Catherine Hardess

Catherine Hardess became Catherine Hardress (18 November 1889 – 4 October 1970) was an Australian weaver, artist and designer. She and her partner, Mollie Grove, created a company and a factory that produced hand woven fabric.

Life

Hardess was born in Flemington, Victoria. Her parents were Ann Emma (born Taylor) and her husband George Henry Hardess, who was a teacher. They, like her, had been born in Melbourne. She was educated in Australia and later at the Slade School of Fine Art.

Hardess was employed at the girls' school at Swinburne Technical College in 1919 while J. R. Tranthim-Fryer was the director. She taught fine art and her students included Mollie Grove, and Mary Macqueen. She was allowed leave in 1934 to go to England. She had been given unpaid leave previously to study at the Slade School of Art in 1923 but this time she never returned. Osborne Robinson later designed the costumes for Laurence Olivier to play Hamlet at the Old Vic. Hardess became the designer at Tunbridge's repertory theatre. She was joined by her former student Edith 'Mollie' Grove in 1935 who became her life partner. Grove was twenty years younger than her and she studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts Russia, Poland and Greece. Ecarte took on ten staff and at its height there were 35 employees.

By 1954 the company was succeeding and Hardess had formally changed her name to Hardress. 1957 saw a move to a smaller building in Heathcote. They had looked at British weaving and the company was now customising designs of furnishing fabric for leading architects and prestigious locations - sometimes using power looms. The company ended in 1962. Hardess died in 1970 in the Melbourne suburb of Lower Plenty.