Nigel Briggs is a member of local Sydenham History Group and his talk about the Leamington-based textile company, Sari Fabrics, was fascinating and nostalgic for many of us. Set up by Joy and Malcolm Wilcox in the late 1960’s, it was very much a ‘design led’ company, with a team of local in-house designers who produced a vast range of household textiles from aprons, bags, mugs, tea cosies and tea towels featuring well-known branded product images to cloth kit dolls and puppet-like oven gloves in the form of jungle animals.
At various points, the company employed famous names, such as Kaffe Fassett and Zandra Rhodes, to inject variety into their range, and briefly introduced some American designs.
Anyone who remembers the J & M Wilcox shop in Regent Street, Leamington in the 1970s will recall that it was like entering an Aladdin’s cave of colourful items, and there were probably few homes that didn’t have something by Sari in their kitchens.
Nigel had lots of images dating from the company’s beginnings and heyday (noting that the Wilcox’s were known for giving memorable parties for their staff and friends) and he brought along some of his large collection of items, which illustrate the abundance of Sari Fabrics’ output during the company’s lifetime.
Thank you, Nigel.