Lola tea cosy by Ulster Weavers

Ulster Weavers have designed a stunning kitchen textiles collection taking their inspiration from retro designs of the swinging 60’s.

Designed with apples and pears in beautiful shades of sage, light blue and red, the new ‘Lola’ range is a fresh and brightly coloured collection that really does take you back to the retro styles and fashions of 60s life.

The 60s trend, is a very popular and memorable and has been used to furnish and design a variety of different products such as stationary, ceramics, clothing and interior furnishings over the last few decade. However the kitchen furnishings world hasn’t seen a 60s style like this for a while and this gave Olive Rankin, the mastermind and creative manager at Ulster Weavers, to design a complete product range based on this fantastic theme.

Every era creates its own designs and fashions but the 1960s created them faster and more passionately than any other in the history of interior design. As the 60s retro trend grew and grew, rule after rule and statement after statement were created for the trend faster than most people at the time could keep up with.

Before the 1960s, in the period that stretched from the end of the First World War into the Post War and late 1950s, the accent was on a style known as Modernism. The emphasis was a lack of colour, ornamentation and a precision of empty spaces accompanied by great slabs of furniture and pastel colour.

In fashion and design terms the 1950s, with its overhang of rationing, bomb damage and Cold War tensions, the period had been relatively austere and utilitarian. But as the country began to recover both physically and psychologically a time for more flippant, throwaway designs began to evolve.

Then the 1960s came along and undid most of the original conventions of the previous decades, forcing designers to rethink and delve back into the history of interior design to create a new look that was both modern yet had its roots firmly in the styles that had passed.

This era was seen as fun-loving dosed with a passionate spirit that added a small yet personal twist to each design creating individuality and very memorable retro patterns and art.

However, the first real link and inspiration for retro interior design was through the fashion catwalks. The Mods with their sharp looks and culture crossing music took their lead from designers like Mary Quant. Skirts began to get shorter, suits began to get funky and rock & roll was imported giving way to major bands like The Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

So the styles began as open plan interiors were filled with new flat pack furniture curtsey of Ikea. With inflatable furniture, bean bags, molded plastic and nylon items in bright, vivid colours the trend really took a world and mind of its own incorporating styles and trends for the 60s fashion world.

Fashions and styles were in some ways influenced by world events. The space race inspired the invention of new man made materials as well as the intense use of vivid colour.

And the whole retro design encompasses a variation of patterns and styles which can look great in the kitchen.

Lola oven glove by Ulster Weavers

The new ‘Lola’ collection comes as a complete set comprising of a cotton apron, cotton tea towel, double oven glove, gauntlet and tea cosy. All products are machine washable and make the perfect finishing touch to any kitchen.

And if the psychedelic 60s look really does take your fancy you may be interested in the ‘Kaleidoscope’ range, a fresh and funky pastel design which comes in a range of kitchen coordinates and canvas bags. The design is just like the Spirograph drawings in a variation of bright and beautiful colours and can be purchased via the Ulster Weavers website.

For more information about their products visit UlsterWeavers.com today.