Developed in 1933 by Will George, Pimpernel was responsible for creating the first hardboard coaster. It now serves to supply high‐quality, hardwearing and eye‐catching accessories, including placemats, coasters, trays and textiles to homes across the globe.
Placemats & Coasters
Featuring an extensive array of classic and contemporary designs, in a variety of sizes, Pimpernel is famed for its superior placemat and coaster range. The perfect finishing touch for any table, each individual piece is created using thick, high‐grade, 5mm board, topped with an exclusive art print and then meticulously sealed to ensure stain resistance and heat resistance up to 100 degrees Celsius.
Trays
Wonderfully hardwearing, robust and beautiful, Pimpernel’s exclusive tray range features a variety of highly decorative designs in a number of different sizes, including Portmeirion’s much‐loved Botanic Garden range. Durable, strong and dishwasher safe, the trays are perfect for any occasion from dinner parties, afternoon tea and TV takeaways to lazy weekend breakfasts in bed.
Textiles
Pimpernel’s textile collection features a superb selection of functional yet stylish kitchen accessories that are designed to co‐ordinate with some of Portmeirion, Spode and Royal Worcester’s most popular table designs including the iconic Blue Italian range. In addition to heat‐resistant oven gloves, warming tea cosies and easy‐to‐clean napkins, the beautiful range includes machine washable tea towels and comfortably fitting aprons that are a joy to display in any kind of kitchen.
The History of Pimpernel
In 1933, the Edinburgh-based Pimpernel founder, Will George was liaising with contacts in the whiskey trade, who were encountering numerous breakages during the transportation process. To solve this, Will suggested using pieces of plywood, cut to the same size as the box, with holes shaped to fit the base and necks of the bottles. While this proved a successful solution, many of the circular off‐cuts were going to waste, which inspired Will to create the first hardboard coaster.