Her father was a well-known Melbourne interior designer who, after meeting his wife Julia Baker overseas, moved back to Australia where he managed famous furniture designer Grant Featherstone’s business, Featherstone Interiors in Melbourne’s Lonsdale Street before opening a design business with colleague Bill Snell.
Julia, who also was involved in the interior business, later opened one of Melbourne’s first homeware stores called Pfiaff in Mount Eliza.
Following in her parent’s footsteps, Sally Bloomfield started an interior design career with Sue Carr at Inarc Design before travelling to Europe and London where she worked at Designers Guild in Kings Road.
On her return to Australia, Sally moved into the fashion world eventually becoming part of fashion advertising and PR company Style Council.
She eventually married nightclub owner Ian Robertson and they bought South Yarra’s Albany Hotel, which they extensively renovated and from where many of the auction’s mid-century pieces originate.
At the same time the couple took on the enormous project of Melbourne GPO’s converted level 2 which contained thee dining areas and a nightclub.
In 2012, Sally and Ian sold the Albany Hotel and moved to Bali where they planned to build their dream hotel.
Four years later, halfway through its construction, Ian unexpectedly died leaving Sally to complete the project on her own. As a probably much needed distraction, in 2017 Sally agreed to be part of the season four of the Real Housewives of Melbourne.
Her collection includes a Grant Featherstone (1922-1995) R160 chair (Lot 6 ) and two pairs of George II silver candlesticks by London’s Ebenezer Coker (lots 60 and 62) dating from 1759 to 1768.
An 1820s George IV sterling silver flatware suite comprising about 75 pieces with mixed makers and marks and the Bloomfield crest (Lot 78 ) is another attraction from the collection.
Also in the auction is an early 19th century Anglo-Colonial Padouk centre table (Lot 385 ), a Ferdinand Priess (1882-1943) bronze entitled German The Torch Dancer circa 1925 (Lot 326 ) and a 20th century pair of Iranian Tabriz rugs (Lot 215 ) – part of a much wider collection.
