BREAKING NEWS - FULL TO BURSTING!

WE ARE NOW COMPLETELY FULL WITH CARS AND PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN MUSEUM -WE MAY HAVE OVERDONE IT AND THERE COULD BE WAITS AND QUEUES! THERE HAS BEEN A TRULY AMAZING REPONSE TO TALENT FOR TEXTILES DEALERS' INVITATIONS AND BLOGS (FOR WHICH MANY THANKS) AND WE KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE CROWDS BUT THERE IS PLENTY ELSE TO SEE AND DO IF YOU FIND OUR FAIR TOO FULL - WE ARE TAKING ALL MEASURES TO EASE THINGS AND HOPE YOU CAN BE PATIENT - THE COFFEE SHOP WILL BE OPEN AND THERE,TOO, I WOULD SUGGEST YOU CALL IN REALLY EARLY OR RATHER LATE FOR ANY REFRESHMENTS ESPECIALLY SHOULD THE WEATHER BE WET AND YOU WANT TO SIT FOR A BIT UNDER COVER! REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR INVITATION CARD FOR FREE ADMISSION.

Cheaper by the Dozen

My husband's grandfather was a big and canny farmer - big man with big ideas. One day he returned home from Newmarket with a gross of screwdrivers, announcing proudly "they're cheaper by the dozen" - that was 124 screwdrivers! Maybe I follow in his (large) footsteps because I've always loved buying by the gross, things that are small, cheap and unusual. I like to be the sole owner of something very attractive, queer and well under £5, that will bring people, even children, to my stall at a Fair. My best wholesale venture was to invest about £90 in a small warehouse full of pre-war pill boxes, red for dangerous medicine, and a beautiful collection of glass reels for holding surgeon's sutures and a lot of other medical paraphenalia in fine glass - atomisers, and pumps, etc. I had a stall in a stately home near Cambridge, and to my delight found that these all intrigued the many doctors and nurses from that area - especially Addenbrook's, a training hospital nearby. The little pill boxes I sold by the dozen, for dolls house hat boxes and many went to jewellers for rings and earings. Some went to children for the tooth fairy! The lovely glass reels and thread winders in 5 different sizes and many different colours (colour coded for speedy sorting in very pre-war operating theatres) went to embroiderers and crafts people and especially to fly-fishing experts. I actually met some retired nurses who remembered using these charming obsolete things. Alas! I sold every last one so have none to illustrate!

CELL WORK on show

  You may have noticed that I am a supporter of FINE CELL WORK, the prison charity that trains long term inmates to do fine needlework which is later sold for their benefit.  I have seen their work and it is of the highest standard and I like to think that they have an interest and skill which will improve their morale and the money they earn will start them off when they leave the prisons.  To that end, local volunteers will be present at our big fair at the American Museum, next month Thursday Sept 1st 10 - 5pm, at the entrance to the  Stable building with a fine display of work, all for sale.  They accept special commissions.

A RIOT (of colour)

     Far away from Brixton, Croydon, and Tottenham where they have these apalling youth riots, I've turned to the bright beauty of this Collier Campbell design now being exhibited in LONDON.     This is the sort of textile, whether modern, vintage,  or antique,  that gives me great joy and I start thinking how and where I could use it to best effect!     At the present time, I am very keen on all the natural stone, metal and earth colours, but they do need some good splashes of colour to catch your eye and welcome you as you go into a room.  Pictures can do the same and an interesting lot of lamps with pretty shades in jewel colours will add a touch of luxury.
   I have just been to France (Brittany) and visited a few fairs hoping to add to my stock of attractive floral prints and some jolly striped tickings.   I found none - just one ticking I sold the day after returning home - and now the cupboard is bare - I was able to find some good really rough hemp sheets, hand-woven and very grainy in oatmeal shades, plus masses of good offcuts from a workshop which will be useful for people making cushions, table mats and tote bags (I'm bringing them to the American Museum fair)   I did find one beautiful shirt smock with fine embroidery on the collar and 6 tiny and amazing hand-made linen bobble buttons - I think it must have been a wedding shirt, it is so beautifully embroidered on such coarse heavy fabric and I find it a very touching example of skill with very primitive materials. 
   While in Brittany, I went back to see my friend in the France profonde to hear more about her family.  She told me her mother never learnt to read or write and was a washerwoman for the village for 27 years.  She washed the clothes and sheets and hung them to dry on a line which went right round a field that she hired from her landlord, the local chateau owner.
She soaked it all first in cold water, then boiled it up in a great copper, used blocks of soap and a brush to clean everything,  rinsed it in another lot of clean water and carted it out to her washing line - rain was a disaster and sometimes she had to re-wash to get rid of the mud, and then there was the ironing and folding.  My friend, aged 14, with her 3 brothers, had the job of delivering the laundry back round the village.    Her mother lived long enough to see her daughter open an antique shop which specialised in antique costume and linen, and was so pleased she had an easier life than hers.

