Art of the Loom joins the showroom
We are so happy to introduce our new SHOWROOM partner ART OF THE LOOM, a British brand with with generations of history in the textile world. Owned by Andrew Thornber, Art of the Loom is based in Clitheroe, in Lancashire’s beautiful Ribble Valley.
Andrew says, “It is now many moons ago that my great, great, great, great, grandfather Benjamin Thornber made that leap from farmer weaver to out and out textile man.” Art of the Loom was reborn out of a desire to produce pure, natural fibre fabrics and this journey of discovery has enabled the company to make a significant contribution to the UK textile manufacturing and finishing industry.
In The Design Archive’s showroom in Chelsea we are proud to showcase Art of the Loom’s beautiful new ARCHIVE collection, as well as some of their woven collections: CAMILLA (includes plains and ticking stripes) plus plains Dandy velvet, Sherborne linen mix and Elgar Shetland Wools. You can also order their Oxford and Cambridge cushions, available in 2 sizes, in a fabric of your choice, made with skill and love in Lancashire.
Come and visit the showroom to view Art of the Loom’s collections, and collections from the three other brands: BENNETT SILKS, THE HOLBEIN COMPANY, and of course THE DESIGN ARCHIVES. We are open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.
The Design Archives, Worlds End Studios, 132-134 Lots Road, London, SW10 0RJ
Shown in the lead photo, central we have Andrew Thornber (Managing Director & owner) and Hannah Kitchen (Creative Director) of Art of the Loom with Olivia and Faye from The Design Archives showroom
Wool plaid covered chair from Art of the Loom
Taste of Design roadshow
Thank you to everyone who joined us at TASTE OF DESIGN 2025! It was an absolute pleasure to swap the office for the Taste of Design venues and connect with so many of you in person. Some of you reading this now will have met us there, and we’re so grateful you came.
Alongside 25+ brands, we popped up in four beautiful locations in Hampshire, Surrey, Essex and Kent. Each venue was truly inspiring, from elegant period architecture to lush, landscaped gardens. With complimentary food and drink for trade guests and a thoughtfully selected range of exhibitors, we hope you found it to be a worthwhile day out sourcing.
For those who requested THE DESIGN ARCHIVES fabric and wallpaper samples, they should be with you by now. If not, please get in touch with Olivia or Faye at info@thedesignarchives.com.
You can see more HERE. We look forward to seeing more of you next year!
Sharon Crowson, Owner and Creative Director with Celeste Chintz fabric at Penshurst Place
Olivia, Showroom Manager, with Cyrus Jade fabric at Penshurst Place
A busy show at Taste of Design, Penshurst Place Kent
An impressive facade at Taste of Design, The Grange in Hampshire
NEW Spring Garden Wallpaper Collection
Spring Garden Wallpaper Collection press release
Taste of Design 2025
Have you got your ticket? Soon THE DESIGN ARCHIVES will be taking to the road for the wonderful TASTE OF DESIGN 2025. We will be showing alongside other selected interiors brands such as Coordonné, John Boyd Textiles and Ian Mankin.
A Trade only event, each day is at a different venue chosen for it’s spectacular period architecture and grounds. Show dates and locations:
THE GRANGE, Hampshire – Tuesday 29th April
HYLANDS HOUSE, Essex – Wednesday 30th April
HAMPTON COURT PALACE – Tuesday 13th May
PENSHURST PLACE, Kent – Wednesday 14th May
Click HERE for more information and to register for free, complimentary refreshments will also be provided.
The Design Archives at London Design Week 2025
A huge thank you to everyone who visited THE DESIGN ARCHIVES stand at LONDON DESIGN WEEK 2025! We absolutely loved our ‘House Guest’ residency in Design Avenue and were so thrilled with the feedback received, especially the enthusiasm for the NEW SPRING GARDEN WALLPAPER collection. It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our collections and welcome newcomers to The Design Archives, and reconnect with our loyal customers and suppliers.
Thanks too to DAVID SEYFRIED FURNITURE who provided the furniture on our stand and, our showroom partner, THE HOLBEIN COMPANY who provided the poles. David Seyfried’s elegant EDITOR chair and sofa are upholstered in CHLOE and HEIDI Gold linen fabrics with OPERA velvet piping, and their GEORGIAN foot stool is upholstered in MALAYA Sage linen with Opera velvet piping.
The walls of the stand are papered in wallpapers from the new Spring Garden wallpaper collection, the four designs in the collection are PERRYVALE, HEIDI, GARDEN STRIPE and CHLOE.
Sharon Crowson, Creative Director, on The Design Archives stand at London Design Week 2025
Spring Garden linen fabric on the David Seyfried’s Editor furniture, also the NEW Spring Garden wallpaper on the walls
Framed documents from the Crowson Archive on Garden Stripe Celadon wallpaper
The Design Archives stand at London Design Week 2025, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour
The Design Archives will be a House Guest at London Design Week 2025, Chelsea Harbour Design Centre
We are proud to announce The Design Archives will be once again a House Guest for London Design Week 2025 at Chelsea Harbour Design Centre. This year we will be launching the beautiful new Spring Garden wallpaper collection, which coordinates with our SPRING GARDEN fabric collection. Find us at stand G in Design Avenue, Monday 10th – Friday 14th March.
