I want to make some pillows and table linens to sell. Does anyone know if I can use any of the designs/motifs that I see in pictures of Arts and Crafts Homes, old and new? I have thought of taking the patterns from wallart, tiles, stained glass, old buildings, stencils(from old pictures) concept drawings of furnished rooms and anything along those lines. I am a graphic artist, so I know that that I can't just copy designs from a company that has designed and is selling their products. I just want to use stuff created long ago. I actually have been creating my own patterns in the style, but I am not too sure anyone would be interest in my concept.

Hello:
Just reading through many of the threads and thought I would answer your message. I am a textile designer that specializes in Arts & Crafts period linens. I manufacture my own linens, and use period designs from lots of sources to make up linens.

I think that what is needed in textiles for those who have homes & furnishings from the period, is just what you want to offer.

I would follow your instincts and come up with some new ideas in textiles to offer the public.
I believe the Arts & Crafts movement is just as relevant today as it was in its beginning. It is those artisans who believe in the ideals & philosophies, and start working with the old designs, that can learn so much what the essence of the designs represent.

To bring forth old designs and create something
new is honoring what has gone before. Alot of textiles & pieces that are represented currently can become cliche', if we don't continue to bring forth the spirit of the time and honor the designs.

As long as you are not copying someone from today, I see nothing wrong with recreating a motif into your own textiles. It becomes fresh and full of life this way.

I think it is a really good thing!
Best regards,
Linda

Linda,
I think your reply to the above post was a good one and you are right that to copy someone else's work of years gone by is to honor them in one way or another.

I honored Charles F. Limbert by reproducing his tabourette from the 1905 circa, and I made my duplicate in Feb of 2005. See attached picture.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

Ralph:
Very nice craftsmanship. I definitely agree that this is a very good way to learn the techniques t
understand the spirit of the work.

Lovely piece.
Linda

Linda,

I invite you to join the forum as a member. Your insite in the textile field is greatly appreciated and you would be a great asset to this comunity. There is no cost or obligation.

Fred

It's an old post but I'll respond anyway in case anybody has the interest.

First, for the legal part:

Copyrights do expire. Any work prior to January 1, 1923 has expired, which includes all of the embroidery, graphics, and stencil designs from the period. There are a few embroideries that we think of as being Arts & Crafts embroidery designs that are actually from the 1920's (particularly those of Royal Society). Feel free to use any and all of these.

Here's an interesting link discussing the expiration of copyrights:
US Copyright Office Rules on Copyright Expiration

We buy lots of old embroidery kits, pillows, and runners. We also use elements from stencil designs and graphic designs from books and magazines from the period. Of course, you don't have to let published works be your only source of reference. On our dragonfly/cattail embroidery design, I worked from a picture of a dragonfly's wing for the detail and I plucked ginkgo leaves from the tree in my back yard, scanned them, and traced the one I liked the shape of the most for our ginkgo designs.

It's funny, I have been told two or three times now that our ginkgo is not right because "a ginkgo doesn't look like that". Well, they do when they come from my tree!

Hope this helps.
David

David,

As a horticulturist with twenty years of experience, I can tell you that there's nothing wrong with your ginkgo leaves. I think that those who say otherwise expect to see a notch at the leaf apex. The plant's name, Ginkgo biloba, reflects that characteristic. The notch divides the leaf into two lobes. Plants, like people, have differences between individuals, so some ginkgos could be less lobate because of genetics. The difference could also be environmental. I'm right down the road from you at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and most of our ginkgo leaves aren't distinctly lobate. Furthermore, have your critics never heard of "stylized" or "conventionalized" forms? I've never seen a Glasgow rose on a real rose bush.

John