Michael Haynes

1960s

As the display director for Jaegar between 1960 and 1969, Haynes won the Regent Street annual window display award seven times, as well as winning the Sunday Telegraph trophy for the best national window display for two years running, and the Evening Standard trophy for the best displays in London. Other displays included an installation by the cast of “An Evening of British Rubbish”, staring Bruce Lacey from the Windhams Theatre in London. The exhibition of “Celebrity Christmas Trees”, designed by personalities received much publicity.

Haynes designed window displays for Mary Quant between 1963 and 1965 at her Knightsbridge and Kings Road boutiques, one of Haynes’ window displays was a flower design on the window made by drawing around paper plates. Mary Quant loved it so much it became the inspiration for her iconic flower design. His Christmas display consisting of lines of penguins, with spring heads fitted to concentric cranks, was bought by one of the Beatles.

In 1967 Haynes designed and installed the “Swinging London” Exhibition at Madam Tussaud’s, London. His Swinging Personalities were depicted by life size cut out photographs, which included artist Peter Blake. Sir Peter liked the idea so much that he used the concept for the Beatles record cover, “Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”.

Cut-out images of swinging sixties stars included The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jean Shrimpton, PJ Proby, Mary Quant, David Hockney, Peter Blake, Gerald Scarfe, The Who, The Kinks, Twiggy, Bruce Lacey, Paul Jones.

Haynes was also the designer of several exhibitions including

  • Photographs by William Klein, Paris & London 1965
  • Photographs by David Bailey, London 1967
  • Neon & Acrylic Art Showcase, London 1968

1970s

Haynes became established as the leading display designer in London (Tommy Roberts – “Mr Freedom”, described as the best in the world!), and in 1970 was invited to design the fashion section of the British Exhibition of Design at the Museum des Arts Decoratif, Paris.

In 1971 Cecil Beaton asked Haynes to design his exhibition “Fashion: An Anthology” at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Beaton had accumulated a breathtaking collection of clothes designed by the most celebrated designers of the 20th Century, and worn by fashion icons such as Mrs Loel Guinness, The Duchess of Windsor, Empress Eugene, Mrs Diana Vreeland and Madame Martinez de Hoz. These included Balenciaga; Worth; Schiaparelli; Vionet; Dior; Grey; Balmain; Chanel; Hartnell; Fortuny; Callot; shoe designers, Vivier & Rayne.

In 1965 Lady Churchill and her daughter noticed a window display commemorating the life of Sir Winston Churchill in a shop in Regent Street. As a result, Haynes was commissioned by The National Trust to design and install the Museum Rooms at Chartwell, Sir Winston’s country home. In 1974, The Churchill Centenary Trust commissioned Haynes to design and install the Churchill Centenary Exhibition at Somerset House.

Haynes designed and built exhibitions including

  • L’Idée et la Forme. Design en Grande Bretagne, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris 1971
  • Mary Quants London, London Museum (Kensington Palace) 1973
  • The Churchill Centenary Exhibition, Somerset House 1974
  • Acrylic paintings and furniture at Anthony Redmile, London, 1977
  • Thomas More Quincentenary Exhibition, National Portrait Gallery, 1978

Open days had become a regular feature of both the London and Stow-on-the-Wold studios from 1971. Twice yearly open days have continued to feature in the workshop regular activities.

The ground floor of his Elsfield Manor flat were the principal reception rooms which provided an opportunity to house a growing collection of work acquired in the London and Stow-on-the-Wold studios. As well as an opportunity to design and make acrylic furniture and light fittings, including chandeliers, doors, a four poster bed, chaise, a collectors cabinet, a drinks cabinet, sofas, arm chairs, dining and hall chairs.

In 1971 Michael Haynes looked for a suitable studio to share with artists and craftspeople and found a charming ex food warehouse at the unlikely address of “401½” Wandsworth Road, in South London quite close to Chelsea and Vauxhall Bridges. The 10,000 square feet Victorian warehouse (built circa 1870) provided excellent rooms for his own studios, and also provided sufficient room to be able to invite arts graduates to work under the same roof. Haynes also set up a resident workshop in late 1975 called Fosseway house. It was an independent self supporting body of craftspeople set in a Cotswold Manor House with the workshop on the ground floor.

1980s/1990s

In the 1970s, having been invited to join by a group of idealistic pioneers to purchase and save the derelict Elsfield Manor, the transformation of his flat was featured in the book “beautiful homes of Britain”. The flat was also featured in “The charms of Elsfield Manor” in Architectural Digest, May 1980.

Haynes’ commercial work consisted of leading his design team to develop various innovative advertising campaigns, including changing the image of betting shops with his three dimensional perspex shopfronts. His designs for the Royal ascot box with his Perspex design had racegoers in the other boxes queuing down the corridors to see it. He also continued to design perspex furniture with his writing cabinet being exhibited at Sotheby’s.

In the 1980’s Haynes designed and built numerous exhibitions including

  • The 20th Century room at the National Portrait Gallery 1982
  • Coco Chanel exhibition, Sotheby’s Bond Street 1984
  • Paul McCartney exhibition, National Portrait Gallery 1984
  • Exhibition of contemporary applied arts, Sotherby’s Bond Street 1989

The first combined group exhibition of the work from both Fosseway House and 401½ was held in the art gallery at the Commonwealth Institute in 1980. The catalogue (ISBN No. 0-900906-87-71) was designed by Haynes and the exhibition selection was made by Michael Rowe, Jill Crowley, Diana Harrison and Michael Haynes. The exhibition was organized by Fred Lightfoot MBE. John Houston produced most of the text. for the catalogue.

Further group exhibitions that Haynes designed and organised include

  • Westminster gallery, Boston 1981
  • Ashgate gallery, Farnham 1984
  • Olympia Arts Fair 1988

In the 1990’s, Haynes designed a series of six leisure facilities in North America for Philadelphia Park Race Track; In 1994 he was commissioned to design the interiors of a block of 24 shore apartments in New Jersey 30 minutes south of New York.

2000s

401 1/2 studios continues to be a creative hub for artist/crafts people and a unique independent art studio, now run by the Haynes family.

The onsite gallery has hosted a number of exhibitions promoting studio members and the window displays are enjoyed by the local community.

Sadly Michael Haynes, the founder, passed away at his home in Elsfield, Oxford on the 6th March 2023.