2018 Pattern Research Project 
            Candice Duncan - Tivoli
The Pattern Research Project involves research and analysis of contemporary patterns found in the textiles and wallcoverings of the built interior environment. Patterns use motif, repetition, color, geometry, craft, technology, and space to communicate place, time, and concept. Through this research and analysis, built environments - their designers, occupants, construction, and context - can be better understood.
Candice Duncan, VCU Interior Design BFA 2021, selected the Tivoli pattern for the 2018 Pattern Research Project. The text below is excerpted from the student’s work:
“Tivoli was designed for the Heal’s fabric in 1967 as a furnishing fabric depicting stylizing flowers and vines printed in multiple color combinations. At this time, Heal’s was a leader in this field. The designs they bought exemplified the changing moods of the decade. They develop from sober colors and geometric shapes, though Pop and Op Art-inspired motifs. In the later sixties they are influenced by flower power and revival patterns then move towards the super-realism associated with the early seventies”.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp/1020/thumbnail.jp

Duncan, Candice

English

VCU Scholars Compass

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Pattern Research Project Dept. of Interior Design 2018 Pattern Research Project: An Investigation of The Pattern And Printing Process - Tivoli Candice Duncan Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp  Part of the Interior Design Commons  © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp/22 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Dept. of Interior Design at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pattern Research Project by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact libcompass@vcu.edu. TivoliTIVOLIPrecedents to this pattern are fabrics from the Art Nouveau movement that occured in Europe and the US from 1890-1905. Most notably, “Art Nouveau Doldentraum Red”, by Koloman Moser in 1899. This fabric amongst many others in the era also served as furnishing fabrics that were celebrated for their beauty as well as functional purpose. Tivoli’s curves and spots not only physically mirror furnishing fabrics from the turn of the century, but as do it’s surrounding radical, avant-garde social values as well. Art Nouveau, literally translating to “New Art” which sought to escape the hierarchy of the liberal arts (like painting and sculpture) and highlight the formal and functional advantages that craft and the deco-rative arts exude. During what was seen as an Art Nouveau “Revival” in the 1960’s, these designs were modernized and transformed using bold curved lines and bright, enhanced earth tones.  Tivoli’s colors are made using ink. This ink was likely a water based due to this pattern being produced in the UK, where it is less common to use plastisol inks commonly used in the states. While this is an applied color process, water based inks have the tendency to saturate the material until the fabric appears to have the col-or inherently. The colors of this pattern are a quintessential sign of the times in the late 60s and 70’s. One can assume the overt use of earth tones in the textiles, interiors, and fashion of this period are due to a rebellion toward the neon, industrialized colors present in the pop movement. This generation may have had an attitu-dinal shift toward more laid back, muted tones because they mimicked nature. This movement was also con-nurrent with the rising protesting for war, where youth may have rejected the consumerist nature of the baby boomers.“With war in Vietnam and student uprisings in France, opinion-formers began to disapprove of Pop’s ma-terialistic sheen. People moved towards Eastern culture for inspiration. The ideas and mix-and-match aesthetic of California’s hippy movement crossed the Atlantic, giving people free rein to ‘live differ-ent’, and to sport clothing from a range of non-Western cultures” (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2018).Tivoli was designed for Heal’s Fabrics in 1967 as a furnishing fabric depicting stylized flowers and vines printed in multi-ple color combinations. At this time,“Heal’s was a leader in this field [fabrics]. The designs they bought exemplified the changing moods of the decade. They develop from sober colours and geometric shapes, through Pop and Op Art-inspired motifs. In the later sixties they are influenced by flower power and revival patterns then move towards the super-realism associated with the early seventies” (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016).At this time during the 60’s and 70’s patterned curtains at the window were used as a main decorative feature in many interiors.  