Extracted from The Art
of the Tea Towel by
Marnie Fogg (Batsford)(^2) The 1950s weren’t only
about clean, mid-century
design. Dorothy Miller’s
design is pure kitsch – a
joyful injection of colour,
showing how the decade
fearlessly embraced fun
after the austerity of the
Second World War.
(^3) 1970s designs are
rooted in nostalgia – the
same desire to return to
nature that’s associated
with the Laura Ashley
look (a business that
began printing tea
towels). This design,
‘Dunmoy’, is by
Moygashel, a company
founded in the 1780s to
make fine linen goods for
the aristocracy. By the
mid 20th century, their
goods were exported all
over the world from their
base in the Northern Irish
village of Moygashel,
County Tyrone.
(^4) Freelance Belinda Lyon
produced a range of
whimsical psychedelic
animals from the late
1960s for Oxfam, one of
the first charities to
produce own-brand
merchandise. There were
20 different animals in the
series by 1979 – including
this flower power camel.
(^5) The 1980s love of
colour and dynamism
even made it onto tea
towels. The era of
Bananarama, Flashdance
and Jane Fonda’s
Workout video is
reflected in Ulster
Weavers’ ‘Flash’ design
– surely suitable for the
flashiest of kitchens.
(^1) Another Lucienne Day,
the mid-century classic
‘Too Many Cooks’.
Designed in 1959 for
Thomas Somerset’s
Fragonard range, it was
popular both with critics
(it won a Design Centre
Award in 1960) and with
the public, available in a
variety of colourways. It’s
such a classic that you can
still buy it today.
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5
3
4
DOROTHYMILLER’SPOODLEPUPPY;MOYGASHEL,DUNMOY;BELINDALYON,CAM
EL;
ULSTER WEAVERS FLASH DESIGN, ALL PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALLAN HUTCHINGS