David Whitehead write up

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Lancashire Life magazine with vintage David Whitehead fabric

Lancashire Life isn’t one of our regular magazine subscriptions, but we sometimes pick up a copy if something catches our eye on the cover. We actually live in Todmorden, West Yorkshire – but we’re very close indeed to the Lancashire border (it actually used to run through the town centre here until the mid 19th century) – so there are often places that we’re familiar with or new potential destinations featured that are within easy reach.

'Lancashire's Material Wealth' article in Lancashire Life

In this November’s edition it was the article entitle ‘Lancashire’s Material Wealth’ that made it a ‘must buy’ copy. The write up features friends Bernard & Jill Laverty, the Directors of David Whitehead & Sons based in Parbold, Lancashire. The article touches on the company’s long & interesting history including its textile heyday in the 1950s era when great names such as Sir Terence Conran, Henry Moore, Marian Mahler and Jaqueline Groag produced designs for them.

Jill & Bernard Laverty, Directors of David Whitehead & Sons Ltd

We first met Jill & Bernard after they read one of our post’s featuring a huge haul of vintage fabric we’d acquired. The couple were researching their company archives including the fabric designs that were once stocked by David Whitehead & Sons. Production of them had long since ceased at this point.

Jill Laverty modelling two of the reissued David Whitehead fabrics

Jill in particular was caught by the bug and, having invested much time and money over recent years, they’ve now actually begun to re-launch some superb classic designs taken from these archives. We went to a wonderful celebration lunch at Windermere Boating Club a few weeks ago to mark the event.

Samples of David Whitehead & Sons reissued fabric

Production will stay in Lancashire – the highly-regarded textile printers Standfast & Barracks of Lancaster undertaking the work. The modern textiles produced are lovely quality – we were able to have a good look and feel at Windermere! It’s quite early days for the new range, so media exposure like this article is going to be essential. We’re confident that there’ll be huge demand for them and are really excited to see where the designs are going to start popping up!

David Whitehead relaunch

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David Whitehead relaunch event at Broad Leys, Windermere

This weekend, we attended the David Whitehead relaunch and bicentenary.

Front of Broad Leys, home to the Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club

It was held at Broad Leys, home to Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club – a beautiful Charles Voysey-designed Arts & Crafts building.

Arts & Crafts decorative fireplace vent grille featuring birds and trees

There were wonderful architectural features wherever you looked – even down to tiniest details such as this fireplace vent grille… and of course, stunning views out over the lake.

View of Lake Windermere from Broad Leys, home to the Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club

It takes a lot to compete with that. Fortunately, we were there to celebrate the relaunch of six of their classic fabric designs. Compete – they certainly did!

Rolls of relaunched David Whitehead fabric

We first met Jill & Bernard Laverty, the current owners of David Whitehead & Sons Ltd, a few years ago. They contacted us after we blogged about an amazing discovery of unused vintage fabrics that had laid untouched for 50 years in a store room – many of them were rolls manufactured by David Whitehead. We shared a cuppa initially and later on visited them for lunch. We talked all things David Whitehead – the history of production, their archive and future potential.

Cushions covered in relaunched David Whitehead fabrics in bay window of Broad Leys, home to the Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club

At that point in time, David Whitehead had stopped making fabrics and were concentrating on other products. Jill in particular was bitten by the bug and keen to explore the possibilities of a textile range. She bought vintage fabric samples and visited museum archives.

Samples of original vintage David Whitehead fabrics

The company then set about looking into the production of some of their classic designs, copyright ownership, a future re-launch, press & marketing, new website etc! And here we were celebrating the culmination of all their efforts – an amazing achievement from those initial early chats – what a journey they’ve been on!

Samples of original vintage David Whitehead fabrics with antique wooden bobbins and page from a vintage Ambassador magazine fashion shoot featuring Whitehead fabrics

We had a wonderful lunch surrounded by the relaunched fabrics. There were products such as cushions and recovered chairs to show potential uses, stands & displays portraying the company history and some of their great designers – Marion Mahler, Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi, Jacqueline Groag, Henry Moore, John Piper, Terence Conran… what names!

Marian Mahler display including stool covered in relaunched yellow fabric from her original design

There was a film history showing and fabric bunting dotted about the venue – even the waiting staff were wearing David Whitehead fabric aprons.

Display including samples of Sir Terence Conran's original fabric designs for David Whitehead

And onto one of those great design names – Sir Terence Conran, as he is now, attended the relaunch and made a short speech about the significance of David Whitehead in his own life and the importance of the entrepreneurial spirit of the company in the post-war years around the time of the Festival of Britain. What a pleasure it was to share a table with him!

Jill Laverty with friend Kathy and Sir Terence Conran at the David Whitehead relaunch event

He expressed his opinion that the current owners share the same entrepreneurial spirit and that he was delighted to see the textiles coming into production again – and that he would happily help with their publicity in any way he could.

Lunch at David Whitehead relaunch event

The fabrics are being produced by Standfast & Barracks, so it’s production in Lancashire once again which is great – heritage combined with modern production techniques to produce a top quality product.

Selvedge from relaunched David Whitehead fabric

And so to the future – well, the sky’s the limit. Will Jill and Bernard sell the fabrics wholesale? Will they make homeware products using their classic designs? There were no shortage of ideas flying around from tea towels to dog coats!

The six relaunched David Whitehead fabric patterns

Whatever they choose to do, we’re sure it will be a great success. They obviously have great vision and drive to reach this point, they’re passionate and determined. These wonderful vintage designs (and perhaps new ones) will arrive on the market place with a huge impact.

