I have used as the title for this report one which was given to a Good Housekeeping publication in the 1950’s. “Do you lead a colourful life?…….Take a deep breath, it won’t be long.”!
In the wake of the gloom of World War II, there was an outpouring of house interior design and colour in the subsequent decade. Wallpaper, hitherto the preserve of the rich, became affordable for many and its use was promoted together with the concept of DIY. Designs of both wallpapers and soft furnishings were stylised and graphic. The colours of some were subtle, but they were usually used in multicoloured room sets. The fashionable palate was very distinctive, including a bright rich red and blue, together with greens (lime in particular), and bright yellows and oranges.
On 1 May, Tina organised an excellent NEG group visit to MoDA(The Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture) at the University of Middlesex in Barnet, to see their current special exhibition entitled “Designer Style:Home Decorating in the 1950’s”. We spent time to start with looking round this gallery before an interesting hour behind the scenes with the Assistant Curator Maggie Wood. She let us handle original fabric and paper samples and publications of the period. There were also three iconic tea cosys, each with distinctive appliqué designs, embroidered in various stitches. An article “Power to your fingers” looked at what embroidery could be newly achieved with sewing machines. Feed cover plates became available to use before domestic machines had the inbuilt facility to lower the feed dogs.
To add even more colour to the 1950’s theme, the HVAF Textile Group had produced a linked corridor exhibition for a month, called “Fifties in Mind”. Each group member had created a signature piece in black, white and lime, as well as other items of their own personal choice. This group exercise provided a memorable focus. There are so many general group textile exhibitions on offer to the public now that those moving on to make their offerings more distinctive are the ones that stand out.
MoDA has a permanent exhibition “Decoration of the Home 1900 – 1960”, which some of the group went on to look at after lunch. For more information visit MoDA on line at www.moda.mdx.ac.uk