing project, “because you have to look after a wooden boat very, very well”. Stretching wide in the water, with its distinctive black sails, the Beluga 1 has become an enviable and instantly identifiable classic—spotted around the Mediterranean from Seville to Istanbul and the Amalfi Coast. It’s available to hire throughout the summer months, hand-picked crew included, and Hempel says she manages to snag only about two weeks on it each year.

Much has been made of her desire to buck the trend for the type of slick yacht favoured by her peers. For her, the reason is simple. “I didn’t want a speedboat,” she explains. “I didn’t want anything that goes fast around the Mediterranean. I’m a gypsy and a slow one, so I needed to be on my own ground and be in an environment that I liked, and it’s easier to do that in a beautiful, big, wooden [boat] than it is on a very lovely, compact, white shiny thing.”

Encroachments from the modern world such as lights and switches are hidden as much as they can be, and the exquisite interior has a focus on the functional. In the kitchen, sinks have a wooden rim to avoid chipping plates, drawers are without handles, and heavy baskets are on tracks for easy sliding.

CONDUCIVE TO CHANGE For Hempel, working on a boat as opposed to a hotel was “common sense”. She says, “All you have to do is make sure everything is in its place, [that] there’s a place for everything, and make sure things are secure. You need [an innate] common sense at the end of the day.”

An innate sense of style doesn’t hurt, either. In the space below deck—transformed from a warren of small cabins into three-to-four exquisite ones—wood, unsurprisingly, dominates. The charming interiors have strong competition, however, in the aft deck—with its awning stretching the width of the boat, and its surfeit of divans and cushions that encourage worry-free lounging in the place with the best view.

At the time of this interview, Hempel was getting ready to work her magic on the boat once more, in what would be its fifth makeover. The overhaul was going to be entirely cosmetic: “You never change everything on a boat this age,” she pointed out.

What’s changing is the colour scheme: “Going from ginger to saffron, if you want to go down the spice route with me,” Hempel smiles. “Saffron and turmeric and mustard and black. The chef will be doing food to match—basically Asian with an Italian twist.” Given the designer’s eye for the subtly special detail, that seems a given. Any yacht-spotters out there shouldn’t get too used to the new incarnation. Creative urges and itchy fingers indicate the scheme has perhaps a two-year lifespan. After that, “Mustard will be out and wasabi will be in!” she suggests with a laugh. And the menu adjusted accordingly, of course.

THINGS TO COME A famous beauty with impeccable style, her razor-sharp intellect is also coupled with a tireless work ethic. She is the first to admit that she doesn’t suffer fools gladly, nor, when it comes to her exacting vision, any tedious attempts to water it down. “‘I will not be value-engineered’—it will say that on my tombstone,” she states enigmatically, her disarming sense of humour laced with something a tad spikier.

The clientele of her eponymous design firm might be at the high end of the market, but she’s not afraid of spreading her talent around—if the project makes sense. “Give me an old tanker and I’ll turn it into a student hotel. It has to be wild and wonderful.” But not just her name slapped on any old thing. “It’s got to be something amusing. It can’t just be a rubber mat for the bath that you don’t slip on.”

While luxurious black-sailed gulets have yet to be dumbed down for the masses, she’s rather Zen-like about the re-appropriation of her ideas in general. “Everyone copies everything you do anyway. The moment you open a hotel you’ve had it. You’re exposing yourself to the riff-raff and the gentry of the world—all with the same turn of the key.”

Anouska Hempel Design, and its team of 30, is currently working on apartment blocks, hotels, restaurants, palaces, and several big gardens, from Dubai to Istanbul and Manchester. The late-July to early-August period will witness the opening of two hotels: Blakes Singapore (carrying forward the legacy of the boutique hotel that started it all) and the Franklin, in Knightsbridge, London.

“Bored? I’m too busy to be bored. I think that’s a terrible word!” she replies incredulously when asked about the impetus behind her unceasing workload. “You can’t be bored. Life’s too busy and wonderful and there’s always something around the corner.” Navigated, undoubtedly, with grace and a steady hand—just like she sails.

Photo courtesy Anouska Hempel Design

The view from the bow of the Beluga 1, owned by London-based designer Anouska Hempel.

The lights and lamp in the study  are from the Anouska Hempel Design couture collection. The baskets are in leather.

The tables in the foreground are by Anouska Hempel Design; in the background a Riva motor boat is in tow.

