Paul Daly is an Irish sculptor and designer, currently based in London's East End.
Daly was born in Raheny, Dublin in 1963. His father Tom was an artist and Daly is a self-taught artist. He left school at age 15 and sold his first painting in a Dublin art gallery in the same year.
Originally hailing from Dublin, Paul spent the 1970s in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Ghana – an eclectic upbringing that would later influence his design work. His early working life spanned the music industry, as a singer in a band, metal work, shipbuilding, and the fashion industry. [1] Paul's career in design began shortly after the completion of his studies with a foundation course in fashion at The National College of Art and Design in Dublin, followed by a BA degree at Goldsmiths College, London [2] in the mid-1980s. Daly's graduation year was shared by other noteworthy names in the design industry, including Gary Hume, Sarah Lucas and Fiona Rae. [3]
In 1987, Paul moved to Manhattan, working with many recognised artists and designers. It was here he founded his own business, designing and creating functional furniture such as tables, chairs and doors. [2] He also worked with Sullivan Bluth Studios for a few years. He worked on two animated films, An American Tale and The Land Before Time. [4]
Paul returned to London in 1988 and set up his own Design Studio and Workshop. The first club project embarked upon by Daly came in the form of Ri Ra, a Dublin venue, in 1993. The same period saw Paul work with U2 on their ‘Zoo TV’ tour. [5] In 1994, work commenced on The Elbow Room in Westbourne Grove – a venue that fused modern design concepts with the humble pool club. It was here that Paul first met fashion designer Ozwald Boateng. This chance encounter led to Paul designing Boateng's Savile Row showroom in 1995. [6] Following this high-profile commission, Daly's volume of work increased dramatically: the following year saw Paul commence work on B Square, Saint, and U2's Pop Mart tour. [7] Since this period in the mid-90s, the focus of his studio has remained largely on design work for the bar and restaurant scene.
Design work to date:
1988-1993 Various private furniture and sculpture commissions
In 2003, Paul Daly opened his first bar, Zigfrid, in London's Hoxton Square, expanding it to incorporate a basement bar, Underbelly, in 2005. The success of these first forays into hospitality was closely followed by the opening of his third venue, Roadtrip, on nearby Old Street in 2008, which serves as the most recent project in his own venue portfolio. However, he has continued to take commissions for outside work, and in 2009 his design for Mayfair nightclub 'Vendome' won Best Designed Venue at the London Club and Bar Awards. [15]
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. Hoxton lies north-east of the City of London and is considered to be a part of London East End and was once part of the civil parish and subsequent Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, prior to its incorporation into Hackney.
Thomas Chippendale was an English woodworker in London, designing furniture in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs in a trade catalogue titled The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director—the most important collection of furniture designs published in England to that point which created a mass market for furniture—upon which success he became renowned. According to the Victoria and Albert Museum, "so influential were his designs, in Britain and throughout Europe and America, that 'Chippendale' became a shorthand description for any furniture similar to his Director designs".
Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin, Ireland. The area is bounded by the Liffey to the north, Dame Street to the south, Westmoreland Street to the east and Fishamble Street to the west. It is promoted as Dublin's 'cultural quarter' and, as a centre of Dublin's city centre's nightlife, is a tourist destination. Temple Bar is in the Dublin 2 postal district.
The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survivors. Hippodrome is an archaic word referring to places that host horse races and other forms of equestrian entertainment.
The Elbow Room is a traditional nightclub in the Aston area of Birmingham, England. It played a significant part in the formation of the rock band, Traffic, in the late 1960s.
The Odyssey Complex, consisting of Odyssey Place and the SSE Arena, is a sports, entertainment and science learning complex located within the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The Former Chicago Historical Society Building is a historic landmark located at 632 N. Dearborn Street on the northwest corner of Dearborn and Ontario streets near downtown Chicago. Built in 1892, the granite-clad building is a prime example of Henry Ives Cobb's Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. Henry Cobb designed this home for Walter Loomis Newberry, founder of the Newberry Library in Chicago. The building was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1997. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, under the name, Old Chicago Historical Society Building.
Ozwald Boateng, OBE is an English fashion designer, best known for his trademark twist on classic tailoring and bespoke styles.
Hakkasan is a Chinese restaurant in Fitzrovia in London, England. It has expanded to many cities worldwide. The restaurant was founded in 2001 by Alan Yau, who was also behind the Wagamama Japanese restaurants and later the Yauatcha restaurant, also in London. It serves modern Cantonese cuisine fused with Western upscale dining experience. The Hakkasan group has branched into hospitality and entertainment including a nightclub opened in Las Vegas.
The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment complex in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which includes a theatre, ballroom and conference facilities. Opened in 1878, it is a Grade II* listed building, operated by Blackpool Entertainment Company Limited on behalf of Blackpool Council, which purchased the property from Leisure Parcs Ltd as part of a £40 million deal in 2010.
Annabel's is a private members' club at 46 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London.
Hoxton Square is a public garden square in the Hoxton area in the London Borough of Hackney. Laid out in 1683, it is thought to be one of the oldest in London. Since the 1990s it has been at the heart of the Hoxton national arts and media hub, as well as hosting entertainment, with globally eclectic musicians, actors and dancers. Most of the square's buildings, quite tall for the Victorian age, diverge in use, with many floors converted to bars, restaurants and offices and at least one live music club of note.
Planet Ice Arena Milton Keynes is a 2,800-capacity multi-purpose ice rink/hockey rink located in Milton Keynes, England, as part of the Leisure Plaza complex.
Stanley Street, in the centre of Liverpool, England, runs south between Dale Street and Whitechapel. As well as being home to numerous businesses ranging from estate agents, solicitors, bars and restaurants, there are also apartments in upper floors of some of the buildings. As part of the Big Dig, the southern half of the street between Whitechapel and Victoria Street was repaved in 2007, and is used as a taxi-rank serving Liverpool's central shopping district and Mathew Street.
MAMA Festivals is a live music and entertainment company which owns and operates a number of live music venues and festivals in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2005, it has acquired many other venue-holding companies, expanding its reach significantly across England.
INK Entertainment is a hospitality and entertainment company headquartered in Toronto that maintains various properties, mostly nightclubs and restaurants, as well as a country club, two annual music festivals, two talent agencies, and the Bisha Hotel & Residences. Most of its properties are located in Toronto, with a few others in Montreal, Niagara Falls, the Miami area, and Las Vegas.
Johannes Torpe is a Danish designer and musician. Since 1997, he has been the CEO and creative director of his eponymous design company, Johannes Torpe Studios, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. The studio's design philosophy takes an multi-disciplinary approach, and is concerned with creating, adaptive, open-minded, and mood-driven spaces.
The Scotsman Group is a Scottish hospitality and leisure operator based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is run by its founder Stefan King. The company operates more than 50 venues in cities all over Scotland, most notably in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Fleet Street is a street on the southside of Dublin, Ireland. Located in the Dublin 2 area, Fleet Street runs eastwards, parallel to the River Liffey, through Temple Bar, across Westmoreland Street to D'Olier Street.