Hull Traders
Launched in 1957, Hull Traders was co-founded by - and named after - Tristram Hull, a publisher and editor, in partnership with Stanley Coren. Initially acting as agents, hand screen-printed textiles soon became their main focus and so Time Present Fabrics was born.
In 1959 Peter Neubert took over the company and appointed Shirley Craven as art director.
FInd out more about Shirley Craven
Hull Traders relocated from Willesden to Pave Shed Mill at Trawden, near Colne in Lancashire, in 1961.
Although modest in industrial terms, Hull Traders was a visionary enterprise where creativity flourished out of all proportion to its size. Artists and designers contributed in equal measure and on equal terms. The pool of freelance designers was constantly refreshed.
Sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi and photographer Nigel Henderson, collaborating under the name Hammer Prints, played a prominent role at the outset, along with textile designer John Drummond. Artist Ivon Hitchens was another notable early contributor.
The 1960s was a golden era for Hull Traders, with ambitious, ground-breaking designs by Shirley Craven and other gifted artist-designers, such as Peter McCulloch, Doreen Dyall, Roger Limbrick and Trinidadian-born Althea McNish (Britain’s first and most distinguished black textile designer).
Although Hull Traders closed in 1980, their fabrics still look as fresh and exciting today as when they first appeared.
'tomotom' - the iconic cardboard furniture designed by Shirley Craven’s husband Bernard Holdaway - proved another huge success for Hull Traders. Launched at the Ideal Home Exhibition in 1966 and sold by mail order, it epitomised the playful ebullience of the swinging 60s with its bright colours and circular forms.
Find out more about the Hull Traders exhibition
