Daniel Heath

Daniel Heath is a British wallpaper, textile and surface designer. Based in east London, he maintains strong principles of craftsmanship and sustainability throughout his handmade creations. Daniel first studied printed textiles at the University of Loughborough, UK, and then trained in printed textiles at the Royal College of Art in London. Here he learnt traditional silk-screen printing techniques. Upon graduating in 2007, he created a studio dedicated to producing handmade, made-to-measure wallpapers and interior surfaces. Drawing is an important component of his work but he also uses other techniques such as engraving. As well as a wallpaper designer and creator, Daniel is an experienced academic, lecturing on textiles at universities including Manchester and Central Saint Martins, London.

A collaboration with Retrouvius introduced Daniel to the techniques of upcycling materials, a method and philosophy now continually implemented through his creations. Retrouvius creates architectural and interior designs and salvages materials from the interiors on which they work. While working on a project with them, Daniel was offered some salvaged material to use as a printing surface. This opened the door to experimenting with printing onto an array of different materials, such as wood and marble, salvaged from various sites and also to collaborations with joiners and carpenters. Daniel has since implemented a regular upscaling system within his production.

As a child, Daniel Heath was “obsessive” about drawing and took inspiration for his sketches from BBC wildlife presenter David Attenborough’s nature programmes. He discovered textiles during a foundation year at art school, and loved the process of applying his illustrations to something that “wasn’t just an art piece for art’s sake”. However, unable to afford to print on silks or fine fabrics as a student, he started to print wallpapers instead.

Pattern of Crafts Exhibition