Daler-Rowney
 | |
| Limited | |
| Industry | Art Materials Industry |
| Founded | 1783 |
| Founder | George Rowney & Daler Family |
| Headquarters | Bracknell, United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Patrick Giraud (CEO) |
| Products | Colours, Brushes, Papers, Drawing Media, Canvases, Boards, Easels, Artists accessories |
| Website | daler-rowney.com |
Daler-Rowney Ltd is an art materials manufacturer based in Bracknell, United Kingdom. It sells a wide range of artist products such as paints, artist surfaces, brushes and a range of accessories.
History
In 1783, Richard and Thomas Rowney opened premises in central London where they started selling perfumes and wig powder, which was the beginning of the Rowney Company. As the fashion for wigs soon changed, the Rowney brothers re-focused their talent and concentrated on producing artists' colours. The idea was successful and they soon began supplying famous artists such as Constable and Turner. In 1837, the company became known as George Rowney & Company when Thomas’s son, George Rowney, took over the firm.
George Rowney & Company relocated many times during the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1963, Rowney was the first manufacturer in Europe to introduce an artist’s acrylic colour, under the brand name Cryla. In 1969, the company moved out of central London to its present address and headquarters in Bracknell.
The business had passed through generations of the Rowney family. Tom Rowney was the final Managing Director from within the Rowney family. Having no family successor for the company, he looked for a buyer. In 1969, a majority holding was sold to the Morgan Crucible Company and then in 1983, the year of Rowney’s bicentenary, the company was sold on to the Daler Board Company.
The Daler Board Company was established in 1946 by the Daler family. On his return from a German prison camp, Terry Daler founded a sign writing business together with his brother Ken and brother-in-law Arthur. Ken created a new type of surface for oil painting that pulled the thick oil colour off the brush. Cardboard was sealed and primed through a mesh (a net curtain) which became a commercialised product called the "Daler Board".
Between 1945 and 1960, Daler developed a variety of products such as pads (including the Red and Yellow Series A that is still part of the range), canvas panels, stretched canvases, mountboards and artist’s luggage. In 1975, they introduced the first synthetic brush to the artists material market.
In 1983, the Daler Board Company purchased the George Rowney Company to become Daler-Rowney Limited as it is known today.
In 1988, the company established distribution offices in Cranbury, New Jersey, USA and in 1994 "Robert Simmons" brand of artist’s brushes was bought. In 2006, Daler-Rowney acquired the US brand Cachet, a hardback book publishing line.[1][2][3]
Headquarters and manufacturers
The Daler-Rowney Head Office is located in Bracknell, Berkshire, in the South East of England. The company moved from central London to its present address and headquarters in Bracknell in 1969. Daler-Rowney has offices in the USA, Cranbury, New Jersey and in Europe, France and Belgium. The process of manufacturing is divided into 3 different sites: the colours are produced at the headquarters, in Bracknell; the brushes are manufactured in La Romana, Dominican Republic; and all paper products are transformed in Wareham, United Kingdom.