HomeThoughts from abroad

As we leave the scenes of the big 'deballage' (literally, the lorry off-loading) fairs of France, we usually have a post mortem review and think how we can do better next time.  Getting there at the crack of 8 o'clock is essential if you want to see the best before someone else snatches it up - a good torch and big zip bag are both useful - the textiles are often spread on the floors of the big aerodrome hangars.   When there are 7 or 8 further hangars to explore, in no kind of order, the hunt is a bit of blind man's buff combined with luck and two pairs of sharp eyes now wide open!  The sellers are casual and inclined to give that famous Gallic shrug of the shoulders if you point out the damage, stains and other faults.  But if you hold it up to the light and check the condition and make a fair offer, they will often accept as they know that French buyers are unlikely to go for their stock and you may be their only interested customer as well as a pro.   The difficulty is to find the really special pieces and they are scarce and very expensive.  I bought a lovely striiped oxen coat (used to keep the flies off the cattle) and an unused horse blanket in a splendid checked ticking with leather straps. but both were too expensive!  I did hit on a lovely lot of checked linen kelsches (the handwoven covers for feather beds in Alsace Lorraine) which are excellent for sturdy seat covers, curtains and cushions for rustic rooms, kitchen benches, pine furniture and cottage curtains - I found them still in their carrier bags under a trestle table and was glad I had poked around and got them into the light, and bought a big stack for my new Talent for Textile fairs.  A good search can be more rewarding than a hectic dash round just skimming the top layers of the stalls.

Molleton - SUMMER SLUMBERS

  You may not have seen, let alone heard of, the molleton blanket.  It's a French summer blanket in flannelette, with stripes each end,  a distinctive knotted fringe, and often has initials and numbers actually woven into the border, a sign that they were ordered in some quantity for the client. These were very much part of the dowry of  brides living in a hot climate, in the Southern half of France,  the evenings are hot there and steamy, but later in the night the temperature goes down and that is when you need a light soft cover to keep you warm in bed.    I have sold a great many of these, mostly for holiday use and for children - to a log cabin in Aspen ski resort and to a new mother who covered nursery furniture - nice and cosy and washable for a new baby!   

I find them in strange plaxes in France - often wrapped round furniture just like our removal men use old army blankets to protect the Chippendale.  They stay snowy white unlike the woollen ones which go so yellow and cannot be boiled!  I sell them for about £45 each in really good condition.

MAKING HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

    I was very cheered and encouraged by the rows of nice things everyone has contributed to Linda Clift's piece on our new Talent for Textile Fair at Glastonbury.   Here lay the riches of the Abbey tithes, the harvests of the Abbey's rich lands.
 Get to   http://www.textile@lindaclift.co.uk/ Linda wrote a very generous approval of the site and produced, with the aid of her clever camera, a whole gallery of shots that give you the complete scene - much better than any wordy description, and then there are a host of notes of approval from many friends and dealers who are all backing it up to the hilt, telling everyone about it and distributing flyers by the dozen.   This is the way to get the crowds we need for such a big space and no amount of black and white expensive advertising will do it as well.  I have actually managed to get the news out to several thousand people in a news bulletin that goes to most villages at very reasonable cost as well as the Mendip Times, and hope that the readers and their friends will come along - it is still up to you, the readers and the stallholders who are attending, to get this new event known in the West and to build it up as we have with all our other Fairs.   The whole thing is free entry as usual;  fair, museum and grounds, so all you need to spend will be in the pretty little shop very much angled at the thousands of school children who visit the Somerset Rural Museum there, and maybe a cup of tea and home- made light refreshments in the cosy little cafe with garden seating, surrounded by a locally crafted willow fence,  (especially if you fancy going up the path from the farmyard to the famous Tor high on the hill above the farm).   Friday, May 20th is the date, open from 9 am to 4 pm and I advise getting there early for easy car parking and a good view of all the exciting and colourful textiles on display, with some interesting byegones, small antiques and brocante. There are 25 stands with dealers from all over the South West and this is the first ever antique fair in this wonderful 14C. timber and stone building which has a remarkabvle history but has not been  used before for events like ours. I will print a little map later early May.

