Biomorphism example featured image

Biomorphism is an artistic and design movement that incorporates natural forms for decorative purposes. It emerged in the early 20th century and features swirling motifs and elongated vegetal shapes. The style faded but resurged in the 1940s. Influential figures like Saarinen and Mollino promoted biomorphism. It continues to inspire designers, bridging nature and design.Read More →

Wiener Werkstätte Decorative arts in the Musée d'Orsa

Wiener Werkstatte was based on the ideals of the guild system & developed a direct relationship between designers and craftspeople. READ MORE >Read More →

Ernest Chaplet featured image

Ernest Chaplet (1835 – 1909) was a French ceramicist, an early studio potter’ who mastered slip decoration, rediscovered stoneware, and conducted copper-red studies. From 1882 to 1885, he was the director of Charles Haviland’s workshop to study decorative processes, where he collaborated with artists such as Paul Gauguin. He eventually moved to Choisy-le-Roi, where he focused on porcelain glaze studies.Read More →

Armchair, 1907 - 1913 designed by Gustav Stickley

The term mission furniture was first popularized by Joseph P. McHugh of New York, a furniture manufacturer and retailer. The word mission references the Spanish missions throughout colonial California. The style became increasingly popular following the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo.Read More →

Snakeshead by William Morris

Morris used Indian silks and a red and black colour scheme to create Snakehead, featuring his favourite flower, the fritillary.Read More →

Henry Cole Christmas Card featured image

Henry Cole was a significant force in 19th-century British design education, emphasising its importance to industry. He was also instrumental in the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the founding of the Journal of Design.Read More →

Wallpaper - featured image

Before 1840, nearly all the world’s wallpaper came from France, where it was hand-printed, using blocks and sheets of paper to produce a limited line of patterns. Making wallpaper by hand was a costly process, and only the very wealthy could afford to buy it.Read More →

Paul Follot featured image

His early graphic design reflected a fascination with mediaeval and Pre-Raphaelite art. He joined Julius Meier-shop Graefe’s La Maison Moderne in Paris in 1901. He met Maurice Dufréne and designed bronzes, jewellery, and fabrics.Read More →

Model by Charles John Noke featured image

He modelled vases (including Columbis and Diana) and figures from 1893 to 1898. (including Holbein and Rembrandt vases). With Cuthbert Bailey and John Slater, he experimented with the reproduction of Sung, Ming, and early Ch’ing dynasty blood-red rouge flambé and sang-de-boeuf glazes from the late 1890s to the early 1900sRead More →

Insect Brooches by Hine Mizushima

Embroidered insect brooches neatly contained in specimen boxes by Vancouver-based artist Hine Mizushima. The brooches, created using hand-dyed Kogin fabrics, threads and Japanese glass beads, are for a group exhibition entitled The Kingdom of Specimens at Ranbu gallery in Osaka, Japan. Read More →

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