The Cornubia Collection by Ben Pentreath
A Cornish idyll and a hymn to the British coastline
Cornubia, the fabric and wallpaper collection for Morris & Co. by Ben Pentreath, is a harmony of familiar tones reminiscent of the Cornish coastline. The afternoon sun bounces off the sea, causing us to shield our eyes from its brilliance. The salty coastal air wrinkles the nose. A landscape can hold stories and memories, and yet still have something new to say.
For his second instalment with Morris & Co., the sought-after architect and designer offers sensual delight and a collection straight from the heart. Returning to his Cornish roots (which reach back to the fourteenth century), Pentreath uses the ornamental design language of nature cultivated by William Morris to express his deep feelings about this unique landscape. A synthesis of historic pattern with stunning scenery is expressed in the collection’s very title; ‘Cornubia’ is Latin for ‘Cornwall’.
Complementing the moodier hues of his first collaboration, the autumn/winter Queen’s Square collection, Cornubia looks outside into the summer sun and walks boldly into the light. A joyous nostalgia is palpable across Ben’s innovatively elevated colour story.
“I began, therefore, with a whole new palette – colours which are on my mind at the moment: tangerine, lemon yellow, primrose, soft pinks, blues and bright apple greens – the colours of spring and summer”, Ben Pentreath explained
For us at Morris & Co., there’s always a quiet thrill to seeing these archival designs in the hands of a true master. They’re part of a lexicon, a design language used to express new ideas about nature, about craft, about the perfect home.
Ben Pentreath discovered Compton, an 1895 design by William Morris’s apprentice and successor John Henry Dearle, in one of his journeys through our archive. Just like rekindling the embers of a fire, Pentreath completely recast Compton’s colour legacy, with daffodil yellows and sunset oranges interspersed with vibrant pops of indigo.
Compton is only the beginning. Cornubia comprises a selection of designs Pentreath found an almost instant connection with, some of which had been out of production for a long time. With Trellis, the earliest of all Morris & Co. wallpaper designs, Pentreath lavishes his most radical treatment, transforming the design from the darkly moody colourway into a celebration of all that is verdant and green.
In a gesture which confirms the regard Pentreath shares with Morris for creating warm, homely spaces, Cornubia has been styled at a beautifully preserved Arts & Crafts estate, clustered around an ancient bay with astonishing views over Cornwall’s southernmost coast. A visual tour-de-force, both in terms of the designs and its styling, Cornubia was photographed by visionary photographer, Antony Crolla.
Within this collection awaits 18 fabrics and 18 wallpapers that will chart a voyage along Cornwall’s rugged coastline as you travel through 160 years of Morris & Co. design history.
