For two centuries, Manchester was cotton and cotton was Manchester. So significant was the city’s role in the global trade that it was given the nickname Cottonopolis.

Plenty of evidence of this towering past still exists in the exuberance and confidence of its Victorian architecture.

The C greetings card Tile depicts an orderly civic culture emerging from the sooty and unhealthy deprivation that underwrote the profits made through cotton manufacture.

Brainchild of illustrator and architect Richard Bennett, The Sculpts was founded in 2020. What began as a handful of illustrative tile designs quickly turned into a distinctive range. Drawing inspiration from the patterns, spaces, shapes and designs we encounter every day, we continue to explore new projects and products, including collaborations with some of Manchester’s best-known artistic institutions.