The Collier Campbell Archive: 50 Years of Passion in Pattern

A video released to mark the publication of the book The Collier Campbell Archive: 50 Years of Passion in Pattern, published by Ilex Press in December 2012.

For the five decades of their partnership, sisters Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell were at the forefront of textile design, with their vibrant hand-painted patterns. They were renowned for their handling of colour, their painterly approach and their signature ability to cheat the repeat in printing: qualities that infuse their work with a sense of fluidity, freshness and exuberance.

Together, Susan and Sarah painted textile patterns for international clients including Yves Saint Laurent, Liberty, Habitat, Cacharel, Jaeger, Fischbacher, Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser and many others in the UK. In the USA, Collier Campbell became a sought-after brand for designer bedding with Martex, Westpoint Stevens, Springs Wamsutta, and Homestead; their decorative fabric was taken up P Kauffmann and Fabricut, and their wallcoverings by Manuscreens and Imperial Wallcoverings. Renowned for their iconic designs, Susan and Sarah were the first female winners of the coveted Duke of Edinburgh Designers' Prize in 1984.

Drawn from the archive of sisters Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell, a collection about 30,000 paintings and sketches on paper, sketchbooks, products, fabrics, and records, The Collier Campbell Archive, by Emma Shackleton with Sarah Campbell brings together around 900 illustrations of the designs, sketches and scenes from 50 years with a rich and comprehensive commentary of Susan and Sarah's creative process and their history.

Susan sadly died in May 2011; Sarah is now working independently under her own name, undertaking one-off special commissions and hand-painted fabric pieces and stationery, to patterns and textiles for the high street both in the UK (with Marks & Spencer) and a collaboration in the US with West Elm. Her starting point for both bespoke and mass-market projects continues to be the hand-painted mark.

The Collier Campbell Archive will be published by the Ilex Press, distributed by Thames & Hudson, and available wherever good books are sold. It will be available online in the US at www.barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com and in the UK at www.waterstones.com and www.amazon.co.uk. Much more, including sample pages, news, reviews and events, may be found here.