Oliver Bonas has been accused of ‘ripping off’ the work of a young artist for its spring and summer homeware collection.
Zoe Gibson, a 30-year-old visual artist from Dundee, produced a line of wallpaper and fabric for a small London-based company called CommonRoom in July 2023.
Her work was inspired by the summer solstice and features a series of sun and moon motifs alternating between light and shade.
But Kate Hawkins, creative director of CommonRoom, was shocked after hearing earlier this month that Oliver Bonas was selling a range of items bearing a strikingly similar design, ranging from £4 gift bags to £32.50 cushion covers.
She is now demanding the company pay compensation to both Ms Gibson and CommonRoom while also pledging not to ‘copy’ the work of other artists without their permission.
‘In their designs, Oliver Bonas has turned the flares of the suns into pineapples but that’s not different enough,’ she told MailOnline.
‘I was mainly shocked by the similarity of the colours because those are really easy to change, but they haven’t even bothered.
‘We can’t ignore this because it sets a precedent and encourages these big companies to keep on doing it. We also have a responsibility to protect our artists.’
Zoe Gibson, a 30-year-old visual artist from Dundee, produced a line of solstice-inspired wallpaper and fabric for a small London-based company called CommonRoom in July 2023
A £20 lamp shade in Oliver Bonas that bears a striking similarity to Ms Gibson’s design
One difference between both designs is the use of pineapples rather than suns and moons. Pictured right is a £4 gift bag sold by Oliver Bonas alongside Ms Gibson’s range on the left
CommonRoom is selling ‘Solstice’ wallpaper designed by Ms Gibson on its website for £120 for a 10m roll, while the upholstery fabric costs £125.
Ms Hawkins, 44, said she was first alerted to the Oliver Bonas range on April 13 by another designer who had been browsing the chain’s website.
She found a large number of products seemingly inspired by the solstice design, including a £20 lamp shade and a £35 set of three laundry bags.
‘I’d rather we didn’t have to go public with it. But I’d like to get some compensation for Zoe, and us too, because we’ve spent a lot of time on this,’ she said.
‘They could have just commissioned her in the first place. It’s confusing that such a big business with huge resources wouldn’t funnel those into creativity.
‘It’s almost as much effort to find an existing design and copy it while changing a few things instead of just making something new.
‘They also go big on ”integrity” and have a public code of conduct that says they will operate in a way that ”is ethical and doesn’t negatively impact others”.’
Kate Hawkins, creative director of CommonRoom, was shocked after hearing about the Oliver Bonas range earlier this month
One of a set of three laundry bags on sale at Oliver Bonas for £35 (right)
A close up of fabric produced by Ms Gibson (left) and Oliver Bonas (right)
Ms Hawkins said she contacted Oliver Bonas two weeks ago but did not hear anything back at first. She then contacted her PR team.
They responded on April 24 with a statement reading: ‘I have been informed that the print designer involved in creating this design is no longer with our team.
‘As such, we need to investigate the origin and inspiration behind this print.
‘We appreciate your patience as we look into this matter and will get back to you as soon as we have more information.’
The entrepreneur, whose business is based at Hackney Downs Studio in north London, said she had demanded ‘clarification and serious engagement’ from the company by April 28 and decided to make the matter public when this was not received.
‘Since then we’ve heard nothing back,’ she said.
‘We try and do stuff properly, which is why it’s taking us time to grow – so I’d like them to stop doing this.’
A cushion made using Ms Gibson’s fabric (left) compared with a fabric bag in the Oliver Bonas range
A £32.50 cushion cover on sale at Oliver Bonas as part of its spring/summer collection
Oliver Bonas has more than 90 shops in the UK and Ireland and made revenues of £135.78million last year
The small business owner said she pays commissioned artists 10 per cent (excluding VAT) of the sale price of products that use their designs.
She would now like Oliver Bonas to do the same for all historical and future sales of products ‘inspired by Zoe’s design’.
The High Street firm has more than 90 shops in the UK and Ireland and made revenues of £135.78million last year.
MailOnline contacted Oliver Bonas for comment on Monday but has not received a reply.
