Drawing from a profound love of pattern and print, Ellen Merchant creates hand-drawn, uplifting interior textiles with a decorative aesthetic that pays homage to the British Arts and Crafts movement. At every step Ellen prioritises the integrity and character of hand-processes, resulting in decorative design that is alive with the spirit of its making.
Originally from Dorset, Ellen moved to London to go to art college, studying at both Central Saint Martins and Camberwell College of Art. After graduating and working as a print designer for a few years, it became clear to Ellen that she wanted to create textiles with real purpose and longevity. Wishing to strengthen her understanding of her practice, Ellen attended the Royal College of Art in 2019 achieving an MA in Textiles. Ellen established her London studio in 2021 with a mission to offer timeless, quality interior textiles – all designed and produced in England using traditional techniques. In 2024 Ellen relocated to the ancient town of Winchelsea on the coast of East Sussex, where she has set up her studio in an old barn and is due to be opening her eponymous homeware shop and showroom on the High Street this September.
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Ellen has been acknowledged as a ‘rising star’ in the decorative arts. Her work has been featured in House & Garden, Homes & Gardens, Elle Decoration, Living etc, Country Life, the English Home and The Telegraph, amongst other titles.
WALLPAPERS
We print our standard width wallpapers in Lancashire with a 4 generation, family run printers who pioneered the original 100+ year old traditional surface print machinery. Surface printing is now a mechanised process using the same equipment that would have originally been steam powered, fusing high quality printing with hand crafted character.
The process uses engraved rollers which pass continuously over the ink and onto the paper. It is very close in technique to the way that Ellen prints and trials her designs in her studio with a carved lino tile on her offset litho press, enabling her to achieve the same aesthetic and feel to her wallpapers but on a larger, more consistent scale for production. All of the colours are mixed by eye and the machinery required a team of incredibly skilled and experienced printers to operate it. This wet on wet process creates a textured and tactile impression on the surface of the paper, celebrating a unique and highly skilled method of wallpaper printing.
FABRICS
All of our fabrics are silk-screen printed in West London at a fabric and wallpaper print specialists founded in 1963. Screen printing is a traditional print process where each colour in the pattern is translated onto a large mesh screen to form a flat stencil, which is then laid onto the fabric to have ink passed through it to print the image. This is repeated continuously down the length of the fabric to create the seamless pattern. Additional screens are added one by one to layer each colour, resulting in a beautifully tactile and hand-finished look, including the charm of natural variations and small imperfections within the print. The inks we used are water-based and we choose to print on 100% linen. Not only is it luxurious and durable for use in interiors, but flax is one of the most sustainable raw materials.
INSPIRATION
“ I like to clash influences from past and present, I think that’s what yields the most interesting results. I find inspiration for colours everywhere – from art, things people wear, combinations in everyday life. It’s important to me that my designs and colour choices are uplifting and interesting. I want to create artwork that becomes a part of people's memories; something they will enjoy looking at everyday, and want to live amongst for years to come.”