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Patterned cushions and canvases hang on wall-mounted shelving beneath three drum pendant lights, more cushions stacked along the floor below a wall-mounted television.
Glasgow

Timorous Beasties

The Glasgow design studio behind surreal wallpapers, fabrics and cushions since 1990, with its shop on a corner of Great Western Road.

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Welcome

Timorous Beasties call themselves a surreal and provocative design studio, and they have been designing and printing in Glasgow since 1990, when they were set up by graduates of the Glasgow School of Art.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Their shop on Great Western Road is a bright white corner building, its big windows full of cushions and hangings that stop people in the street.

Inside, the walls are hung with long panels of their wallpapers and fabrics: lush jungles and flowers, gilded damasks crawling with insects, and splashes of colour like ink in water. Shelves are stacked with velvet cushions printed with bees and beetles, lampshades drip with colour, and there are duvet sets too. Everything is designed in Scotland and shipped around the world, and the studio works on interiors for hotels, restaurants and homes. The latest collection, Straight Out the Jungle, brings new wallpapers and statement cushions. The shop opens Tuesday to Saturday from ten until five.

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Before you go

The Glasgow shop opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm.

It is closed on Sunday and Monday.

Hours
Tue to Sat 10:00 to 17:00; closed Sun and Mon.
Where
384 Great Western Road, G4 9HT.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
10am–5pm
Wednesday
10am–5pm
Thursday
10am–5pm
Friday
10am–5pm
Saturday
10am–5pm
Sunday
Closed

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Did you know

A curved corner shopfront lettered "Timorous Beasties" displays patterned fabric, cushions and prints in its windows beside a graffitied gable wall.
Did you know

Since 1990.

Timorous Beasties has been designing in Glasgow since 1990, set up by graduates of the Glasgow School of Art.

An embroidered floral cushion and a small velvet cushion with a bee motif hang on patterned wallpaper panels between shop windows, further cushions displayed on a rack beside them.
Did you know

Surreal and provocative.

Besides its own wallpapers and fabrics, the studio works on collaborations and design projects abroad.

Bolts of brightly patterned floral fabric hang in a row inside a fabric shop, pendant lamps and further rolls visible behind.
Did you know

Deeper into the jungle.

The second chapter of its Straight Out the Jungle collection brought five new wallpaper designs and two statement cushions.

Framed panels of floral and damask wallpaper samples in green, cream and pink hang side by side in a shop display.
Did you know

Wallpaper for the outdoors.

Its designs now come on high-performance fabrics made to be used outside.

A fabric and wallpaper showroom displays green and cream patterned panels beneath ornate drum lampshades, a central counter and shopfront windows visible beyond.
Did you know

In hotels and inns.

Its prints line interiors from Mar Hall near Glasgow to the Meikleour Arms in Perthshire.

A white-painted corner shopfront lettered "Timorous Beasties" displays botanical-print fabric and cushions in its windows.
Did you know

Open for Doors Open Day.

The studio opened its doors for Glasgow Doors Open Day in September 2026.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Glasgow

Founded in 1990 by two local art students, this fiercely inventive design studio has now grown to the point where it now has multiple awards, a showroom in Berlin, and a client list that includes Nike, Philip Treacy and Fortnum & Mason. It’s best known for its colourful, and often edgy, fabrics.

Read more
Patterned wallpaper panels and hanging drum lampshades fill a shop showroom, a central display table standing beneath them near a shopfront window.
What is on

What is new across Glasgow, day by day.

New places, news and stories, as we find them.

What is on in Glasgow
01 / 08
Where it is

384 Great Western Road, in the West End.

Close byAlong Great Western Road.
  1. Voltaire & RousseauVoltaire & RousseauGlasgow's oldest secondhand bookshop, a labyrinth of shelves and stacks on Otago Lane by the Kelvin, with rare books and a shop cat.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. A round table set with wine, a cocktail, bread and charcuterie by a blue banquette.The Caravan ShopA 21-seat neighbourhood bar and restaurant on Great Western Road in a former caravan shop, from the team behind Brett, opened in 2025.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. A painted cart with a scalloped canopy in the middle of the shop.East End PressPaper garlands, baubles and cards in strong colours, on Great Western Road by Kelvinbridge.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Buckets of flowers along the pavement on a wet day on Great Western Road.Roots, Fruits and FlowersAn independent grocer, deli, florist and café in the Caledonian Mansions at Kelvinbridge.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. The River Kelvin through trees, the arches of Inn Deep below the bridge.Inn DeepA craft beer bar with thirty-three taps in the railway arches by the River Kelvin.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. Cheeses stacked on the counter with oatcakes and boxes.George Mewes CheeseA cheesemonger on Byres Road stocking unusual artisan cheeses, each tasted and approved by George, with breads, oatcakes and chutneys.Under a mile 1 min by road
Directions
The front of Valhalla's Goat on Great Western Road, its long sign over windows of bottles, with plants by the door and people walking past.ShoppingValhalla's Goat0.2 miles
The Hug and Pint's front on Great Western Road with its name in lights.RestaurantsThe Hug and Pint0.2 miles
Restaurant dining room with bentwood chairs, bauble garland and hanging pendant lightsRestaurantsPaesano Pizza West End0.2 miles
The green shopfront of Caledonia Books on Great Western Road, its painted sign over a window stacked with books and a green door papered with notices.ShoppingCaledonia Books0.2 miles
The shop inside, with a barrel, shelves and hanging lamps.ShoppingI.J. Mellis, Great Western Road0.2 miles
Chefs at work behind the counter of Brett's open kitchen, seen through the window from Great Western Road at dusk.RestaurantsBrett0.3 miles
Perch & Rest Coffee on Otago Street at dusk, a white cottage with lit windows, greenery and tables and chairs out front.CafePerch & Rest0.3 miles
Shelves of old leather-bound books above modern paperbacks.ShoppingThistle Books0.3 miles
The counter at Black Pine, a coffee machine and cakes under pendant lamps.CafeBlack Pine Coffee Co0.3 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the shop, and when each is next free.

A grey sofa with cushions sits before a black and white kitchen, a framed print on the wall to the left.Moment Blythswood Street
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Glasgow
  • Under a mile from Timorous Beasties
Check datesA grey corner sofa with cushions and a sheepskin throw sits before a shelf of books and a round mirror, a wood burning stove and log store to the right.Talli House
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Dunlop
  • 12 miles from Timorous Beasties
Free 11–13 JanPlaces to stayEvery stay in GlasgowAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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Read on

What we have written about it, the collections it is in and more in Glasgow.

From the magazineDesign Disrupters: Timorous BeastiesCollectionThe Best Places to Shop in Glasgow
More in Glasgow
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For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .