Using vintage linen tea-towels—often printed with scenes from across the globe—I create upholstery collages that bring together vibrant memories of travel, heritage, and home. The decorative surfaces of these chairs celebrate the bold, joyful colour palettes of the 1950s and 60s, while the 100% Irish linen base cloth ensures both quality and character.
One example is my Story Chair, exhibited as part of the Legendary Essex Folklore project at the historic Old Sun Inn. This chair was upholstered with a collection of East Anglian and Essex tea-towels from my own stash of historic, kitsch, and souvenir textiles. To echo the spirit of local festivities, I added ribbons and bells—playfully nodding to Thaxted Morris traditions, fetes, and festivals. The result is both practical and whimsical: a comfy chair full of stories and nostalgia, offering visitors a place to pause, sit, and connect.
Working with tea-towels allows me to layer memory, folklore, and design into something new, meaningful, and unexpected. Each chair becomes not just a piece of furniture but a piece of living history—part artwork, part heirloom.
I would love to explore my wider collection of vintage tea-towels in future commissions, whether inspired by places, animals, family history, or simply playful colour combinations. Each project offers the chance to create a chair that is entirely unique and deeply personal—an everyday object transformed into something beautiful, useful, and full of character.
Using vintage linen tea-towels—often printed with scenes from across the globe—I create upholstery collages that bring together vibrant memories of travel, heritage, and home. The decorative surfaces of these chairs celebrate the bold, joyful colour palettes of the 1950s and 60s, while the 100% Irish linen base cloth ensures both quality and character.
One example is my Story Chair, exhibited as part of the Legendary Essex Folklore project at the historic Old Sun Inn. This chair was upholstered with a collection of East Anglian and Essex tea-towels from my own stash of historic, kitsch, and souvenir textiles. To echo the spirit of local festivities, I added ribbons and bells—playfully nodding to Thaxted Morris traditions, fetes, and festivals. The result is both practical and whimsical: a comfy chair full of stories and nostalgia, offering visitors a place to pause, sit, and connect.
Working with tea-towels allows me to layer memory, folklore, and design into something new, meaningful, and unexpected. Each chair becomes not just a piece of furniture but a piece of living history—part artwork, part heirloom.
I would love to explore my wider collection of vintage tea-towels in future commissions, whether inspired by places, animals, family history, or simply playful colour combinations. Each project offers the chance to create a chair that is entirely unique and deeply personal—an everyday object transformed into something beautiful, useful, and full of character.
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