16/06/2026
Here’s a little tale of a mysterious fabric...
Normally when I see a vintage fabric there will be clues as to style, fabric content, era, designer and so on. But this one really had me stumped.
The fabric in question was a pair of handmade cushion covers given to me by my friend Imogen who was clearing out her elderly mother’s fabric collection. It’s a linen-like heavy weave, printed in a batik style design and in the most beautiful (but unusual) combination of colours (coral, deep yellow, green and brown). Imogen’s mother had travelled a fair bit in the 60s and 70s, having lived in Jamaica and Africa at various points but seemingly this fabric had been acquired in England. But it was like nothing I’d ever seen before.
Then a few weeks later, I was sat in the lounge and one of the covers was draped over the sofa and something caught my eye in the design - blink and you’d miss it, but there suddenly as bold as anything - a signature printed into the design. And so I googled...
Stella St John is now known as Lady Stella St John, former First Lady of Barbados. She was married to Sir Harold Bernard St John who was the third prime minister of Barbados from 1985 to 1986. There isn’t a huge amount of information available online about her artistic work but I did find this photo (credit: Esan Benzy) which shows her with one of her paintings. And seemingly at some point she designed this fabric.
We still aren’t sure where Imogen’s mother acquired the fabric but I’m just glad Lady Stella thought to add her name to it!
