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Author Archives: festivalofpattern
‘At Home Glamour’: explaining the housecoat to consumers in mid-twentieth century Britain.
While researching Horrockses Fashions a few years ago I bought a couple of their housecoats. These full-length glamorous garments seemed so far removed from the more mundane dressing gown that it lead me to wonder what kind of women would … Continue reading
David Whitehead Limited: printed textiles from Lancashire
When I started collecting vintage fabrics in the early 1980s, they were, unsurprisingly, abundant and cheap. One of my first purchases was a length of David Whitehead’s ‘Flowerpots’ designed by Tom Mellor in 1954. This spun rayon fabric became kitchen … Continue reading
‘The Textile Studio’: training designers and selling textile designs in the 1950s
My friend Julia (an antique dealer) recently came across and interesting auction lot which consisted of a collection of textile designs, watercolour sketches, letters and pamphlets from the mid-1950s. (1) They all seem to relate to one source, a company … Continue reading
Horace Brooke: commercial artist
The following article is a departure from my usual emphasis on fashion and textiles, but it does continue my interest in recording the lives of creative individuals who have been hidden from history. This is the story of my husband … Continue reading
Hans Tisdall (Aufseeser) 1910-1997
In his 1937 publication British Textile Designers Today H G Hayes Marshall described Hans Aufseeser (later Tisdall) as a designer ‘whose careful attention to detail and his real ability to design for any technique has placed him in the … Continue reading
Coasters for Christmas
FESTIVAL OF PATTERN – catalogue for customers April 2018.docx I have been sorting through fabric and making up coasters for Christmas orders. The designs above are new (in acrylic casings) and many of the fabrics are now also available in glass … Continue reading
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Marion Dorn: Illustrations for William Beckford’s Vathek, 1929
Back in the 1980s I was working on my PhD on the American textile designer Marion Dorn and was in New York where I interviewed Yvonne McHarg, a food stylist, who had known Dorn back in the 1930s through her … Continue reading
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Tagged 1920s design, 1930s design, batik, book illustration, lithograohy, Marion Dorn, Nonesuch Press, Vathek
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Antique Textile Fair, Manchester Sunday 30th April, 2017
I am getting ready for the 25th Textile Society’s Antique Textile Fair. I think I must have been to most of them and sold for the first time last year. It’s a fantastic event. I have some gorgeous vintage clothing … Continue reading
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Festival of Pattern 