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 →
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 →
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 →
While it was prone to cynicism in the 20th century – for example, it was often pointed out that Morris’ handmade goods were too costly for anyone other than the wealthy he claimed to despise. However, through a fertile and now highly valued time of applied art, the Arts & Crafts wove a distinctive pattern.Read More →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 (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 →
Browse a selection of our latest Kitchen Design BooksRead More →