Pondicherry Linen ‘Maize’

Our Thimble Prints are printed in Lancashire on finely woven 100% linen cloth and finished with a hot iron calender, giving it a satisfying light crisp handle and beautiful chintzed surface. Charming and elegant, these floral and geometric patterns bring a cheerful note to any room, from the grandest stately home to the most humble country cottage.

Pondicherry is a diagonally running floral paisley print. The name is inspired by the culturally diverse town of Pondicherry on the South East Coast of India; it’s vibrant mix of east-meets-west culture and architecture due to French colonisation from the late 17th century up until the 1950’s.

Each linen has a matching wallpaper, allowing you the option of striking a combination to evoke the English chintz interior look made famous in the late 1930s by decorating partnership Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. Used individually, these patterned linens and papers can conversely bring a fresh, contemporary look to an interior.

Originating from a box of fragile linen chintz samples which Christopher acquired from an antiques dealer decades ago, each print has been reworked in either scale, colour, or both. The exceptionally fine detail in the original patterns has been lovingly reproduced using fantastically accurate digital printing, replacing the now-obsolete method of copper-plate printing which created the original fabric swatches.

These linens are perfectly suited for upholstery and produce beautiful results, though do not stand up to the over-rigorous modern rub test. This however does not prevent us from specifying them regularly for upholstered pieces in interior projects. They make wonderful drapes and blinds, and can be used in many interior accessories such as lampshades, scatter cushions, napkins and tablecloths.