History

Sanderson Design Group PLC is an international luxury interior furnishings company that designs, manufactures and markets wallpapers and fabrics together with a wide range of ancillary interior products. 

In 2020, we brought our portfolio of brands home to Sanderson Design Group PLC, evoking the combined longevity and prodigious creative history of our brands. ‘Sanderson Design Group’ describes the ebullience of our past endeavours. It sketches the outline of our future. A collective of 6 quintessentially British luxury interior brands, at Sanderson Design Group we are Sanderson, Morris & Co., Zoffany, Harlequin, Clarke & Clarke and Scion. 

Our purpose is "To bring the Beautiful into People’s Homes and Lives". This has defined and shaped our brands since our very earliest days. The oldest brand in our arsenal, from where we derive the namesake of our group, begun life in 1860, as an importer of fine French wallpapers to London. Arthur Sanderson & Sons Ltd played a pivotal role in defining English interior decoration tastes and its early success led to displaying designs at London’s finest showroom, at Berners Street. Around this time in 1924, Arthur Sanderson & Sons Ltd were awarded The Royal Warrant, becoming “purveyors of wallpaper and paint” to the court of George V. 

The first tentative steps to becoming the Sanderson Design Group that we are today were taken in 1940, with Sanderson’s acquisition of the Arts and Crafts movement pioneer, and slightly younger sibling, Morris & Co. Founded within one year of each other (1861 and 1860 respectively), Sanderson and Morris & Co. are historically intertwined giants of British interior design, with the latter finding a comfortable new home with its slightly older sibling. 

The burgeoning design family of Sanderson and Morris & Co. was bolstered by new members, Zoffany and Harlequin, with the formers' acquisition by Walker Greenbank PLC in 2003. Since Walker Greenbank’s addition of Wallcoverings International in 1987, the firm made a marked  shift away from its engineering base with a move into the interior furnishings market. The 1987 purchase brought with it consumer brands Zoffany and Harlequin, as well as manufacturing brand Anstey Wallpaper Company. Walker Greenbank’s shift to the interiors market was consolidated with the acquisition of British fabric printing brand Standfast & Barracks in 2000, along with Sanderson and Morris & Co. in 2003, making the design family unique placed in the market due to its entirely British manufacturing base.  

Like Sanderson and Morris & Co., Zoffany boasts an extensive archive of textile and wallpaper materials dating back as far back as the 18th century. Constantly pushing the boundaries, Harlequin soon earned a reputation as one of the first (and keenest) to embrace new digital design techniques. 

Looking to cater for an ever-growing market with diverse needs, more brands were added to the family. The Spring of 2014 saw the first Sanderson Design Group brand dedicated to design-products aimed at the contract market. A desire to transform as many lives as possible with our brands was behind the creation of another now-iconic British brand, Scion, in 2012. Scion Living brought to life playful characters such as ‘Mr. Fox.’, filling our homes with joy and personality. Created in 1999, Clarke & Clarke joins the Sanderson Design Group family in 2016 as a prime example of fabulously eccentric British interior design. 

We recognise that each one of our brands contributes a unique chapter to our story. It is why we represent the full spectrum of British interior design, catering from cutting-edge sleek modern styles, to the hearty warmth of traditional forms. Our decision to rebrand as Sanderson Design Group in 2020 is our way of paying homage to our rich history, as well as marking our path towards a new future. As custodians of over 160 years of design experience, we are proud to Bring the Beautiful into People’s Homes and Lives. We are Sanderson Design Group.