Cambrensis Mural Announcement - Merthyr Tydfil
Written by Rhys Friedli
Published Thursday 7th May 2026
Hello all, and welcome back to the Cambrensis blog. Before revealing the main announcement today, we would like to extend our thanks to all those who attended our recent pop-up shops. Whether it was celebrating Cardiff City’s promotion with us at ‘On the River’ in Riverside, or our long-awaited five-day pop-up in John Lewis Cardiff, it was brilliant to see so many familiar and new faces supporting our journey, learning about our story, and helping us extend our reach further. Opportunities like this don't come around often, and the chance to showcase our garments in such a prestigious and well-known setting means everything. With more new and exciting opportunities to follow, we can promise this is only the beginning.
We are delighted here at Cambrensis to announce one of our most significant events to date, where we will be going back to our roots and unveiling some of our heritage artworks, designed by the late Dewi Bowen, in the form of two murals set to be displayed in the new indoor market in Merthyr town centre. Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council have been kind enough to partner with us for our event as part of an effort to obtain the UK Town of Culture award and give recognition to such a deeply historical and interesting place. The murals will include two designs by Dewi, a Merthyr-born artist and great-uncle of Cambrensis Founder Ioan Bowen-Pickett, namely the ‘Little Collier’ and the ‘Poste Italiane’ miners' motif, used as part of our ‘Genoa’ collaboration with Tony Rivers of ‘Magnetic’. These designs are directly linked to the historic mining community that stood in the town for many years and are something we hope the people of Merthyr will be able to resonate with personally.
The event will take place on Saturday 23rd May and starts at 7:00pm. There will be free refreshments courtesy of the iconic Welsh company Brains Brewery, live entertainment, and a curated pop-up shop including some of our most popular pieces and garments featuring both mural designs for you to enjoy. We will also be showing our two short films, the first being the ‘Little Collier’ Fashion Film, produced by Soldi Films and narrated by Welsh broadcasting legend Roy Noble, the film presents a moving first person account of the impact Dewi had on his art students as an inspiring and deeply personable man who cared so much for his community and culture that he dedicated his life to illustrating, . We will, of course, also be showing our ‘Genoa’ Fashion Film, one of our most recognisable and well-known projects to date. This film, narrated by actor and friend of the brand Donna Edwards, is a touching tribute to her hometown of Merthyr and serves as a love letter to the Italian Welsh history and culture present in towns across Wales, as well as the feeling of belonging in these communities.
'The Little Collier' Fashion Film:
https://cambrensis.co.uk/collections/the-little-collierWe can’t wait for this event and hope you’re just as excited as we are. Tickets are completely free - secure your place here: https://cambrensis.co.uk/products/honouring-dewi-bowen-mural-launch-event-1?utm_source=copyToPasteBoard&utm_medium=product-links&utm_content=web
Diolch yn fawr - Thanks for reading.