Scarves for Businesses

Photograph, Frankie Welch at a trade show, ca. 1977

Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure

Frankie Welch created many designs for businesses, from a small sweets shop in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, to McDonald’s—a kind of economic Americana. Some businesses used her scarves with employee uniforms, like Auto-Train, and some as holiday gifts for customers. Each design provides an opportunity to delve into the history of American businesses—to learn about companies that are long gone, or to revisit a past moment from a business that is still part of our lives.

Welch created two designs for McCormick, the spice company. The first, in 1977, was printed in “black pepper, sage green, [or] cinnamon.” The other design, from 1978, features a floral pattern of delicately drawn lines depicting various spices. Records in Welch’s papers describe this second scarf as demonstrating a “new concept” in her design work: “small scale interrelated elements forming a subtle feeling.”

McCormick scarf [sage green], Qiana, 1977

Frankie Welch Textile Collection, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries

McCormick scarf, polyester, 1978

Frankie Welch Textile Collection, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries

Welch designed two scarves for McDonald’s and even joined founder Ray Kroc in Paris for an opening of the restaurant there. This scarf features the iconic double arches overlapping the outer border to suggest the company’s global dominance. She designed a second scarf to celebrate the opening of the 4,000th McDonald’s location, in Montreal, in 1977. There are now more than 38,000 McDonald’s worldwide.

McDonald’s scarf, Qiana, 1976

Private Collection