About Us
The Pattern Book is an English stationery company designing vintage-style greeting cards, notecards, posters and gift wrap from archival imagery.
The business was started in 2016 by friends Nick Crowe and Neil Baber, both of whom, having worked in art publishing, wanted to explore the possibilities of making beautiful cards from historical imagery. Viv Baber, a classically trained musician who previously worked in the music industry, joined them in 2018, and the business is now run from their studios in Brixton, London, and Exeter, Devon.
sourcing imagery
We curate our imagery from archives, libraries, vintage shops and flea markets, restoring and reworking drawings and graphics from myriad sources, including out-of-print books, scientific texts, commercial catalogues and vintage maps. Many of our designs are instructional or educational, inspired by ‘how to’ guides and taxonomical illustration. Others are nostalgic for the lifestyles and interests of long-ago. All of them are beautiful enough to frame.
We are proud to work with several internationally renowned partners, including the Science Museum in London, the Wellcome Collection and the Royal Entomological Society, and have explored thousands of sociological, scientific and natural history works in their historic archives, choosing imagery for painstaking digital restoration and careful adaptation.
Materials
We use the finest Italian paper for all our products, and our cards are made with a carbon-neutral, uncoated (and therefore fully recyclable) stock made from 100% post-consumer waste. They are printed with vegetable-based inks using a carbon-neutral Heidelberg press by our wonderful printers Alpha Colour based in Gloucestershire, England.
From here they are shipped just a few miles down the road to our fulfillment partner JBH who pack and ship for some of the best known names in the greeting card and gift industries.
Stockists
The vast majority of our stockists are independent retailers, from gift and book shops to vintage and lifestyle stores, located not only in our own neighbourhoods but as far away as Australia, South Korea and the USA. We aim to offer each and every one a personal service, rapid turnaround and exquisite, high-quality products, all designed and printed in England.
Of course we are extremely proud to supply Liberty, Daunt Books and The Royal Opera House in London, The Morgan Library and Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York, and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