Bunting made from relaunched David Whitehead fabric

And on a personal note – you couldn’t wish to meet a lovelier couple which just adds to the goodwill we feel for them as things move forward. So many thanks to Jill & Bernard for inviting us – we’re looking forward to seeing what happens next!

Bookmarks: V & A Pattern

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V & A Fifties and Pop Patterns books

One little blog post about two little books.

covers of V & A Fifties and Pop Patterns books covers of V & A Fifties and Pop Patterns books

Today’s Bookmarks post features V & A The Fifties and Pop Patterns

page from V & A Fifties Pattern book by Sue Pritchard

With less than a hundred pages each, they’re small – but perfectly formed.

vintage 1950s pattern illustration in blue with a Venetian scene

Each book has an introductory overview of its subject – prominent designers, artistic and social influences etc.

vintage Calyx pattern designed by Lucienne Day in the 1950s

Written by Sue Pritchard in The Fifties and by Oriole Cullen in Pop Patterns.

Malaga pattern wallpaper sample produced by Palladio Wallpapers in 1955

Concise & informed – they’re perfectly scaled to match the books.

vintage patterns designed by Marion Mahler for David Whitehead Ltd in the 1950s

The introductions are followed by plenty of illustrated examples…

Malaga pattern wallpaper sample produced by Palladio Wallpapers in 1955

…all taken from the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Collections.

vintage Springboard pattern designed by Lucienne Day in 1954

Each book manages to pack in about 60 of them!

page from V & A Pop Patterns book by Oriole Cullen

These fantastic designs were used in textiles, wallpapers and home furnishings.

vintage numbers furnishing fabrics designed by Annikki & Ilmari Tapiovaara in the 1960s

Some of these patterns have actually been re-released of late – Calyx by Lucienne Day, for example, and Marian Mahler’s Mobiles.

vintage Chuck Berry and Marilyn patterns designed by Christopher Snow in the 1960s

For others, you’ll have to hunt down vintage examples – not an easy task!

vintage Wacky Packages patterned fabric designed for VIP Fabrics Inc in the 1960s

The books also provide lists of further reading if your appetites have been whetted.

vintage T-shirt prints designed by Marshall Lester for Scott Lester Ltd in the 1960s

Each book comes with an accompanying disc of 70 high resolution digital images of vintage patterns that you can use (with permission if they are to be used commercially).

Both books are available from Amazon:

And the whole series can be found on the Hive website.

page from V & A Pop Patterns book by Oriole Cullen showing CD containing high resolution pattern images

They’re a good, inexpensive introduction to the subject… highly recommended!

[Many thanks to V & A Publishing for supplying these review copies]

Bookmarks – 1950s Fashion Print

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book entitled "1950s Fashion Print" by Marnie Fogg surrounded by vintage 1950s fabric

Today’s Bookmarks book review is 1950s Fashion Print….

front page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg surrounded by vintage 1950s fabric

…one in a series written by Marnie Fogg and published by Anova Books.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with bird print

The book’s arrival was perfectly timed as it appeared hot on the heels of our vintage fabric haul which we blogged about recently.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with carousel print

It’s very attractive visually.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with ballerina print

Holding the book, with its tactile, textured cover is almost like handling a piece of barkcloth.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with still life on a tabletop print

An initial flick through the enticing photos contained within persuades you to delve deeper.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with figurative print

There are endless examples of superb, period fabric designs to drool over…

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with atomic print

…full-colour, detailed images of vintage prints on every page.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with red atomic print

Some very recognisable patterns as well as ones you’ll probably not seen before.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with trio of atomic prints

It isn’t however, just a collection of pretty pictures…

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s female figure composed from various printed fabrics

…it’s extremely well researched – Fogg really knows her subject.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with leaf print

She used to be a lecturer in Visual Studies and the Culture of Fashion at the University of Nottingham.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s Lucienne Day fabric

In addition to details about the actual fabric designs, the book encompasses related topics such as interior design and social & historical influences.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing illustrated female figure dressed in the New Look style in 1950s printed fabric

Another strong point of the book is the photo captions – they’re full of additional information and incisive comments.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with stylised plant pot print

It’s a wonderful leisure read, but also a great resource…

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing full, gathered skirt made from vintage 1950s fabric

… an inspiration for design projects or for identifying fabrics that you may be lucky enough to find!

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s Tibor Reich

There’s also a useful bibliography of where to go next if your appetite for 50s patterns has been whetted.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing a trio of vintage 1950s fabric with different geometric prints

It’s a must for devotees of textile designers such as Lucienne Day, Marian Mahler, Robert Stewart, Jaqueline Groag, Sylvia Chambers & Tom Mellor to name but a few – along with manufacturers such as Heals, David Whitehead Ltd and Edinburgh Weavers…

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing a 1950s magazine ad for Sundour fabrics

…and for fans of Mid-century Modern design in general.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing a collection of swatches of vintage 1950s fabrics

This book is going to be a permanent fixture on our shelves.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with leaf print

1950s Fashion Print can also be bought from Amazon, Abe Books and Hive.

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with figurative print

We’ll be following up in the very near future with a review of Fogg’s 1960s Fashion Fabrics

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with Marian Mahler

…we’re very much looking forward to it!

page from the book entitled "1950s Fashion Prints" by Marnie Fogg showing vintage 1950s fabric with sun print on a red background

Olive green horizontal dotted line

[Many thanks to Anova Books for supplying this review copy.]