FAIR PLACES

  Followers of Talent for Textile Fairs will know that we choose our venues with care - plenty of room for shopping, viewing, chatting, eating and parking.  We have two new places for your interest and pleasure and the first is in  new area for us - Glastonbury - it has a strong local interest in colour, pattern and costume, an ancient town full of history and with many medieval associations, and a really stunning building, the 14th C. Tithe Barn which we are lighting up with strings of festive festoon lighting;  we hope this will be a bit of a land mark event for all our visitors.  There are added attractions of Museum, shop, cosy cafe and the path to the famous Tor, so there will be plenty to do on a day's outing.    We are advertising heavily and looking to all our stallholders to spread the word!  May 20th and everything free except the cup of tea and homemade cakes!  I WILL REPEAT THIS WITH SMALL MAP NEARER THE DATE.This is an old Blog but I think the view of the interior is so stunning it is worth repeating and we are hoping that  next year will see a repeat of this event - plans will be published early next year on this site and my website.
  Our other big fair (we seem to be growing fast in well-established and successful sites), is the American Museum who welcome us back after a year's absence while they restored the old Georgian estate buildings into two vast pavilions, equipped with everything needed for modern exhibitions and lecture halls.   Although we hardly need to blow our own trumpets - the fame of the Marilyn 20 dress collection has thrilled everyone, so I will just say that if you want to come with your friends, all for free, you must write to me with a SAE to get the printed invitation which will admit you and your party- otherwise full charges apply.  E.Baer, Church House, Bradford on Avon, BA15 1LN.  Come early to both fairs if you want to see what we have got for you!

The Baer News

   The Baers are off again - this time for some serious buying in N.France at Douai and again right down South at what is called 'le Triple' 3 big trade fairs, one after the other, down in the Southern part.  Packing empty bags into an emprty car and putting our best buying boots on, we hope to find some worthwhile delights and bring them home to show at a long series of fairs here in the South West.  If you are not on our mailing list, and would like news and invitations, email me at dbaer@onetel.com  with you name and full postal address and I will send all details or you can look at  my Blog, BREAKING NEWS  which describes them all, http://www.elizabethbaertextiles.blogspot,com/   The TforT. Fairs (Talent for Textiles), all with free entry, are proud that they still have all the original sellers with them at every fair - have managed to keep up a very high standard of goods despite the rarity of some articles and have continued to offer a  helpful and friendly service to everyone interested in textiles and decoration.  We continue to grow with every fair and number many hundreds amongst our customers and supporters. The brochure above shows typical scenes.

STROUD GOES GLOBAL

       Stroud and the valleys around have always been a centre for textiles and there are miles of old mills along the roads and rivers nearby where many kinds of cloth were woven.  There was plenty of wool around and it was a flourishing industry till cheap imports and other fibers reduced demand.  The huge old buildings have been converted into many other businesses but Stroud itself has always kept up a big connection with textiles and fabric design and this forthcoming Fair in Bisley (4 miles out of the town) will have some of the top dealers in this country selling their own stock, after giving lectures at the World Tex. Festival which is going on in April. in the town.  Just to see and handle the rather wonderful and very rare clothing from  remote tribal areas of the near and far East is a worthwhile experience if you love pattern and colour and there will be some fascinating decorations and ethnic jewellery to admire and buy.  I will be there with two T4T colleagues and we will bring the best of our French and European stuff.

HANDS ON!

A fine example of English gloves 1660-80 (sold for £3800)  Such a pretty pair!   Both my mother, my grandmother and I wore olain long white kid gloves for our weddings which had a slit at the wrist with tiny m.o.p. buttons to allow you to squeeze into the palms -they were frequently washed, leaving the soap in them without rinsing to keep them supple and then had to be stretched on special glove stretchers which had a scissor action and were poked down each finger to get the original shape back.  They were dusted with talcum or fine chalk inside and kept in fabric covered long boxes wrapped in tissue - you can still see lots of the old boxes very similar to those for fans  in French Brocante collections and they are very collectable with dainty patterns and ribbon bows - all for my lady's boudoir!

Keep your Shirt on!

The beautifully made smock shirts that were worn by French workmen during the 19th and early 20th C. have lasted well into modern times and are still worn, but now mostly by women, but rarely by French women!
Made of linen or hemp, hand sewn, they are square-cut like most English smocks, and the shoulders, collars and cuffs are double thick to take the wear of tools and hard work. The buttons are sometimes of bone or m.o.p. and the stitching is unbelievably even and fine, almost like machine work. These shirts were worn everyday only by men, over strong serge or corduroy trousers and stood up to endless washing in the 'lavoirs' of the villages and towns. When I first started buying from the old armoires in the country, I was offered hundreds for almost nil Francs -later they found a market at seaside resorts as beachwear for the tourists who loved the blonde look; but they had one disadvantage - because the French body was smaller and narrower than Anglo Saxons' and had very short and narrow arms, they could be uncomfortable to wear and work in. Nearly all have beautiful red embroidered initials and frequently my clients have found their own. The fine stitching and gathering, and numerous little gussets are so very skillful, and one cannot imagine how they sewed such fine seams on such rough and heavy cloth, and the fine, even gatherings at neck and sleeves must have been incredibly difficult to do.