Lady Clare Pigott, the original founder of the company, created one of the first placemats with a decorative print in Paris in 1932. Having to entertain diplomats, Lady Clare became concerned at the laundry bills she was incurring for the starched white table cloths that formality required her to use for dinners.
As a result she created some place mats from shaped and painted hardboard with a flower print applied to the surface and several coats of lacquer. For her next dinner party she was able to remove the table cloth and lay the table using her placemats. Her friends were most impressed by this simple and attractive way of decorating a dining table. From these simple origins a business was born.