Modern Print Monday: Winifred Mold

Unnamed print (1919) by Winifred Mold for

 Silver Studios, printed by Liberty.

Winifred Mold (1894-?)

Winifred Mold worked as a designer for Silver Studios in London from 1912 to 1935. She is known for her florals and her Japanese-inspired pattern like the parasol print. The most information about her is in the Silver Studios Collection at Middlesex University's Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture (MoDa) which owns the portrait and the print photos.

Mold's croqui (painting) for the parasol print from the 

MoDa Museum's collection

See a post by MoDa Museum Curator Zoë Hendon about women designers at Silver Studios here:

 http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/design/art373062

Mold as a woman designer was at a distinct disadvantage in the early 20th century. Silver Studios advertised for designers in 1899 warning "Ladies need not apply." She and a few other women hired in the teens were required to work from home. They never saw the male designers at work. Boss Rex Silver conducted meetings at their homes and discussed design by letter, many of which are in the MoDa Museum's archives, a great source material for textile historians.

Parasols continue to inspired textile designers.

Liberty Revisited, contemporary version of the

 parasol print by Kaffe Fassett for Rowan

Benartex print from Lanterns

Loulouthi collection by Anna Maria Horner for 

Free Spirit

Another Kaffe Fassett parasol print for Rowan

Do a search for Winifred Mold's designs in the Silver Studios Collection at the MoDa Museum's website:
http://www.moda.mdx.ac.uk/results?adv_text=mold&session=_7ISwsKTp9s&mi_search_type=adv&per_page=25&mi_adv_search=yes&x=0&y=0