Inside the Studio: Christmas at Archivist

Let’s take you behind the scenes of this year’s Christmas collection through the mood boards, eBay searches, and vintage textiles that shaped it.

There’s something especially fun about designing for Christmas. You’re allowed to be a little louder, a little more garish than usual. Tinsel, tat, and novelty jumpers suddenly start to feel very chic indeed.

Christmas Collection

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First up: mid-century magic.

While we usually find ourselves knee-deep in old matchbox labels, a few years ago we stumbled across a collection of vintage handkerchiefs on eBay that stopped us in our tracks. They were designed by Tammis Keefe, a mid-century American textile designer working in the 1940s and 50s, whose work is endlessly joyful and full of charm and wit.

Keefe had a knack for turning everyday objects such as napkins, handkerchiefs, tea towels, into miniature works of art. Her designs featured everything from American landmarks and horoscopes to cocktail parties and camp sailors.

This year, you’ll spot her Bartending Rudolph on one of our Christmas cards (taken from a fabulous set of cocktail napkins), and Father Christmas on a train, rolling across our long matchbox. Her little motifs pop up across the collection.

Next: the Scottie dog.

I’ll admit it…I’ve got a soft spot for Scottie dogs. I blame The Hairy Maclary Children’s books. But I’m clearly not alone. In the 1930s, the Scottie was the dog to be seen with. Bette Davis, Dorothy Parker, Charles Lindbergh, and Humphrey Bogart all had one. They were the Cockapoo or Dachshund of their day.

At some point, the Scottie trotted firmly into festive folklore, appearing on department store wrapping paper, Christmas cards, and tin toys. There’s something slightly serious about them, with their moustached faces and stiff-legged strut, that just makes you smile.

They’ve featured in our collections before, and this Christmas, they’re back again, as a festive four-legged friend.

And finally: a splash of pink.

There’s only so much red and green one can take before it all starts to feel a bit samey. So this year, we gave tradition a polite nod—and then reached for pink.

It started with a vintage illustration of a pink, carol-singing angel… and snowballed from there. And once Charlotte Farmer joined the creative process, things escalated quickly (as they always do). She brought her signature colour palette - pink, pink, and more pink - alongside her grumpy cats, poodles, and just the right amount of mischief.

The result? A Christmas collection fit for the Sugar Plum Fairy. But who said December can’t be pink?