Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1522886
I n 2022, Pierre Frey acquired the boutique screen- printing company Thorp of London, a deal that helped save this specialized craft from disappearing in England and preserved Thorp's legacy. Founded by avant-garde designer Bernard Thorp in 1971, Thorp of London screen-prints wallpapers and fabrics by hand in small batches; some of his designs were based on 18th-century drawings, others were created in collaboration with legendary English decorators John Fowler and David Hicks. Many of these original designs can still be found in the Thorp of London archives, and today the company offers some 100 different made-to-order patterns in 460 customizable shades, mixed Thorp of London Lives On specially for each job using pigment-rich inks. Thorp is now retired, but his screen-printing techniques live on at a workshop in Norfolk run by artisan Robert Hamlin-Wright and his team of two silk- screeners. Hamlin-Wright has retained the company's historic manufacturing methods and expanded fabric options to include cotton, linen, jute, silk, moiré, velvet, suede, paper, and non-wovens. Thorp of London, at Culp Associates, Decorative Center Houston, 5120 Woodway Drive, culpassociates.com. Rebecca Sherman to Collect Now Art Towels H ere's a Hamptons house gift: the collectible beach t o w e l o f t h e s u m m e r, J e f f Koons' feel-good Monkey Train Beach Towel from Artware Editions, in partnership with Art Production Fund. Given the $850 price tag, your host might want to skip the sun and sand and hang as a tapestry — or towel-pestry, in this case. Others in the Summer 2024 Artist Towel Series include a poetic text work by Glenn Ligon, James Rosenquist's plate of pasta paired with a sleeping woman and classic car, and Julian Schnabel's nautical chart disrupted by bands of color. Summer 2024 Artist Towel Series, $95 to $850, at artwareeditions.com. Catherine D. Anspon Above, from top: Jeff Koons' Monkey Train Beach Towel from Artware Editions. Julian Schnabel's beach/bath towel. Just Beachy: From left: Thorp of London Bupa wallpaper. A craftsman working in Thorp's England studio. Parisienne fabric. JON DAY EVA NEMETH 38