ITS
HISTORY, PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES
2: Introduction
SHATTALINE Limited originally operated
from an old workshop at 24 Long Garden Walk, Farnham, Surrey (UK) from the mid-1960s. Products were a range of
decorative resin household items including paperweights, pen holders, candle
holders, tables, table lamps and table lighters. All of these were manufactured
using a patented process producing a crazed effect within the resin, which
reflected and refracted the light. In 1969 the 
small firm planned an
expansion and was joined by additional directors. Manufacture moved away from
Farnham, initially to Maybury Road, Woking
then, in the early 1970s to Evanton,
Ross-shire. Here there were attempts at diversification, such as
experimentation with bar-fonts in the shape of glasses filled with bubbling
‘beer’ – a common enough sight these days! The prototypes are recalled by
George Campbell, whose father George Snr. was
landlord of the Caledonian Hotel in
Beauly, where some Shattaline staff would go for a drink. Following Major Tugwell’s disappearance (see Page 9:
People)
there appears to have been a 'split' among the Board of Directors, with the
remaining directors of the company (excepting Joan Tugwell
and Michael Hirst) forming a company called Freeplan. A somewhat acrimonious dispute resulted in
transfer of the patent to the new company in lieu of royalties; in the event, Freeplan proved to be very short-lived. Around this time,
there was also a major increase in the cost of resin, the main raw material for
the process, which contributed to the end of the product.
Shattaline products have become collectable items of
"kitsch" in recent times, but little is known about them and I've
been told of charity shop staff throwing them away as worthless
"tat", whilst others make reasonable sums on auction sites such as eBay.
Genuine Shattaline items were produced by a patented process and carried labels
showing their origin but, of course, these labels were usually removed, leaving
the piece anonymous; they can then be confused with similar items but the real
thing can usually be distinguished from these by careful inspection. Lacking
the appropriate knowledge, some dealers describe Shattaline and its imitators
as "crackle resin" or "resin crackle" items.
Many still consider plastic to be a cheap, mass-produced option
and, therefore, not a craft product or worthy of notice. That certainly isn't
true of Shattaline; as you will see on the following pages, the process was
labour-intensive and craft-based. The process resulted in a very high level of
rejection, so it was costly. In fact, if you compare the manufacture of a
simple Shattaline paper weight with throwing a pot you can see that, maybe,
these ‘plastic’ items should be much more highly regarded!
How do I know this? I worked 8 hours a week (and full time
during school holidays) at Shattaline for a few years in the late 1960s when
regulations allowed teenaged schoolkids to earn some
pocket money in factories as an alternative to the usual newspaper round. I am
indebted to Steve Bayfield for filling out much of the half-remembered detail.
Thanks also to Steve's brother Tony and sister-in-law Su for their photographic
and other help. Thanks, too to Dave Claydon for his help and for getting me the
job in the first place! And thanks to all those ebayers
who have provided photos. Last but not least, I am indebted to Angela O’Sullivan (daughter
of the product’s inventor and firm’s founder Lewen Tugwell); and to the late Mrs Tugwell,
wife of Lewen, who provided further information
through Angela for release after her passing.
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