NEWS ARCHIVE

Women’s History Month: Ann Warner and her legacy

In 1839, tragedy struck as Benjamin Warner died. At the point of his death, Warner managed the family business making loom harnesses and as an engineer for Jacquard Looms. His wife, Ann, stepped in after Warner’s death and took over running the company. Her ledger is...

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Enid Marx and Utility Textiles

On 1 September 1939, France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany following their invasion of Poland. By the end of 1945, six years after war was declared, the conflict had spanned across the globe, and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 85 million...

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Bauhaus in Britain: The work of Otti Berger for Helios

Few movements in design history have captured the public’s imagination like Bauhaus has. Bauhaus was an avant-garde German design school that operated between the years of 1919 to 1933, when it was forced to close from pressure by the Nazi Party. The utopian vision...

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The Braintree Space Race: 50 Years On

History was made on 20 July 1969 when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully landed twelve men on the moon. At the height of geopolitical tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States of America, an estimated 600 million people...

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An Insight into the Designer Enid Marx

Key to Warner & Sons success over almost an entire century of business was their passion for contemporary design whilst maintaining the more traditional arm of their business. Warner & Sons would frequently purchase work from emerging and influential designers...

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OASIS Collaboration

The Warner Textile Archive is delighted to announce the launch of its first fashion collaboration with OASIS. Working closely with the Warner Textile Archive the OASIS fashion team selected five historic designs from the extensive Archive Collection. Enchanted by...

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Queen Mary’s dolls house

When in conversation with her architect, Sir Edward Lutyens, at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 1921, Princess Marie Louise formed the idea of commissioning the perfect doll’s house as a gift to Queen Mary. Known as one of the great collectors of her time,...

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Sutherland Rose: creation through restriction

The strengths of true designs often shine more during times of austerity: the limitations of materials allow the creative mind to offer alternatives that may never normally reach the market place. During WWII rationing of all kinds were in place and the Utility Design...

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Warner & Sons: Textiles and Gardened Landscape

Gardens and landscapes have been depicted in art and wall murals since antiquity, but after the fall of the Roman Empire they became representations for religious and figural scenes. It was not until the 16th century that artists began to look at them as worthy of...

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Hand woven dress silk c.1780

After the death of Louis XIV in 1715, dress became simpler during the 18th century. The outline of gentlemen’s coats became tighter fitting above the waist and flared out over the hips whilst feminine dress always included the corset, trimmed with lace and ribbons,...

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Empire: a style of change

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, the BBC has produced a series of television and radio programmes that challenge well-held views on Napoleon, his strategies and the legacies left. One such legacy of this tumultuous and stimulating period...

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