Today window treatments are very often quite plain with room features moving to the likes of decorative cush-ions, rugs, throws, paintings and prints. These being the core styling features, which enables the interior to be changed without having to invest in expensive total re-decoration (Peter Hall, 2018). The dimensions of this pattern include a length of 48 in and width of 108 in. There are evident re-peats due to it’s block pattern style. These repeats include a length of 17.3 in and a width of 23.6 in. Tivoli has a robust,  flowy rhythm defined by flower which are broken up by an array of bulbs. It’s re-peat creates a dynamism that breaks up the typical harsh edges of a block style repeat. In the above print of Tivoli, there is a base color in olive green, then a layer in yellow, and a third layer in buff. An implied grid is present within this pattern, but not apparent.DESIGN48 inTivoli is composed of processed cotton and water based ink. The process for harvesting cotton is a lengthy, yet familiar process that requires multiple artisans and manufacturers labor before it can reach a textile designer. Depending on the zone in which cotton grows, it can be harvested anywhere from September to February. After the harvesting sea-son, the crop is put through the cotton gin where the fibres are removed from the seed. The gin then pulls the  fibres into a vacuum that dries and cleanses them. This excess material is what we know as lint which is then compressed into large bales and stored for distribution. Textile mills purchase these bails and put them through a spinning process which transforms the short  fibres into thread and yarn. After this process, textile manufacturers use either weaving or knitting techniques to create fabrics. A machine screen printer is then used to squeegee layers of ink onto the fabric to create the repeat with the olive base, a layer of yellow stems and bulbs, and finally a layer of buff stems and bulbs. 108 inTivoli, 1967, implied grid, block pattern styleMATERIALITY & CRAFTUSE & PURPOSE COLORDESIGNduring the 60’s and 70’s i was influenced by both Art Nouveau and the Pre-Raphaelite movement. This was designed to offer con-sumers an alternative to the very abstract modernist work produced at the timeHISTORY & CULTUREFloral garment, Woodstock, 1969Peter Hall in His Studio, 2009Tivoli in blue, cobalt, and greenTivoli Pillow, orange, caramel, brownTivoli Exercise Book, V&AScreen Printing Process, 2014SourcesArt & Artworks. Art Nouveau Revival. (n.d). Retrieved from https://www.artartworks.com/exhibitions/art-nouveau-revival-2860/Art Nouveau. (n.d). Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/movement-art-nouveau.htmBook Xcess. Tivoli Exercise Book. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.bookx- cessonline.com/products/tivoli-exercise-bookDynamic Screen Printing Supply. Screen Printing Ink Types. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.dynamicscreenprintingsupply.com/Screen-Printing-Ink-TypesEtsy. “Heal’s Peter Hall Tivoli”. (2018). Retrieved fromhttps://www.etsy.com/listing/621471015/heals-peter-hall-tivoli-orange-gold-andKara Olsen Theiding. “Anxieties of Influence: British Responses to Art Nouveau, 1900-04.” Journal of Design History, vol. 19, no. 3, 2006, pp. 215–231. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4123029.Kevin McCoombe. Fair-T Ltd.  The Cotton Production Process- From Field to Fabric. 2014. Retrieved fromhttp://www.fair-t.com/fairtrade-cotton-production-from- eld-to-fabric/Chris Wilde. “What we wore to Woodstock” (n.d) Retrieved fromhttps://mashable.com/2014/11/15/woodstock-fashion/#6ouga.1X3gqxThreadbird.  The Screen Printing Process. 2014. Retrieved from https://www.threadbird.com/the-screen-printing-processU/Ziantonic. Does anyone really know why brown and orange were so popular in the 70s?. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1b- 3pqx/does_anyone_really_know_why_brown_and_orange_were/V&A. An Introduction into 1960’s Fashion. (2018). Retrieved fromhttps://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/an-introduction-to-1960s-fashionV&A. Tivoli. (n.d). Retrieved from http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O69737/tivoli-furnishing-fabric-hall-peter/V&A. 1960’s Textile Designers. (2016).  Retrieved fromhttp://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/0-9/1960s-textile-designers/Candice Duncan

