This week we’re celebrating TEDGlobal 2011 — under way July 11–15 in Edinburgh, Scotland — by enlisting distinguished creative talents to nominate their favorite TEDTalks from conferences past. It’s not just that we think TED is worth paying attention to. You see, we have what you might call an emotional connection: More than a century ago, Mohawk’s Strathmore brand was directly inspired by Scotland’s Strathmore Valley, not far from Edinburgh. Read on for more linkage.
In 1892, Horace Moses opened a paper mill in Massachusetts. Soon after, he visited the Valley of Strathmore. Finding the thistle in full bloom and taken by the valley’s beauty, he was inspired to use the Strathmore name and the thistle as symbols of his high quality papers.
A century later, Strathmore’s 100th anniversary was recognized in The Strathmore Century, the beautifully designed and executed book above. Strathmore’s thistle symbol is elegantly represented throughout the book … see a close-up of the endpaper below.
The fine detail of the relief in the printing is highlighted by the ink used for the thistle, which seems to have a slight shimmer. Is it metallic? We’re not sure, but the effect is dramatic.
Besides offering a more extensive rendition of the Strathmore story, the book recalls notable designs for promotions on the legendary paper by Lester Beall, Will Burtin (below left, 1952), S. Neil Fujita [below right, 1960] and many others.
Another connection: More recently, the Strathmore thistle was redesigned by none other than Marian Bantjes, an accomplishment we featured in Felt & Wire’s earliest days. And not coincidentally, Bantjes appeared on the TED stage in 2010 with her own TEDTalk, “Intricate Beauty by Design.” How’s that for closing the circle?
Marian Bantjes’ redesign of the Strathmore thistle
Strathmore is a resource that continues to inspire designers, printers, artists and thinkers. And without laboring the point, so do the TED conferences and the talks that issue from them. Today, Hybrid Design’s Brian Flynn shares three TEDTalks he finds inspiring, for their ideas as well as their execution. [TB]
I love all the thistle designs over the years. My favorites ~ of course are Peter Goods and Marian Bantjes ~ although I visited Scotland years ago ~ its on my TO DO list to visit the Valley of Strathmore Some Day ….:)