Cole & Son Factory Tour
Cole & Son, a London-based wallpaper manufacturer established in 1875, recently launched its collection of autumn wallpapers, including a particularly striking harlequin pattern of overlain colors called "Circus" that proves the 136-year-old company can do modern with as much depth as the historical. These papers are manufactured—"manu," by hand, being the operative root—barely north of central London in Haringey, where the tiny Cole & Son factory rolls out a quarter of a million meters of high-end wallcoverings per year. On the ground floor of the two-floor warehouse, a 130-year old machine sits beside a shinier digital printer of a mere 30 years. Though they don’t look old enough, some workers have been there for decades and have children working there too. “It’s like anything you do,” says a screen printer named Jason who has been mastering his craft for 25 years. “You just get used to it and then it’s easy.”
Products
-
Cole Gerst Wallet
It's not the size of the wad of cash that matters, it's the way you carry your dough that really counts. This limited-edition piece is pocket-perfect, with three slim slots for bills, cards, and…
-
Hitch Marigold Stool
It's bright! It's versatile! It's affordable! We tried to think of a space where this handy little stool wouldn't fit, and that was a mighty tough task. Use Hitch as a bedside table, dining table…
Advertising
Advertising
Advertising
Related Products
-
Cole Gerst Wallet
by Cole GerstIt's not the size of the wad of cash that…
-
Hitch Marigold Stool
It's bright! It's versatile! It's affordable…
Latest
-
05.22
ICFF 2012 : Design Milk Presents
"Reinvention; Writing History in Aluminum" showcases a…
-
05.22
ICFF 2012: Brass Tactics
Everywhere we looked on the show floor of ICFF, we saw our own…
-
05.20
ICFF 2012: New from Black + Blum
Two products we really loved from the ICFF show floor came…
Follow
Dwell
Reloading tweets…
Thanks for sharing the Cole Factory tour.... It made me so nostalgic from the days when I worked in manufacturing.
This is fascinating. I used to do a lot of silkscreening and it's still a unique and visually satisfying medium
Please forgive the pettiness, but "manu" is a prefix, not a root. The wallcoverings, though, sound terrific. Thanks for the story.
RSS Feed
Add a Comment