Royal Doulton: Celebrating 200 Years
Founded in 1815 by John Doulton, Royal Doulton’s 200th year history had its humble beginnings in a small pottery business in Lambeth, London. Since then, Royal Doulton has flourished and grown over time to develop into an iconic brand known for its enduring design and leadership in techniques and artistry.
Evolving through time, the new Royal Doulton continues to draw inspiration from its London foundation, embracing every aspect of the city from its urban culture and eclectic style to its longstanding history. Expressing itself through collaborations with British artists Royal Doulton keeps the links to its legacy as it continues to appeal to design conscious consumers with contemporary product ranges.
Today, Royal Doulton celebrates its 200th anniversary with a focus on a lively and diverse compilation of six new collections that draws in inspiration from urban street art to historical British events. We take you on a journey through the six collections representative of a brand that has remained at the forefront by continuously reinventing itself with products that balance function and design.
The first of the six collections in focus is Royal Doulton 1815, which is the most recognisable amongst the brand’s portfolio. Taking inspiration from Royal Doulton’s heritage, this collection looks into the company’s archives to update classical shapes to form a unique collection that captures the past, present and future of the brand. To celebrate the success of 1815 a new range of interior gifting pieces is added to the core collection. Each piece will be marked 1815-2015, a stamp that will only be used for Royal Doulton’s 200th year.
Reflecting Royal Doulton’s capability of reinvention and contemporary reinterpretation is the Pure Evil collection, which is made in collaboration with street artist Pure Evil. The collaboration with the artist saw Pure Evil’s signature three-legged bunny tag come to life as a range of sinister, yet lovable 3D bunny sculptures. Each figurine is created with a distinctive pattern inspired by the artist’s observations and style.
Royal Doulton collaborates with another British street artist, namely Nick Walker. Walker who is renowned from his stencil art in Bristol in the early 1980’s to providing graffiti-painted streets for Hollywood film sets, brings rebellion to his work with his signature character the bowler-hatted vandal. The collaboration between Royal Doulton and Walker brought this character into life in ceramic form using state of the art 3D scanning and printing technology. The figure forms a limited edition collection titled Nick Walker and is predicted to become a heirloom of the future.
In another style, homeware designer Charlene Mullen, who has previously worked with Royal Doulton for the tableware collection London Calling, celebrates the 200th anniversary with the introduction of a centrepiece titled Little London. The piece builds on the former collection by Charlene Mullen to consist of storage and serve items resembling iconic buildings from Mullen’s favourite landmarks and Royal Doulton’s London roots.
During their 200th anniversary celebration, Royal Doulton have released two collections which have been developed in collaboration with iconic British design teams Barber & Osgerby and with HemingwayDesign.
The Barber & Osgerby partnership led to a new tableware, serveware and cutlery collection titled Olio, which literally means ‘a miscellaneous collection of things’. The collection combines Royal Doulton’s heritage and experience with Barber & Osgerby’s acknowledged design aesthetic. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Royal Doulton, Barber & Osgerby designed a limited edition vase that pays tribute to Royal Doulton’s earliest history as manufacturers of stoneware, salt-glazed clay pipes. The vase is created in a bold matt black stoneware with a glazed interior.
The HemingwayDesign collection features a contemporary range of accessories for decoration as well as everyday use. Based on Royal Doulton’s ethos to create design-led ceramics and founder Wayne Hemingway’s philosophy each piece within this collection is created to improve aspects that matter in life. Taking inspiration in the Hemingway family’s background in fashion, the firm works across all design disciplines from housing and interiors to graphic and product design. This experience, combined with Royal Doulton’s brings a unique touch to the new collection.
With the six collections Royal Doulton’s celebration of 200 years is not only a reflection of the brand’s rich heritage but also a look towards the future, at how long established brands can develop with the times.
—