Now Playing: Inside the Manali home of Kangana Ranaut

• Architecture
• Craftsmanship
• Entertaining
• Perspective
• Living Room
• AD Weekender
• AD X JSW CRAFT PRIZE 2023
• Queo x AD100
• AD Design Show
• Design divas season 4

• Editors And Writers
• Terms & Conditions

ASSOCIATE SITES :

GQ India | VOGUE India | Condé Nast Traveller India

Global Presence

• Mexico / Latin America

© 2024 Condé Nast India

Choose your location

• Where to buy
• Inspiration

The largest North American distribution network available through SeaWide

Dealers who desire to become Approved Applicators please contact your SeaWide Sales Representative for details. Phone 1-866-SEAWIDE (732-9433).

SELECT A REGION

Product name.

Log in or Sign up

You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser .

hempel paints

Discussion in ' Metal Boat Building ' started by bigbear69 , Jan 8, 2010 .

bigbear69 Junior Member

Anyone have any experience with using hempel brand paints on a steel yacht? just wondering about quality etc compared to other brands ie altex and international being the other 2 readily available here, but more expensive. much appreciated  

apex1 Guest

First quality, no doubt. Look at my Gallery, all Hempel. Regards Richard  

MikeJohns Senior Member

Most of the brand names are good, the industrial paints are usually much better value for the exactly the same chemicals than the marine brands, and often have a much lower thinners content. Thinners makes it easier to apply but it's the epoxy you want. We use a Dulux product a lot (durbild) on all sorts of vessels. Paint sellers will say you need a 'marine paint' but they are the same chemicals for the same type of epoxy and theres no magic extra ingredient. International brand was the poorest value for money the last time I compared them. However some of the marine paint suppliers have good local support people who can drop in onsite for free. Then you are paying for this service, then they will also stand by there product and advice if it falls off. The most significant thing for a long lasting job is surface preparation and then to build up a generous coating thickness in the best possible conditions (dry, warm, low due point). Epoxies don't go off and despite use by dates they usually remain usable even a decade after manufacture. If they crystalize you re-melt using heat and they are viable again, you can save a fortune picking up 'old' epoxy and then put 500 microns on rather than 150. Some of the epoxies are now 100% solids so they don't shrink at all after application and can be applied to 3000 microns per coat ! Hope this helps. You are welcome to email or PM me if you want more info.  

• Advertisement:

cheers mike, yeah I was wondering about the different products etc And the marine label. there is a hempel warehouse about 5 mins from home. and the price for their system is 1/4 of Altex system. 500 mls of Altex 2 pack poly top coat is $90 NZ and $130 NZ for 5 litres of Hempel 2 pack. Quite a difference. thought I'd just enquire if the more expensive paints are going to be much better than cheaper brands etc. I have a 42 ft steel sloop project that I will be needing to paint sometime this year and for me cost is always an issue. thanks for your info.  

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

• Become a Member

• Coatings & Linings
• Sustainability
• Cathodic Protection
• Chemical Treatment
• Materials Selection & Design
• Phorgotten Phenomena
• Failure Analyses
• Case Histories
• Corrosion Basics
• MP Buyers Guide
• Whitepapers
• Sponsored Content
• Tank Supplement
• Pipeline Supplement
• Cathodic Protection Supplement
• Featured Videos
• Submit Manuscript

Hempel Partners with Seawide to Expand Yacht Market Reach

H empel A/S (Copenhagen, Denmark), a leading provider of yacht coatings, announced a strategic distribution agreement that will introduce its market-leading biocide-free products in North America and Canada, significantly enhancing its presence and distribution capabilities. Hempel has partnered with Seawide (Murrieta, California, USA), a leading distributor of marine electronics and accessories. 

This partnership opens up exciting possibilities for Hempel as it looks to expand its market share and deliver biocide-free underwater protection for North American yacht customers. 

“Seawide, a respected distributor with a strong presence in the North American market and a reputation for excellence and reliability, was our first choice for representing Hempel’s yacht products,” says Alexander Enstroem, executive vice president, head of marine at Hempel A/S. “This distribution agreement represents a significant milestone for us at Hempel. It enables us to better serve our North American customers, strengthening our commitment to delivering exceptional yacht paint solutions. We are confident that our partnership with Seawide will drive growth, increase accessibility, and provide outstanding and more sustainable solutions for our customers.”

“We are excited to have exclusive rights to sell Hempel’s Silic One, an innovative solution designed to protect vessels from the harmful effects of marine growth while minimizing the environmental impact of the products used,” says Lacey Neahr, category director, Seawide. “We chose to partner with Hempel because their antifouling solutions do not include copper or other biocides that affect marine life. In addition, Hempel’s proven technology reduces maintenance time and costs and makes any vessel more efficient for better performance and lower fuel costs.” 