Pattern Research Project: An Investigation of The Pattern And Printing Process - Tivoli

Virginia Commonwealth University 
VCU Scholars Compass 
Pattern Research Project Dept. of Interior Design 
2018 
Pattern Research Project: An Investigation of The Pattern And 
Printing Process - Tivoli 
Candice Duncan 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp 
 Part of the Interior Design Commons 
 
© The Author 
Downloaded from 
https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp/22 
This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Dept. of Interior Design at VCU Scholars Compass. It has 
been accepted for inclusion in Pattern Research Project by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. 
For more information, please contact libcompass@vcu.edu. 
Tivoli
TIVOLI
Precedents to this pattern are fabrics from the Art Nouveau movement that occured in Europe and the US from 1890-
1905. Most notably, “Art Nouveau Doldentraum Red”, by Koloman Moser in 1899. This fabric amongst many others in the 
era also served as furnishing fabrics that were celebrated for their beauty as well as functional purpose. Tivoli’s curves 
and spots not only physically mirror furnishing fabrics from the turn of the century, but as do it’s surrounding radical, 
avant-garde social values as well. Art Nouveau, literally translating to “New Art” which sought to escape the hierarchy of 
the liberal arts (like painting and sculpture) and highlight the formal and functional advantages that craft and the deco-
rative arts exude. During what was seen as an Art Nouveau “Revival” in the 1960’s, these designs were modernized and 
transformed using bold curved lines and bright, enhanced earth tones. 
 Tivoli’s colors are made using ink. This ink was likely a water based due to this pattern being produced in the 
UK, where it is less common to use plastisol inks commonly used in the states. While this is an applied color 
process, water based inks have the tendency to saturate the material until the fabric appears to have the col-
or inherently. The colors of this pattern are a quintessential sign of the times in the late 60s and 70’s. One can 
assume the overt use of earth tones in the textiles, interiors, and fashion of this period are due to a rebellion 
toward the neon, industrialized colors present in the pop movement. This generation may have had an attitu-
dinal shift toward more laid back, muted tones because they mimicked nature. This movement was also con-
nurrent with the rising protesting for war, where youth may have rejected the consumerist nature of the baby 
boomers.
“With war in Vietnam and student uprisings in France, opinion-formers began to disapprove of Pop’s ma-
terialistic sheen. People moved towards Eastern culture for inspiration. The ideas and mix-and-match 
aesthetic of California’s hippy movement crossed the Atlantic, giving people free rein to ‘live differ-
ent’, and to sport clothing from a range of non-Western cultures” (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2018).
Tivoli was designed for Heal’s Fabrics in 1967 as a furnishing fabric depicting stylized flowers and vines printed in multi-
ple color combinations. At this time,
“Heal’s was a leader in this field [fabrics]. The designs they bought exemplified the changing moods of the decade. 
They develop from sober colours and geometric shapes, through Pop and Op Art-inspired motifs. In the later sixties 
they are influenced by flower power and revival patterns then move towards the super-realism associated with the early 
seventies” (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2016).
At this time during the 60’s and 70’s patterned curtains at the window were used as a main decorative feature in many 
interiors.  Today window treatments are very often quite plain with room features moving to the likes of decorative cush-
ions, rugs, throws, paintings and prints. These being the core styling features, which enables the interior to be changed 
without having to invest in expensive total re-decoration (Peter Hall, 2018).
 The dimensions of this pattern include a length of 48 in and width of 108 in. There are evident re-
peats due to it’s block pattern style. These repeats include a length of 17.3 in and a width of 23.6 in. 
Tivoli has a robust,  flowy rhythm defined by flower which are broken up by an array of bulbs. It’s re-
peat creates a dynamism that breaks up the typical harsh edges of a block style repeat. In the above 
print of Tivoli, there is a base color in olive green, then a layer in yellow, and a third layer in buff. An 
implied grid is present within this pattern, but not apparent.
DESIGN
48 in
Tivoli is composed of processed cotton and water based ink. The process for harvesting cotton is a lengthy, yet familiar 
process that requires multiple artisans and manufacturers labor before it can reach a textile designer. Depending on 
the zone in which cotton grows, it can be harvested anywhere from September to February. After the harvesting sea-
son, the crop is put through the cotton gin where the fibres are removed from the seed. The gin then pulls the  fibres 
into a vacuum that dries and cleanses them. This excess material is what we know as lint which is then compressed 
into large bales and stored for distribution. Textile mills purchase these bails and put them through a spinning process 
which transforms the short  fibres into thread and yarn. After this process, textile manufacturers use either weaving or 
knitting techniques to create fabrics. A machine screen printer is then used to squeegee layers of ink onto the fabric to 
create the repeat with the olive base, a layer of yellow stems and bulbs, and finally a layer of buff stems and bulbs. 
108 in
Tivoli, 1967, implied grid, block pattern style
MATERIALITY & CRAFT
USE & PURPOSE COLOR
DESIGN
during the 60’s and 70’s i was influenced by 
both Art Nouveau and the Pre-Raphaelite 
movement. This was designed to offer con-
sumers an alternative to the very abstract 
modernist work produced at the time
HISTORY & CULTURE
Floral garment, Woodstock, 
1969
Peter Hall in His Studio, 
2009
Tivoli in blue, cobalt, 
and green
Tivoli Pillow, orange, caramel, 
brown
Tivoli Exercise Book, V&A
Screen Printing Process, 
2014
Sources
Art & Artworks. Art Nouveau Revival. (n.d). Retrieved from https://www.artartworks.com/exhibitions/art-nouveau-revival-2860/
Art Nouveau. (n.d). Retrieved from https://www.theartstory.org/movement-art-nouveau.htm
Book Xcess. Tivoli Exercise Book. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.bookx- cessonline.com/products/tivoli-exercise-book
Dynamic Screen Printing Supply. Screen Printing Ink Types. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.dynamicscreenprintingsupply.com/Screen-Printing-Ink-
Types
Etsy. “Heal’s Peter Hall Tivoli”. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.etsy.com/listing/621471015/heals-peter-hall-tivoli-orange-gold-and
Kara Olsen Theiding. “Anxieties of Influence: British Responses to Art Nouveau, 1900-04.” Journal of Design History, vol. 19, no. 3, 2006, pp. 215–
231. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4123029.
Kevin McCoombe. Fair-T Ltd.  The Cotton Production Process- From Field to Fabric. 2014. Retrieved from
http://www.fair-t.com/fairtrade-cotton-production-from- eld-to-fabric/
Chris Wilde. “What we wore to Woodstock” (n.d) Retrieved from
https://mashable.com/2014/11/15/woodstock-fashion/#6ouga.1X3gqx
Threadbird.  The Screen Printing Process. 2014. Retrieved from https://www.threadbird.com/the-screen-printing-process
U/Ziantonic. Does anyone really know why brown and orange were so popular in the 70s?. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/
AskReddit/comments/1b- 3pqx/does_anyone_really_know_why_brown_and_orange_were/
V&A. An Introduction into 1960’s Fashion. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/an-introduction-to-1960s-fashion
V&A. Tivoli. (n.d). Retrieved from http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O69737/tivoli-furnishing-fabric-hall-peter/
V&A. 1960’s Textile Designers. (2016).  Retrieved from
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/0-9/1960s-textile-designers/
Candice Duncan


https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&amp;context=prp

Pattern Research Project: An Investigation of The Pattern And Printing Process - Tivoli

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