the Gardeners
Chiswick House
blue and gold
In a world of mass production-mass anything and everything-Marthe's work stands alone. Not only are her exquisite papers of her own design,, Marthe Armitage also cuts the design in lino blocks & presses the rolls by hand.
It seems fitting the an the esteemed team of HAMILTON WESTON represent Marthe.Hamilton Weston’s beautiful wallpapers now hang in stately homes and other heritage projects throughout the UK, as well as enhancing film and television sets,corporate buildings & private homes around the world. Interior designer Georgina Hamilton and architectural historian Robert Weston have been specialising in classic interiors since 1981, when they founded Hamilton Weston Wallpapers to reproduce their unique archive of historic wallpapers. (from the Hamilton Weston site) Their own papers are recreated from documents of original period papers.
Marthe Armitage working with Hops Garden
image from BBC GARDENS ILLUSTRATED
Issue 155
Looking at the Marthe Armitage patterns, distributed by HAMILTON WESTON (here), one is hard pressed to point to a favourite. I narrowed mine down to 8 patterns and that was a chore. Alas, while looking back through the designs I think- but what about MANOR HOUSE, TREE GARDEN, WILLOW? Marthe individually hand blocks to order all the patterns in her Chiswick studio. The lines of the printing can be clearly seen and all colours are mixed by hand. Marthe prefers to work with her colour palette- Green, Aqua, Blues to Black, Yellow, Ochre, Lilac and soft Reds.
Marthe on Gardening
"I don't like hard-edge design or bright plants -What they do to flowers these days is a scandal."
Thistle- a Marthe Armitage fabric
mauve on cotton
mauve on cotton
a page from the BBC GARDENS ILLUSTRATED
Marthe on Her Designs
"The different ways plants grow is infinite."
Tansy
spring green on white
"The different ways plants grow is infinite."
Tansy
spring green on white
Marthe on Wallpaper
"Wallpaper should be a background-
I don't like bright colours; they should blend"
"Wallpaper should be a background-
I don't like bright colours; they should blend"
Geranium
grey green
Marthe started her love affair with papers as a young artist, wife, mother-with necessity- she wanted to decorate her new home- but couldn't afford much. Being an original, she "made some wallpaper to cover up some very bad walls. I stuck it up and one or tow people siad-that's nice" (MA) When the firm of HAMILTON WESTON featured a selection of papers in their shop window, followed by a story in World of Interiors- MARTHE ARMITAGE's papers are in demand.
(image from BBC Gardens Illustrated)
Cobweb
amethyst
Tabacco Plant
black on gold
Hamilton Weston does an amazing collection of period document papers in house. Loving document papers and fabrics- again it was difficult to make selections-I thought about papers that would float beautifully from Marthe Armitage papered rooms. Here they are-
Richmond Trellis
from 1840
Strand Teardrop
1790
Archway
1800
A jewel in the crown of Hamilton Weston is the pattern Charlecote Strapwork. Charlecote was digitally printed especially for the Warner Brothers,Guy Ritchie film SHERLOCK HOLMES, starring Robert Downey Jr.- release on Christmas day 2009.
In this day when so many things fly by night-Marthe Armitage is working her way through limbs, boughs, gardens and wayside flowers & slowly leaving an indelible impression on paper- sure to be documents in their own right and time.
more Hamilton Weston and Robert Weston:
All papers are available to order on line directly from the Hamilton Weston London office. They are all handprinted to special order.
Visit the site for more papers and glimpses of period homes and publications featuring Hamilton Weston here
Miles Redd uses a Marthe Armitage paper in a children's room in the December 2009 Elle Decor here
All images used with permission from Robert Weston.
