It's a classic question for celebrity interviews and dinner party conversation starters alike, 'If you could have anyone, living or dead, who would you invite to your dream dinner party?' So we thought we'd ask fun-loving and fantastically talented Holly McCulloch of Bow & Arrow Press to tell us who she would invite – and give it a Papier illustrated twist. We'll leave it to our genial host to introduce her guests.
This list is quite off-the-cuff – the first people that came to mind. I've invited guests who I think will be a laugh and have some amazing life stories to tell and anecdotes to share.
Jean Rhys is an author who wrote Wide Sargasso Sea– a novel written as a prequel to Jane Eyre about the life of Bertha before she is confined to the attic. Jean Rhys had a really interesting life: a childhood in the Caribbean, a down and out demimondaine, a volunteer worker in the First World War, lived in Paris, London and Vienna, married 3 times, and that's just the start. She dealt with many challenges and led an unconventional life. I would love to hear more about her story and her daring way of looking at the world.
Anni Albers was a student and then a teacher at the Bauhaus art and design school in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s, specialising in weaving. Her textile designs are bold and experimental. If I could time travel, I would love to have been a student at the Bauhaus, so I'm inviting Anni to hear tales from her experiences at the art school. I'd also love to hear her theories on design, colour and pattern.
Obviously an incredible woman, musician and philanthropist. I think the dinner party would not be complete without Dolly. She can spin a good yarn and would have everyone laughing.
My paternal grandmother. I never met Joyce as she died before I was born but I have heard wonderful things about her. I would love to invite her to hear stories from her life which I never knew and hopefully some juicy family secrets.
Food and Drink
I am nothing special at cooking, so I would leave that to the incredibly talented Sophie at Loam Kitchen. She specialises in beautiful, epic dishes that are super healthy, combining delicious and beautiful fresh ingredients. We would enjoy a feast that would leave everyone feeling good!
For dessert, I would serve cakes from Lizzy's On The Green – Lizzy is an amazing baker of delicious cakes. At this party I would serve her Guiness and chocolate cake, which is out of this world delicious.
Most importantly at this dinner party are the drinks. I would hope it would be a boozy occasion, so we would have a bar at dinner serving any and every drink but definitely lots of champagne and strong cocktails.
If you'd like to use Holly's illustrations to invite guests to your own party browse the Bow & Arrow Press designer page to see her full Papier collection of invitations, notebooks and greeting cards.
