In 1957, Stanley Coren and Tristram Hull set up Hull Trader’s, a company to promote ‘new ideas, good design and sound workmanship’. It became part of what was more like a movement that supported the creativity and production processes of designers, artists and craftsmen, rather than simply exploiting “design” in the commercial way we see so often now.
This year, Heal’s celebrates its bicentenary. During the early part of the last century, the store’s mission had a similar honesty and integrity to Hull Trader’s’ and I think this legacy of really nurturing and championing good design is something it could revisit in a big way. Plans seem afoot to do so with furniture but by delving into it’s amazing archive of fabric and wallpaper prints there’s a real opportunity. Similarly, although it was Cath Kidston who made retro florals desirable again, Laura Ashley has a wealth of vintage designs, and not just flowery prints, locked away, which could be tapped into, brought out and up-to-date, enabling them to take the world by storm again. Adopting this approach has really helped brands like Liberty and Sanderson’s reinvigorate themselves and it’s exciting to see. Back in 2004, Charlotte Abrahams in her article ‘Morris dance’ wrote this about a then-floundering Sanderson’s, “…here is our cry: face the challenge… You are sitting on one of the most exciting decorative archives in the world. All it needs is a bit of rethink (a colour update here, a change of scale there) and we’ll all come running.” They did and it worked. If you were a design-led company once, it’s worth reminding yourself of exactly that and a good way of doing this is to look back into your history and find inspiration in the design archive. All it takes is a bit of bravery but within their own treasure troves, these companies could find the key to a brighter future.
Posted in design, interior design, pattern, textiles, vintage, wallpaper
