We are often asked why we call ourselves Trilby Multimedia. It is a long but interesting story and this page gives a few explanations.

Around 100 years ago...
George Du Maurier, father of the more famous Daphne Du Maurier, wrote a novel Trilby which was published in 1895. It is the story of an ordinary girl who becomes a celebrated singer when under the hypnotic influence of Svengali. The stage dramatisation of the book had the leading lady wearing a soft felt hat and this endures today as a reference from the novel. The link we imply here is in the way people can be transformed by science and art (Svengali was a musician) and empowered to accomplish actions beyond their expectations.

Around 50 years ago...
the ocean liner the Empire Windrush brought people from the Caribbean to help rebuild the British economy after the devastation of the Second World War. Many of the young men on board had fought in the war and were invited to the UK to do important work - but they were often met by prejudice and ignorance. Films and photos from their voyage of eagerness and anticipation show most of the men wearing trilbies and we use this context to reinvent the hat as a symbol of hope and determination to succeed.

Around 10 years ago... we heard about IBVA (Interactive Brainwave Visual Analyzer) around the time we set up the company. IBVA is a band around the head (like a trilby hat has a band) which lets you control computers with brain waves. Sounds a bit like like Svengali doesn't it!

A mix of science, art and invention characterises our work and these are a few of the reasons we call ourselves Trilby Multimedia.

More personally our company pays homage to our forefather Reg Stanley who was a musician, signwriter and fairground artist. He wears a trilby in one of the few photographs we have of him. His broad minded approach to life was an inspiration to the young Tony Stanley and his practice as a 'popular' artist still influences the way we work and operate - using arts and creativity to connect, entertain and educate.