Brand Bio:
Founded in 1983, Ian Mankin is a British fabric manufacturer dedicated to keeping Britain’s textile industry alive. Owned since 2007 by David Collinge, of John Spencer Textiles, Ian Mankin operates from the last surviving mill in Burnley, Lancashire, the birthplace of the cotton weaving industry, and is sold in over 35 countries worldwide.
Synonymous with ticking, today Ian Mankin designs and produces a perennially popular collection of classic contemporary fabrics, including easily combinable stripes, checks, florals and corresponding plains in an edited and instantly recognisable palette.
If you could sum up your brand in 3 words, what would they be?
Timeless, classic, contemporary.
Who or what is your biggest inspiration and why?
Ian Mankin – I met Ian nearly 30 years ago and over a period of 20 years working with him was guided by his principles of elegant simplicity when designing new fabrics. We have maintained his simple palette of colours throughout the collection which not only ensures that all our fabrics work together but they do not date.
What brings you to Decorex this year?
Decorex is our main show of the year. We don’t have a team of agents running around the country so it is an important time for us to get together with our customers, show them what’s new and get valuable feedback.
Can you tell us about your plans for the show?
We will be launching our exciting new collection of wallcoverings, IMPERIAL, named after one of our family’s historic weaving mills. Printed in England and inspired by our industrial heritage, the Imperial collection combines some of our new fabric print designs alongside some new stripes.
What are you most looking forward to at Decorex 2014?
Catching up with old friends and making new ones! This year will be the first Decorex after we started our export push – it will be a good opportunity to catch up with our distributors in the 14 countries where we are now represented.
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