English Fabric Wall Panel

Shop display fabric panel, showing samples of the three fabrics on the front and one on the back, finished at the top so a pole can be pushed through, ready to hang. I purchased this from a reputable textile dealer who believed it to be Mrs Monro. The colours are wonderful with a very light chintzes. A lovely wall hanging. It could also be used over a bed or chair. (sorry I did not get a chance to iron it before the photoshoot !)

Details that came with the panel –

A wonderful botanical print taken from a book of Victorian flower paintings. Pigment printed white on white and overprinted with minutely detailed vibrant pink blossom and buds. Than hand – painted look of this fabric has made its appeal timeless.

Established in 1981 by Jean Monro, daughter of the famous decorator of the 1920s Mrs Geraldine Monro, Jean decided to reproduce and market the favourite designs used by her mother over the years and Turnell & Gigon took up the reins in 1998. Jean Monro Ltd is renowned for its English chintzes, producing traditional English prints from archive material, printed on the finest cloths and without compromise. Wherever possible, the Jean Monro fabrics are printed in England and traditional methods are still used. Jean Monro is one of the very few companies still editing hand-block designs. This process requires an apprenticeship of several years, often involving hundreds of different blocks and naturally, takes a long time to produce. The effect achieved is certainly worth the wait, given that it produces a look that cannot be satisfactorily copied by any other method.

In the hand-block method, each colour is put on separately and each will require several blocks, for instance the Jean Monro fabulous motif, Lucy’s Roses, has 180 blocks per repeat! The design details are applied by a combination of methods but all by hand and once printed, minute retouches, using the dye from the tray, are then also done by hand. Hand-blocks are notoriously difficult to produce to exact colour tolerances as the take-up of the cloth is subject to changes in the atmosphere and differences in drying times as well as different handblockers (who each carry their own recognisable style of printing). This process is repeated for each pattern repeat and for every colour down the whole length of the 18 meter table until that length is complete which can take up to a week. Admittedly, this is a very slow and labour-intensive process but the end result is a fabric of great beauty and subtlety that is truly inimitable. Because of the method of production there are variations within the length of the cloth which add to the charm of the final product.

Width: 50 inches (127 cm)

Height: 74 inches (188 cm)

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