“I found these designs a couple of years after Sheila died. She was my Godmother. Her house and barn had been emptied but for some reason her studio had been left. The new owner asked me if I would like to have a route through before it was all put in the skip. There were piles and piles and piles of paper, all with finished designs, ideas, tracings, paintings, drawings and doodles. It was a treasure trove! I knew Sheila was an artist but had no idea she was a fabric/wallpaper designer too. And an extremely successful one. Amongst all the paper there were loads of letters from Liberty, Marks and Spencer’s, John Lewis, Ashley Mountney (Laura Ashley), the German firm PW Brick Messel, Crown Wallpaper and loads more, saying they would like to either buy certain designs from her or view her portfolio. I knew straight away it all had to be saved.”

Rachel Elsworth