SHIRLEY CRAVEN & HULL TRADERS
Those old enough to remember the 1950s might look at the textile designs which were then being created and think, “Well, it wasn’t like that in our house!” In the 1950s Britain was a country still recovering from WW2; institutions such as the National Health Service were in their infancy; most people considered themselves fortunate if they had a roof over their heads.
A BRIGHT NEW FUTURE
But change was in the air. A festival was to take place on London’s South Bank – the Festival of Britain – not only to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great Exhibition of 1851 but also to promote Britain’s
achievements in design, science and technology. “After dull and drab wartime furnishings,” says Madeleine Marsh, a writer specializing in fine and decorative arts, “lust for colour and pattern expressed itself in every media, from mix-and-match tableware to curtains emulating abstract paintings. Designers experimented with the latest technology to create innovative forms: chairs floated on spidery metal legs, table tops were shaped like amoebae, and lights looked like flying saucers.”
Furthermore, according to Marsh, “The home owner who would never have hung an abstract painting on the wall was nevertheless happy to invest in colourful, contemporary curtains.” Indeed, ‘contemporary’ was the buzz word. “Probably everyone’s boredom with wartime dreariness and lack of variety helped the establishment of this new and gayer trend,” explained textile designer Lucienne Day (b.1917) in 1957. And it was into this new, ‘anything goes’ atmosphere that Tristram Hull pitched himself.
HULL TRADERS IS BORN
“The origins of Hull Traders are as curious as its name,” says Lesley Jackson in her book, Shirley Craven and Hull Traders. Article continues....
Thanks Karyn. Editor
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