Marianne Straub, RDI

Marianne Straub was a woven textile designer active during the 1930s through to the 1970s. Straub was born in Amriswill, Switzerland in 1909 and spent much of her childhood in hospital, where she taught herself simple handcraft techniques. She continued to foster this enthusiasm for textile crafts through her studies at the Zurich kunstgewerbeschule (art school), where she studied weaving under the instruction of Hans Otto Hurlimann. There was much Bauhaus influence on her education at the kunstgewerbeschule, as Hurlimann was a former student, and this likely played a role in Straub’s desire to design for mass-produced textiles, which was established during this period. She also cites a stage design class that she took at the art school as a formative experience in her style and way of working.

Due to the limited opportunities for women at the Swiss art colleges, Straub then attended Bradford Technical College in England to study industrial weaving, where she stayed for three years. On leaving the College in 1933 she worked for a year at Gospels, a hand-weaving studio. Despite this brief stint, Straub stayed close with Ethel Mairet- the owner of the studio- for many years. Her frequent visits to Gospels, as well as trips taken with Mairet, helped form the connections which shaped much of her professional career. Her time at Gospels also allowed experimentation with hand dyeing and spinning yarns, which allowed her a greater knowledge of the wider weaving process.

In 1934 Straub was appointed as Consultant Weaver for Welsh mills, as part of an effort by the Rural Industries Bureau to reinvigorate the Welsh textile industry, which had been in rapid decline since around the turn of the century. Leaving this post in 1937, Straub became Head Designer for Helios. The company used newly discovered yarns to create interesting textures, which allowed Straub to experiment with different effects. Helios sold fabrics to Heals and other members of the Good Furnishing Group, which allowed Straub’s work to become well-known in design circles, a process which had begun after her Welsh mills work gained widespread acclaim.

Her work for Welsh mills and Helios involved creating hand-woven prototypes to be power woven in larger runs. Straub developed a way of visualising finished designs with minimal contact with the loom; becoming well-known for her method of designing around the qualities of the yarns and the budgetary and market requirements of the finished fabrics.

Straub became Managing Director of Helios in 1947 but did not like the lack of hands-on work and sold the company two years later. It was bought by Warner and Sons, where Straub continued to work under the new ownership. Her work for Warner and Sons involved creating woven fabric designs for the contract industry, with customers including the American Embassy and Guildford Cathedral.

During the 1951 Festival of Britain, Straub’s work was prominently featured as part of the Festival Pattern Group, in which participants created work inspired by shapes found in X-ray Crystallography. Straub notably designed ‘Helmsley’ and ‘Surrey’ as part of Warner & Sons collection for the Festival.

Straub became the Chairman of the Fashion and Textile Groups of the Society of Industrial Art and Design in 1953, serving for two years. She had been a member of SIAD since 1945 and had close links with other members, including the architect Sir Misha Black. Around this time, Straub moved to Great Bardfield, Essex, becoming part of the brief but vibrant creative scene that sprung up in the village. This gave her connections to the likes of Edward Bawden and Walter Hoyle; displaying work alongside theirs on several occasions.

In 1956 Straub took up teaching at the Central School of Art, having previously served on examination committees for design degrees. Due to this, Straub worked at Warner & Sons only on a part time basis, but continued to be a prolific designer throughout the 1960s; designing a moquette pattern for use on London trains and buses, as well as creating many weave designs for new, luxury, company Tamesa. Straub’s design career slowed in the 1970s, when she retired from Warner & Sons in 1970 and created her last designs for Tamesa in 1975. During the latter stages of her career she was awarded the title of Royal Designer for Industry in 1972 as well as publishing the book ‘Hand Weaving and Cloth Design’ in 1977. She received the Sir Misha Black medal in 1993, shortly before her death the following year.