Inspired by....Dufy

With Baz Lurhmann's adaptation of  The Great Gatsby about to hit our screens, I found myself delving into a favourite reference book - Art Deco Textiles - The French Designers by Alain-Rene Hardy. Dufy's wonderful floral and pictorial designs and skilful repeats always inspire.

The French artist Raoul Dufy (1877 - 1953) was encouraged to design fabrics by the great Art Deco era couturier Paul Poiret. In 1911 Poiret set up a small textile printing studio to produce Dufy's lively and dramatic patterns, which were incorporated to great effect into his clothing designs.

Coat, 1911
Paul Poiret 
Textile design by Raoul Dufy 
Ivory and navy block printed velvet with brown fur trim and gold metallic mesh-covered silk closures.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Such was the success of Dufy's collaboration with Poiret, less than a year later the artist was offered a contract with the Lyons silk firm Bianchini-Ferier. Between 1912 and 1928 Dufy designed over 2000 patterns for dress and furnishing silks, and linen and cotton furnishing textiles.

The Harvester, c.1920

Design for printed linen by Raoul Dufy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roses, c.1925

Design attr. to Raoul Dufy

Les Tuilleries, c.1920

Design for woven silk by Raoul Dufy

Fleurs, 1918

Design for block-printed cotton by Raoul Dufy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Jungle, 1922

Design for woven silk / wool by Raoul Dufy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Venice, c.1920,21

Design for woven silk by Raoul Dufy

V&A Museum

Silken beauty

My couch is pretty much choc-a-block with cushions but I'm sure I could squeeze in just a couple more...

These beautiful printed silk cushions were designed by South African artist Gemma Orkin in collaboration with West Elm.  Each vibrant design features wildflowers native to Cape Town, Gemma's home town.

Wildflowers Silk Pillow Cover

Protea Silk Pillow Cover

African Daisy Silk Pillow Cover

 Gardenia Silk Pillow Cover

Take a look at Gemma Orkin's handmade ceramics here.

Blue & White, Old & New

The classic combination of blue on white has remained enduringly popular in the design of porcelain ever since the first Chinese vessels decorated with Cobalt blue were imported into Europe in the 16th century by Portuguese traders.

This strikingly modern dinnerware collection named Fable was designed in collaboration with London based German designer Karolin Schnoor and the master artisans at Royal Doulton.

The entire Fable collection can be viewed on the Royal Doulton website.

Another blue and white porcelain collection which recently caught my eye was first designed in the 1950's but has recently been reissued by the Swedish ceramics company Rorstrand.

Mon Amie was created by on a rainy midsummer's eve by Swedish textile and ceramic designer Marianne Westman in 1952, and has since become one of Rorstrand's best selling designs.

Marianne joined Rorstrand in 1950 immediately after graduating from the University of Arts, Crafts & Design in Stockholm, and she collaborated closely with the company for more than twenty years.

You can view more of Marianne Westman's wonderful mid century ceramic and textile designs at the Hus and Hem website. 

Curiouser and curiouser

These rather mysterious and whimsical ceramics from Anthropologie are adapted from the paintings of the talented New Orleans artist Rebecca Rebouche. I wonder if these would survive the long journey to Australia intact?

 The medallion shaped dinnerware collection is named Curious Deciduous, and I would love to see a few plates displayed on my kitchen wall.

To view more of Rebecca Rebouche's beautiful artwork you can visit:

Rebecca's Blog

Website

Etsy store

Washing up, 50's style

Whilst packing for my move to the country 6 weeks ago I came to the realisation that I have a bit of a 'thing' for patterned tea towels. Two boxes worth in fact! 

These new tea towels featuring textile designs from the 40's and 50's from the V&A Museum would fit in perfectly with my collection of vintage designs too....

 V&A 'Houses' Tea Towel

'Houses' was originally designed as a furnishing fabric by Joy Jarvis in 1950, and was manufactured by  Gerald Holtom Ltd, London.

 V&A 'Mugs' Tea Towel

This design is based on 'Full Measure' by Kenneth Rowntree, manufactured by Edinburgh Weavers in 1957.

V&A 'Vases' Tea Towel

Based on 'Urne', a furnishing fabric designed by Pansa Studios, and manufactured by Sanderson Fabrics in 1955.

V&A 'Fishes' Tea Towel

Based on a furnishing fabric design by Rhona Park under the instruction of the Central School of Art and Design, London, 1951.

V&A 'Fishermen' Tea Towel

'The Fishermen' furnishing textile was designed in 1956 by Keith Vaughan for Edinburgh Weavers.

V&A 'Harvest' Tea Towel

This design is based on a textile repeat by John Drummond, a student at the Central School of Art and Design in 1948.

An artist's home in the south of France

I love the eclectic mix of patterned fabrics, tiles and wallpaper and the bright pops of colour found throughout the family home and studio of artist Myriam Balay Devidalin in Nimes, France.

A screen is covered in an Atelier LZC textile design, whilst the bed linens were sewn by Myriam from her collection of vintage fabrics.

Layers of wallpaper were stripped away to reveal the original rendering of the house, built in 1835.

The vintage Scandinavian chairs are covered in printed fabrics by French design studio Robert Le Heros.

11 Year old Alix's bedroom is decorated with a classic Osborne and Little wallpaper design.

A length of Deborah Bowness wallpaper sits perfectly in the library.

Moroccan tiles in warm orange hues and a beautiful hand woven curtain create a peaceful environment in the bathroom.

Via Marie Claire Maison.

Journey on a Cloud

I picked up 'Journey on a Cloud', a Children's Book Inspired by Marc Chagall, written by Veronique Massenot and illustrated by Elise Mansot at the National Gallery of Victoria bookshop recently, and I think this title definitely makes it into my all-time favourite children's picture book list.

One of Marc Chagall's most enduring and mysterious paintings Bride and Groom with Eiffel Tower forms the backbone of this beautifully crafted children's book. 

Zephyr is a day-dreaming mailman from a small village of blue houses and hills. One day he embarks on a fantastic aerial journey aboard a cloud, taking him on an adventure exploring distant and colourful lands.

Journey on a Cloud (Voyage sur un nuage) was first published in French by L'Elan Vert in 2008. The English edition was published by Prestel Verlag in 2011. The English edition is available on Amazon UK, and in Australia at Fishpond Books.

A strong dose of colour

Once again, the new fabric and wallpaper collection entitled 'Colour for Living' from the UK company Sanderson features a vast selection of beautiful (and colourful) designs that are bound to become design classics. I really admire the collection for the manner in which it gently references historical design for a contemporary market. 

St Ives - a wallpaper and fabric design featuring the hilly streetscapes of this renowned artistic hotspot, carved into lino in a naive style .

 This Rainforest fabric design reminds me of the Austrian / Swedish modernist designer Josef Frank. I love the blue colourway.

The linen textures of this Block Leaf design hark back to the pared-down and graceful 1950's patterns designed by Lucienne Day.

 

Another of my favourite designs from this collection is Bellflower -  I love the Atelier Martine / Dufy influence. 

You can view the entire collection of fabrics and wallpapers from Sanderson's Colour for Living range here.