Design and Modernity in Ulster’s Interwar Linen Industry

Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk

Description

This paper examines the role of design in one of Ulster’s most famous linen firms: the Old Bleach Linen Company from Randalstown, Co. Antrim. Founded in 1864, the company registered their designs from the 1870s and considered design and designing integral to their success and, in a declining industry, their survival too. By the Interwar period they had developed linen dress fabric and furnishing fabric ranges, featuring in modish and elite markets such as American and British Vogue. Using primary source material from a number of national and international archives, this paper considers and critiques how they achieved that.
Period16 Aug 2023
Event titleLinen Biennale Conference: Revive and Renew
Event typeConference
LocationLisburn, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of RecognitionNational

Keywords

  • Irish Linen
  • Design History
  • Modernity
  • Design for industry
  • Board of Trade Registered Designs
  • The National Archives
  • Old Bleach Linen Company

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