Source: Hempel, www.hempel.com .

White Papers

By Automa S.R.L.

By Corrosion Innovations

• Enhanced Integrity, Safety, and Monitoring Through Innovation
• Inorganic Zinc Coatings: Corrosion Control Comparisons and Use Cases

More Articles

Choose your location

Hempel Yacht

Hempafire xtr 100.

After 10 years of continuous success in the passive fire protection (PFP) market with its cellulosic range of products, Hempel launched its first product for the hydrocarbon PFP segment: Hempafire XTR 100.

• Product search
• Versiline CUI
• All functions
• Antifouling Marine
• Cargo Holds
• Fouling Release/Defence (Marine)
• Horizontal Concrete Surfaces (ME Deco)
• PFP Cellulosic
• Pipe Coating
• Primer/Intermediate
• Cargo Tanks
• PFP Hydrocarbon
• Wind Blades
• Road Marking
• Antifouling Yacht
• Decorative Middle East
• CUI/High Heat/Insulation
• Fouling Release/Defence (Yacht)
• All markets
• Oil & Gas
• Infrastructure

Want to enhance your knowhow so you can carry out your own coating inspections? We offer inspections courses, FROSIO certifications and training services. Find the course for you.

• Course calendar
• Contact Hempel
• Colour Converter
• Container shades

Technical Guidelines

Get the edge.

We’ve been with the wind industry since the beginning and offer corrosion solutions for wind turbines – from towers to blades and now leading edge protection (LEP).

• All applications
• Civil structures
• Other infrastructure
• Cellulosic fire protection
• Newbuilding
• CUI and high heat coatings
• Hydrocarbon fire protection
• Thermal Power
• Wind Turbine Blades
• Professional
• Private (HempelYacht.com)

Introducing Futureproof

The framework through which we will deliver our strategic goal of sustainability leadership.

• Sustainability

Join Hempel

We have employees in more than 80 countries, and we speak almost as many languages. But we’re all part of the Hempel family with a desire to paint our world stronger, safer and longer lasting.

• Working at Hempel
• Career development
• Hempel Foundation

Getting the most out of Hempel's products

Hempel has a multitude of products designed for a broad range of areas and exposure conditions. It is essential to apply these products onto a properly prepared surface using the correct application method, to achieve the expected performance of the coating system.

At Hempel, we have prepared a number of Technical guidelines to help you get the most out of our products. The documents are intended for professional use and provide generic advice. If you are in doubt or have any questions about specific details, your local Hempel representative is available to help you. 

Explanatory notes to PDS

Surface preparation 

Application 

Product families

Repair and maintenance

Tank linings

Quality control and inspection

with Hempel

Place your orders and keep control of order history and invoices online

Simplify your business

Join our customer portal and make doing business with Hempel even easier

Get in contact

Get in contact with one of our experts if you would like to find out more

PRODUCT NAME

We use cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you agree to our Cookie Policy .

• The voice of design

How Anouska Hempel rewrote the interior design aesthetics of an era

The andrew martin lifetime achievement award 2022 was given to anouska hempel for her elusive, impossible to define but instantly recognisable design.

Most of us know the headline facts about the designer Anouska Hempel. She was the gorgeous blonde Bond girl ( On Her Majesty’s Secret Service ) who became Lady Weinberg, and beyond that we associate her with the two hotel projects that made her name: Blakes and The Hempel. When Blakes, with its lush, dark, exotic, maximalist interiors, opened in Roland Gardens in 1978, it catapulted Hempel to fame, and three years later she graced the first ever cover of World of Interiors .

Then in 1997 came The Hempel, a cool white façade on a leafy Bayswater square that came to define minimalism. Both hotels were created decades ago and The Hempel no longer exists, yet such was the imprint left by Hempel on our collective imagination that there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that her Lifetime Achievement Award at the Andrew Martin Interior Design Awards last week was well-deserved. At a private ceremony at the V&A, Princess Michael of Kent presented Hempel with her award to rapturous applause.

The Design Awards were founded in 1996 by Martin Waller, the man behind Andrew Martin , whose flamboyant designs and textiles, sourced from all over the world, have earned him a reputation for being the Indiana Jones of interior design . Waller set up the awards in response to what he saw as a grievous void in the recognition of extraordinary international talent in interior design. They remain the only global design awards in the world and have become known as the Oscars of the design world, a mandatory event on any designer’s calendar. Past winners read like an international Who’s Who of design greats – Kelly Hoppen, Nicky Haslam, Rose Uniacke, Tara Bernerd, Jamie Drake and Kit Kemp .

