Our Company and Mill

Ian Mankin, British weavers of designer furnishing fabrics, was founded in 1983 and is renowned for new and stylish interpretations of natural and organic fabrics in a simple yet timeless palette of colours.

Lauded by designers, industry press and customers alike for our dedication to the creation of fabrics of the highest quality, Ian Mankin has become the place to go for natural British woven fabrics and furnishings. The collection is made up of our signature stripes, checks and plains supported by additional collections of fabrics, wallpapers and accessories.

Who is Ian Mankin?

Brought up in a textile environment, Ian originally started a company producing high-end leather goods such as clothing and luggage. He designed clothes for the Beatles, as seen on the album cover “Revolver”, Michael Caine and US President Ronald Reagan. Subsequently, the company took a change of direction and in 1983 Ian opened his first fabric shop in Primrose Hill in London.

In 1992 he opened his second shop in Wandsworth Bridge Road. In 1997 Ian’s book “Natural Fabrics: Simple & Stylish Soft Furnishing” was published in the UK, France and Germany and this saw a surge in business. In the mid-1990s the first “Mankin by Mail” catalogue was launched generating considerable business and introduced the range to a wider geographical market.

Ian retired in 2008 at which time the business was combined with the Lancashire family weaving mill that still weaves the fabrics and continues Ian’s ethos of elegant simplicity that has underpinned the timeless classical range since its inception.

Fabrics Designed and Woven In Lancashire

We are committed to producing fabrics and furnishings of the highest possible quality, from 100% natural and recycled fibres in timeless and elegant designs.

As a brand conceived, created and produced in Britain, we are passionate about British produce and preserving traditional crafts and skills. Ian Mankin has one of the last surviving cotton mills in Britain and is dedicated to protecting the unique industrial landscape of which it forms a part.

We design and weave our fabrics ourselves in our own weaving mill in Burnley, Lancashire, the birthplace of the world’s industrialised cotton weaving industry and we are extremely proud to continue the crafts and skills learnt over generations. Our complementary cushions, wallcoverings, lighting and accessories are also all UK made by craftsmen with generations of experience behind them.