It’s all the same to me unless its done in black and white or done by Timorous Beasties, such as the above graphic from their Glasgow series.

After twaling through the internet, and reading one of my now favorite blogs, All the Best, I came across her posting on toile. My sense of this style, as All the Best concludes, is that it is classic, and the classic versions are timeless. but it is only just now getting interesting because we are getting variations on the theme, like doing it in black and white and mixing color themes (above left, from All the Best), or having it done by Timorous Beasties who have put it into an altogether different classification which I call, Toile with a twist.

I loved the description of their work on their About Us page….”As their working practise as designer-makers has progressed, Timorous Beasties have become increasingly experimental in their approach to both hand-printing and machine production. These changes are reflected in their evolving aesthetic: from early wayward interpretations of naturalistic images of insects, plants and fish; to a searingly contemporary graphic style which, as Glasgow Toile illustrates, explores social and political issues.” If you look closely at the opening graphic which is from their Glasgow Toile series, the images are anything but pastoral, in fact it’s exactly the opposite… “closer inspection reveals a nightmarish vision of contemporary Glasgow where crack addicts, prostitutes and the homeless are depicted against a forbidding backdrop of dilapidated tower blocks and scavenging seagulls.”

This is not the only type of work Timorous Beasties does, they have a full portfolio of designs (this graphic is from their Studio Wallpaper Collection and comes in 4 colorways); just count on them to be enterprising in their endeavors, bringing even more thought to bear in our ever evolving style aesthethic, and they are availabe to commission.

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