So, when it comes to Hempel, Waller credits her with reinventing the entire way we perceive hotels. “The post-war paradigm was the Hilton or Sheraton,” he says. “Whether you were in Kuala Lumpur or London, you knew you could rely on exactly the same bland, reliable experience. That went on for years until Hempel blew all that sky high with Blakes.”

I do everything I can to make the world a better, more beautiful place than I found it. Leave a wonderful place for the young to see, because if you don’t, they will never know of the magnificence that is possible. Anouska Hempel

Waller continues: “We accept what she did now as the norm, but back then it was revolutionary to make every room different, to paint the walls black and pair Chinese antique furniture with blocks of framed flower prints or rows of identical cacti in black lacquer planters. No-one had ever seen a Louis Vuitton trunk used as a coffee table.  She brought things in from all over the world. I remember seeing this beautiful Syrian chest of drawers inlaid with mother-of-pearl – it was a revelation. Before her, architects ruled with an ordered, crisp, restrained look, so this was a radical change of direction. She’s a giant in our world – as important as Ralph Lauren and David Hicks.”

Hempel was born on a boat between Papua New Guinea and Wellington in New Zealand, where her family stayed until she was about five. They then moved to a sheep farm in Australia, where Hempel and her sister were expected to muck in, cleaning, packing and plucking and freezing chickens.

Hempel claims the experience set her up for everything she went on to do, making her “incredibly resourceful and creative”. Her first foray into acting was in a Cadbury’s Flake commercial and she went on to become an actor, but always yearned to direct and design as well. “I’ve always been a designer and don’t remember a single moment where I wasn’t fascinated with sheer beauty,” Hempel says. “Even at five, I was moving things around at home to make it look more stylish. My imagination has always been my strength, and I knew that I had the flair and the energy to become a designer.”

With two little children in tow, she began selling silver on Portobello Road and came into the hotel business by chance: “I was meeting wonderful people within the film industry and realised that there was absolutely nowhere beautiful and amusing to stay. I wanted to create hotel where guests could step through the doors and discover a place of unconventional, welcoming luxury.”

Waller underscores Hempel’s pioneering impact: “People credit Ian Schrager with inventing the boutique hotel, but he came along in the 80s after Anouska,” he says. “She’s the quintessential Renaissance woman, creating rather than riding the zeitgeist. We forget what a trailblazer she was, blowing away those pretty, prissy, country house interiors with her exotic cluttered rooms that were masculine, opulent and gorgeously decadent. The awards are so necessary to shine a spotlight on these rare talents.”

When The Hempel opened, it was a dramatic departure from Blakes, yet remained defiantly her own. Black had become Hempel’s signature colour, boldly and abundantly used for emphasis and drama, enhanced by contrasting rich tans and gleaming golds. Then suddenly, here was an all-white oasis of purity and calm. “It was drastically different and contemporary beyond anything the world had ever seen,” says Hempel. “The ultimate in minimalism, you could still tell it was my hand, but inspired by the principles of Zen Buddhist philosophy and the importance of experientialism over materialism.” Staying at The Hempel was to succumb to luxurious serenity, evoked by its clean, sparse, white symmetry and order. It instantly attracted celebrities from Victoria Beckham to Michael Jackson.

On receiving her award, Hempel said she was “delighted and humbled, thrilled to be acknowledged in this way,” adding that she was working just as much as she always had. Indeed, current projects include the overall design for an Italian-based yacht , hotels in Chile, Philadelphia and Marrakech. Recent projects include the hotel Monsieur George in Paris, a significant private residence at No. 3 Grafton Street London, and the gardens, interiors, architecture and landscaping of her own country property, Shaw.

The Andrew Martin Interior Design Review is published alongside the awards every year, comprising the work of 100 outstanding designers. Hempel is described in this year’s volume as the “savant of the visual”, with her elusively beautiful designs impossible to define yet undeniably and distinctly her own. Perhaps it’s her belief in creating utopias – and her faith in beauty’s power to soothe – that will ensure the legacy of her design. “Everywhere I go, I try to leave a statement and my mark – a bit of magic and nonsense,” she says.

“I do everything I can to make the world a better, more beautiful place than I found it. Leave a wonderful place for the young to see, because if you don’t, they will never know of the magnificence that is possible.” If there is a word that encapsulates Anouska Hempel ’s style it’s probably ‘magnificence’ because, of all designers, she has been seen time and time again to push the boundaries of what is possible.

Effect Magazine  is brought to you by  Effetto