An art studio based at Coventry’s creative quarter has produced a series of original artwork for the city’s newest premium hotel which celebrates the iconic building and its journalistic past.

Print Manufactory, based at Fargo Village, has created bespoke handmade prints for the Telegraph Hotel in its biggest contract of this kind to date.

The business is run by directors Kate Rossin and Jon Randle, and Kate had the task of designing a series of collages which tell the story of the former Evening Telegraph building and the people who worked there.

The prints are based around original photographs taken within the building which depict its working practices in the 1960s, giving an insight into everywhere from the editor’s office and typing pools to the printing press and kitchens.

A colour palette reminiscent of the 1950s was also chosen before the ink for prints was custom made.

A total of eight images have been created, with 22 of each being handmade, amassing to 176 prints in total.

They were produced using the screen-printing technique, where ink is pressed through a stencilled mesh screen to create a printed design, with each layer of colour needing to dry before the next can be printed on top.

Two of the pieces will be based in each of the hotel’s 88 bedrooms to complement its ‘Mid-Century Modern style’ interior design.

Kate, who is from Coventry, said that despite the project taking a number of months to complete, she is incredibly proud that the business was selected to design and produce the artwork.

She said: “We were approached about producing some bespoke prints some time ago so I contacted the then editor of the Coventry Telegraph who gave us access to their archives.

“We wanted to create a narrative of the building, telling a story of not only the Evening Telegraph, but of those that worked there.

“It was fantastic to take iconic photographs that were strong on their own and adapt them into new pieces of art.

“Each piece was printed by hand, so they are all slightly different, and we used a combination of matt and gloss ink so create subtle differences to the texture.

“I am a photographer by trade and Jon a videographer and we have worked on some very large projects before, but this is the biggest screen-printing project to date for the business and I am incredibly proud of what has been created.

“We are losing a lot of Coventry’s Mid-Century, post war architecture, so it is hugely important that the hotel is trying to retain the history of the building.

“We are very excited to see the artwork in situ in the bedrooms.”

Brian Harrabin of CDP said: “Kate has created eight stunning pieces of artwork which really tell the story of the building’s history.

“Her creativity shines through in the work, which will complement our vision to create a truly unique, Mid-century inspired boutique hotel perfectly.
“I’m sure that all of our guests will love seeing the prints during their stays at the hotel.”