|
In 1961 Jean Monro, daughter of the famous London Decorator of the 1920s Mrs Geraldine Monro, decided to reproduce and market the favourite designs her mother had used over the years, some of which were already being produced exclusively for the decorating company. Thus Jean Monro Ltd. came into being.
Acquired by Turnell & Gigon in 1998, Jean Monro moved to Chelsea Harbour in 1999 into a third floor showroom and subsequently into the Group showroom on the ground floor of the renowned Design Centre.
The Company was always justly renowned for English prints. The new management issued a “mission statement” that it would build on this reputation by producing “more of the same”. To this day almost the whole thrust of the efforts of Jean Monro is in printed fabrics, produced mostly from archive material, printed on the finest cloths, without compromise - if 24 screens are needed for the best result, 24 screens will be made.
HAND BLOCKED DESIGNS
Jean Monro is one of the very few companies still editing hand-block designs using the original blocks. This process requires an apprenticeship of seven years, involves often hundreds of different blocks and, naturally, takes a long time to produce. The effect achieved is worth the wait, however, as it produces a look that cannot be satisfactorily copied by any other method.
As a rough average it will take a week to print just 18 metres of one of these fabrics as this is a very slow and labour-intensive process. The end product however is a fabric of great beauty and subtlety and is truly inimitable. Because of the method of production there are variations within the length of the cloth which add to the charm of the final product which is, in no way, mass-produced.
Surely these beautiful textiles are the bargain of the furnishing world!
| 
