LOBBY

In the 1950’s, when Marthe Armitage started producing her intricate, botanical patterns, she initially had to print the large lino blocks on the floor. The blocks were cumbersome, and the repeating patterns were complex, so she limited herself to just one colour.

She did, however, attempt one multi coloured design, ‘Lobby’, using three blocks to create five colours; “…I printed it in sheets, not in a roll. And then it was an enormous block. I had to do it three times, and then the nightmare of colours. No, it really was a nightmare.” She printed just enough sheets to paper the garden lobby at her Georgian home in Chiswick before giving up in despair.

Later, Marthe’s daughter Jo, who by then lived in the house, wondered if printing the design on fabric would be a way to bring to life the beautiful half tones and rich texture of the original multi-coloured floor-printed paper, with its dense, saturated colour – and the idea of a ‘Polychrome’ Collection was born.

‘Lobby’ fabric, in colourway ‘Fauve’, was previewed at London Design Festival 2023 in a collaboration with Sigmar.  Two more colourways have been introduced: ‘Folio’ using the colours of the original paper, and ‘Spring’, a fresh palette of greens and blue.