Thackray of England: an English art house

Thackray of England is an English art house working in words, illustration and silk. A scarf may begin with a conversation overheard on a train, a fox taking liberties in a London garden, or a room remembered from childhood. The writing gives the design its first shape.

A family connection to cloth

The founder’s father worked in the Cheshire textile and print industry of the 1950s. Thackray was founded in honour of that connection: a family history of cloth and printed pattern, carried into a different kind of work.

Writing and illustration came together through silk. A flat drawing could acquire movement; a story could leave the page and become something worn.

The life inside a design

Our subjects tend to be particular. A peacock passed on the way to a Cornish cove. The black and pale pink floor of a house in Buxton. A queen bumblebee discovered in the kitchen because the dog heard her first.

Some pieces come from memory or observation; others begin in a poem, a dream or an imagined scene. Their product pages tell you which. The Compendium is a place to read further.

Silk scarves and small editions

The collection includes 90cm square silk scarves and narrow twillies. Materials, dimensions, finishes and edition sizes are recorded for each design, so the facts can be read as closely as the story.

Each scarf design has an edition of five. The stated edition is the total size of the work, rather than a live count of the pieces available.

Choosing something to live with

A scarf can be chosen for its colour before its story is known. Or a sentence can be the reason someone wants it. We leave room for either beginning.

Explore the silk scarves, read the Silk Scarf Journal, or write to the house for help choosing a piece or a gift.