How Alexandra Llewellyn brought her craft to our new cover

From backgammon to the Book of British Luxury, Alexandra Llewellyn’s work for the cover of our 2026/2027 issue proves that the most storied skills are still the most covetable.

“The design is floral and fun, with every element created in marquetry by Joe Geoghegan, who has more than 40 years of experience in the craft,” says Llewellyn. “These florals hark back to my childhood growing up in English gardens, but also a very British notion of beauty.

“I’ve included lots of bees as a nod to community and collaboration across our sector – and the generosity within luxury that Walpole is at the forefront of,” she adds.

Every element on the cover is delicately crafted in wood, assembled in real life, and photographed – we hope you agree – to stunning effect. However, the fun doesn’t stop there. Open the cover and inside you’ll discover each element is deconstructed to demonstrate the sheer craft behind Llewellyn’s work, alongside the tools she and her in-house artisans use – all set against a backgammon board, in homage to her first pieces.

“Backgammon is one of the oldest recorded board games in the world – about as old as marquetry,” continues Llewellyn. Both have existed for over four millennia, FYI. “In a digital age, I’m very conscious of the importance of human interaction. With this cover, I wanted to show collaboration in craftsmanship, but also the collaboration of human ideas and two people sitting down to play a game together.”

And yes, that backgammon board is big enough to actually play on. “I’ve put some marquetry dice on the inside cover to symbolise this,” says Llewellyn, “but if you need the real thing, I’ll lend you some!”

Game on.

* Figures from Walpole Luxury in the Making study (2024)

Thanks to our partners who have made the creation and distribution of the Walpole Book of British Luxury 2026/2027 possible: Freight Brokers, GF Smith, IDP, Nous, and Paragon.