Timorous Beasties is a design-led manufacturing company based in Glasgow that specialises in fabrics and wallpapers. The company was founded in 1990 by Alistair McAuley and Paul Simmons, who met while studying at the Glasgow School of Art. Winners of the Walpole Award for 'Best Emerging British Luxury Brand' in 2007 and 'British Luxury Design Talent' in 2010, the company now has two branded showrooms in London and Glasgow, and export their luxury products and design talent worldwide.
Company profile
Timorous Beasties' work embodies a unique diversity of pattern, ranging from design that echoes a golden age of copperplate engraving two examples of a distinctly edgy nature. Yet, the studio fully engages a design discourse with textile history by lending an aesthetic evolution to time-honoured motifs. In 2004 Timorous Beasties unveiled their critically acclaimed Glasgow Toile: by reversing the pastoral context of Toile de Jouy, they transformed the traditional toile device to create an exclusively modern urban genre. The Hotch Blotch fabric series challenges a 1000-year old aesthetic mode by placing disorder within the structure of damask pattern to reveal the inherent beauty of splatters, drips and blotches. Hunting Toile and Urban wallpapers mark a synthesis of 18th-century chinoiserie groupings, Rococo swirls, and Victorian silhouette paper cuts to create a uniquely contemporary ornamental textiles pattern repeat. As well as their own product range, Timorous Beasties have worked on a number of commissions and collaborations with high-profile clients such as Nike, Famous Grouse, Ercol, Brintons Carpets and Penguin Books, across a diverse range of applications including print, packaging, furnishing, interiors and exteriors. Some of their more recent projects include:
Fortnum & Mason - Working in collaboration with brand design agency Design Bridge, Timorous Beasties created a range of confectionary box designs for the luxury department store Fortnum & Mason.
Netjets - Timorous Beasties were commissioned to create a tail-wrap for Netjets' signature series, the Challenger 350 jet, making its debut at ArtBasel, Switzerland.
Kate Bush - Timorous Beasties were invited to produce the artwork used on the programme and tickets for Kate Bush's first live shows in several decades: a 22-night residency at Hammersmith Apollo entitled 'Before the Dawn'.
Penguin Books – Timorous Beasties partnered with Vintage Classics to produce a collection of reissues inspired by nature. The collection contained five books each featuring a unique illustrated cover designed by Timorous Beasties.