As well as the reputable interior brands permanently in the Harbour, we shall be exhibiting alongside a fantastic line up of other carefully curated House Guests, only in-situ at Design Avenue during the London Design Week 2025 show.
Sign up HERE to register for free.
Some of the Spring Garden wallpaper collection. From left to right: Garden Stripe Celadon; Heidi Mist; Perryvale Gold; Perryvale Mist.
Decorex 2024
DECOREX had a wonderful buzz this year, the visitor feedback was so positive. The show was full of vibrant colour, exciting new brands, insightful talks and plenty of innovative ideas for sustainable design. THE DESIGN ARCHIVES, with our own signature pop of colour, shared a stand with our fantastic showroom partners BENNETT SILKS and THE HOLBEIN COMPANY.
The walls of our stand were decorated in MALAYA Denim and MALAYA PLAIN Paprika wallpaper from the BIRCHGROVE collection, follow the links to find out more. Other highlights to mention, the furniture was crafted and upholstered beautifully by DAVID SEYFRIED, using GRAND FLORAL Autumn fabric on the sofa, QARSHI fabric on the footstool and chair, and piping in our versatile OPERA velvet. We also had some cushions exquisitely quilted by LOUIS MOREAU.
For those who came to Decorex we are delighted to have met and caught up with so many of you. Thank you for coming and see you next year!
The Design Archives owner and Creative Director, Sharon Crowson, with her father Derek Crowson
Meet some of our Decorex team, from left to right, Brian Lawrence from Bennett Silks, The Design Archives’ staff Faye and Olivia with Sharon Crowson
Visit The Design Archives at Decorex International 2024
The Design Archives will be showing at Decorex International, Olympia London from 6th – 9th October 2024 alongside hundreds of other luxury interior brands. We will be sharing the stand with our showroom partners The Holbein Company and Bennett Silks.
Special highlight will be our Samarkand Collection featuring upholstered furniture from David Seyfried Ltd.
The Design Archives at The House Directory Live, Decorative Art Fair 2024
In May The Design Archives was on show alongside other selected interiors brands at The House Directory LIVE at The Decorative Fair in Battersea Park, London. The House Directory LIVE was instigated and organised by Angel Tan, and it took over the mezzanine area of Fair hosting brands and makers whose products and practices have a relevance to antiques and traditional processes. The Design Archives’ designs are all inspired by prints and patterns in the Crowson Archive. We showed a selection of wallpapers from the Birchgrove collection, as well as fabrics such as Qarshi, Exotic Fruits and Tree of Life hung on a bistro curtain pole kindly supplied by The Holbein Company. The event featured leading interior brands and crafts people, with a programme of fascinating talks and workshops by an A-list of experts. Workshop highlights included appliqué by textile artist Natasha Hulse, marquetry by conservator Elyse Vaudron and marbling by Phyllis Clair Smith, all members of The House Directory.
Angel Tan, architect and interior designer, is co-owner of The House Directory along with Cheryl Knorr one of the original founding duo. The House Directory started as an online interior sourcing directory in 2001 and has gone from strength to strength offering interior designers and public an essential tool when looking for interior and garden design and decoration specialists.
The Decorative Fair has a strong reputation as the UK’s must-visit event for interior designers, with over 130 specialist dealers showcasing every discipline of antiques, fine and decorative art and 20th century design, dating from the 1700s to the 1970s, at a wide range of price points.
The Design Archives in the Brand Showcase at the Decorative Fair with The House Directory
Taste of Design 2024 highlights
Lead image: Sharon Crowson, our founder, at Taste of Design 2024 American Museum
Taste of Design 2024
In May, The Design Archives proudly took part in Taste of Design 2024 — the renowned interior design roadshow. Did you visit us? A heartfelt thank you to all the interior designers, decorators, and industry professionals who joined us along the way. We hope you left feeling inspired!
Taste of Design was founded over twenty-five years ago with a commitment to bringing great brands to beautiful locations close to you. Over two weeks we visited grand properties in Somerset (American Museum), Surrey (West Horsley Place), Bedfordshire (Wrest Park) and Warwickshire (Compton Verney). It is hard to choose which location was our favourite, perhaps it was the magnificent 18th century Wrest Park for its stunning historical interiors and gardens, or maybe Compton Verney for its fabulous art collections, or even West Horsley Place for the highest visitor numbers. Among the many esteemed brands taking part the show included Ian Sanderson, Titley & Marr, Fermoie, John Boyd Textiles, Loomah, and many more brands showcasing textiles, wallpapers, paint, decorative hardware, rugs and furniture.
If you came we hope you enjoyed your time at Taste of Design, and were able to explore the stunning locations as well as the road show. For all those who left your details with The Design Archives team, you should have heard from us and received your samples by now. Please let us know if we can help you in any way, there is also access to our collections via the website. We look forward to Taste of Design 2025 and exploring our beautiful country further!
The Design Archives stand in the ornate Library at Wrest Park, run by English Heritage
Edward Bulmer giving a historical talk at Wrest Park
A close up of The Design Archives curtain and upholstery fabrics – Grand Tiffany Jade and Lime, Grand Floral Calypso and Amisha Turquoise
The spectacular approach to Compton Verney in Warwickshire