I must confess that I am a hoarder of fine bits of paper. I am reminded of this each Valentine's Day, as I pull out my many bins full of scraps to make cards. I love textured paper, brightly colored hand-made paper, and translucent vellum ~ but most of all I love patterned paper.
So imagine my delight when I found a trove of reproduction wallpapers online at Trustworth Studios, which sent me down a rabbit-hole searching for the original illustrations. I am quite sure that could I afford to, I would be squirreling away rolls and rolls of it. Oh, such complex valentines I would make, with the rich and intricate repeating patterns!
I have always loved the style and sentiment of the Arts and Crafts movement ~ the modern steampunk movement has borrowed much of that doctrine, certainly in the appreciation for the finely crafted and the hand-made. While it's the organic curves and sensuality of Art Nouveau that inspire me most, there's something glorious in the simplicity and utility of Arts and Crafts that is dear to me as well, and in some designs, as the ones here, the line between the two is blurred.
Most of these wallpaper designs are by British architect C.F.A. Voysey, who had an eye for whimsy and playfulness that I find irresistible. In his late career, Voysey focused almost completely on fanciful designs for children's nurseries.
Design movements aside, I could just lose myself in the worlds of these papers, like this seemingly odd and lovely combination by French designer M.P. Verneuil, of bats and poppies ~ which were both motifs used to suggest altered states of consciousness...
Learn more at The Textile Blog or the Arts and Crafts Home.
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