Artisan: A Fair Game

First introduced to the game of backgammon by her step grandfather in the streets of Cairo, Alexandra Llewellyn started by designing and crafting backgammon boards, but since 2010 designs and hand paints the built-to-order pieces. SuperyachtDesign spoke to her about her work, inspiration and what makes bespoke pieces like this so appealing.

“There is something very attractive about creating games that people will play for years to come,” Llewellyn tells us. “I love to imagine the conversations and games that will take place over the years.”

Llewellyn explains how she as always been an artist who has made things, originally working in product development using a huge range of materials from silver to china and textiles. She was first introduced to backgammon by her Egyptian step-grandfather while wandering the alleys of Cairo when she was a child. “I continued to love it on my travels over the years,” she says. “Then when living in Madrid I built and painted 30 one-off designs and they sold instantly.” In 2010 she launched her own designs and now has a collection of six as well as creating bespoke commissions to order.



“The idea that games are a universal language inspires me,” Llewellyn explains. “I have played with people from completely different cultures, ages and languages but we are still able laugh and share a game.”

For Llewellyn, the bespoke pieces are particularly special and she describes them as “like a biography of the client’s life”. Each commission, rather than being client-led or led by Llewellyn only, is a collaboration. Starting with a list of questions, Llewellyn tries to prompt their ideas and then sends them an initial concept. When a design is agreed upon, they then decide on what materials to use and go back and forth with the design until it is perfect. “The client really takes a leap of faith,” she says. “It always looks a million times better when actually painted, so it is always wonderful when they finally receive the piece.”



“Each piece is a wonderful journey as each person's story is so different,” says Llewellyn, who describes an African-themed backgammon table commission, made from ripple sycamore with the design taken from photographs of African tribeswomen that had been taken by the client's friend. The playing pieces were made from Lapis Lazuli and rock crystal and were engraved with all the bars he had drunk at in Africa. The pieces are often extremely personal. One board was made up of lines from the client's old love letters from her husband.

Each bespoke piece is made in the UK with Lewellyn creating the design digitally and deciding on which woods to use. The six boards in her collection are made in Portugal and painted in the UK, and feature different veneers and aluminium for the pieces and the playing surfaces are digitally printed, with some designs hand-painted. For the bespoke pieces, machined brass casings faced with semi-precious stones and mother of pearl are used. The boards mostly use American black walnut as according to Llewellyn, the colours work really well with a black background and the hand painted playing surface.



“To create and own something that nobody else has is increasingly appealing to people,” says Lewellyn on the appeal of bespoke. “My clients react to being so emotionally invested in a piece, and also the thought that goes into each stage of choosing the materials and building the design makes it more special and luxurious.”

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