Offering a range of blankets, cushion covers, wallpaper, and prints – all adorned with rare and historical artworks – Print Sisters Archive is a small, independent, female-led company founded by the creative duo, and siblings, Alexia and Claudia. Here they share their story.
Words: Lily Smith. Images: Jan Bernet.
We grew up surrounded by creativity and vintage markets. Our family has a background in various artistic fields, including printmaking, fabric sourcing, jewellery, knitting, ceramics, painting, graphic design, and fashion. We were also inspired by our Belgian grandmother’s home city of Brussels, where we explored the Art Nouveau and Art Deco architectural spaces.
From these experiences, we were naturally inclined towards seeking and collecting beauty, leading us to curate an archive celebrating craftsmanship, heritage, and timeless style.
Our brand is built on our passion for fashion and interior design, as well as our love for the planet and desire to offer affordable art for all. We have curated one of the largest private archives of rare artworks, historical prints, and textile patterns from the 1830s to the 1970s. We feel very proud and honoured to be the guardians of thousands of original handcrafted designs by textile artists spanning hundreds of years, and our archive collection is always evolving.
When designing a new collection, our process is fairly organic. We meet up and go through the archive in an intuitive way, exploring what feels fresh and exciting. This could be influenced by colour trends, seasons, films, exhibitions, our moods, or the natural world. The archive is abundant with beautiful inspiration and patterns, offering endless possibilities for how they can be translated onto new materials.
After selecting around 50 prints, we lay them out to form stories or poetic connections that express our sentiments. We go with what resonates with us most in the moment, knowing it could be different on another day.
Limited to 500 editions per design, our process involves careful digital restoration. During this process, we often add our own creative flair through colour variations or highlighting unique elements. Our archive plays host to so many hues and tones of the colour spectrum. There is beauty in how different inks age and how the depth differs depending on what made the colour in the first place and what kind of material it was applied to.
At the heart of our business is our gratitude for the environment around us. We prioritise using recycled and sustainable materials in our designs, so when we find a new material that both holds and enhances the original design and ticks all the boxes in terms of ecology – like our eco-paper products – then we light up.
We are also proud to be partnered with Tree Sisters, a tree-planting charity that also offers global programmes to encourage women’s leadership and connection with nature.
A favourite design of ours is the Tree Of Life. It’s so rich in symbolism and power, woven through and connecting so many cultures throughout history and representing our hope for a greener, more sustainable future. Currently, we’ve got our eye on the Pantone Colour Of The Year 2024, Peach Fuzz, with a few designs embodying this perfectly.
Shop the full collection online at printsistersarchive.com or in-store at Glassette, Haines Collection, and Fenwick’s.
Need more design inspiration? Read our previous spotlight