Picking up the threads again

Sorry, my computer crashed the day before I WENT OFF TO FRANCE AND HAS ONLY JUST BEEN RESTORED TO HEALTH AND ACTION, it was suffering from builder's dust and very sick! so I have had a lot of catching up to do with over 80 emails awaiting my attention - now all dealt with and it's on with the show.  I have today sent out over 200 invitations for the American Museum Fair which is going to be a really special and exciting event.   We have 35 dealers from all over and they will be bringing interesting and varied stock from many parts of the world - not just France!  I will catch up with some of the big names and special collections in another Blog when I have tidied up the backlog and booked some helpers for the event.  It is not too late to email me for a free invitation - I will ask you to complete a booking form and then put you on the mailing list as well if you want to join for next year's events.  Email is  dbaer@onetel.com

FAIR WEATHER FAIR

     We were lucky with two glorious days of sunshine for the Bradford on Avon Fair - the flowers came out at last;  they were a bit shy the previous weekend for the B.on A. Secret Garden event which allowed visitors to visit 10 or so small gardens hidden away in back streets and alley-ways all around our hilly town.  We had a reasonable attendance but could have done with more people as there was a very good spread of interesting stock - particularly vintage clothing and some stunning high fashion clothing from China which did sell very well - look out for Slow Loris stand at our Fair at the American Museum in Britain on Sept.1st.  Our vintage clothing and textile exhibitors were Sallie and Jim Ead who organise  their own textile fairs and the  Needhams who come from deepest Devon, again both will be at Claverton, excellent quality all round and a joy to see.  Thanks to all who took part - many making long journeys and putting on a great show which our visitors commented on and greatly enjoyed, as well as Ginny's excellent picnic food topped with some glorious meringues!

PASTEL PORTRAIT

Toulouse, S.W.France

This is the enticing title of an article in this latest issue of Selvedge the fabric and design bi-monthly magazine.  The article takes you into the intriguing world of WOAD - you may have thought it was only used by Bodicia (I did for many years) used to frighten the people she fought - and maybe frighten the horses too - but there was a major industry in the area round Cologne, using the clear waters of the Rhine which gave the plants good growth, and the dyeing of linen and cotton, at which the Germans were always very expert and in advance of other countries, with their chemists and scientists.   It also tells us that the name Kelsch is a contraction of the description Kolnisch Blau (Cologne blue) and the French word for Woad is 'pastel'. Anyway. it certainly adds to our knowledge of the Kelsches about which I have written a few notes in recent BLOGS, as I had some for sale and there was good interest and lively sales.  I still have three good ones available now, all red and white checks, and I was intrigued to learn that the weavers never used any other colours except red, blue and the natural creamy linen.  The edited extract was taken from a book by Sandrine Banessy Le Pastel en Pays d'Oc,which is the Department near Toulouse,  and you may have heard of the couple there,  the Lamberts, who have restored an old dyeing mill and dye the old linen and hemp sheets with the WOAD dyes, very successfully.   Not cheap! because for these you need large quantities of deep dye to colour the highly absorbent thick fibres of a hand-woven sheet, and the sheet itself has to be a very good one without any worn parts or discolour.  Dyes do not cover up colour faults and the final result can be very patchy.  There's more to dye than meets the eye.   The term  bleu de travail  refers to the blue working clothes of France, trousers, shirts, blousons,smocks,
often in denim, but also in every kind of cotton from rough and scratchy to smooth and polished (till it looks like satin).       It is a top fashion for the young in London and even conservative middle-aged men are finding it ideal for country wear, working and relaxing - you do not have to own a vineyard to wear dark blue denim.  Women love the finer shirts and  costume smocks  which make ideal cover-ups but these are extremely hard to find, and fetch a high price.  French people have special saints days on which they now often turn out in local costume and the finer items disappear quickly from the markets as do coifs, bonnets, fichus, shawls and other accessories.

WILL YOU BE THERE?



The Stables Auditorium, American Museum

    We are all getting rather excited about the forthcoming Talent for Textile Fair at the American Museum (Sept 1st Thursday) although it is two months away.  They have had record attendance this  year with people visiting the new education complex (where we will have our Fair), and the fabulous exhibition of Marilyn Munroe's 20 dresses.  You may have heard on the Box that one of her most famous dresses sold the other day for £2million.   To get free invitations for yourself and all passengers in your car, apply by Email to  dbaer@onetel.com .        I have had the pleasure of being able to invite many well-known and intrepid traveller-dealers who source the stuff directly from far away places and have really interesting stories to tell you about their provenance.  There will be over 35 so there will be a huge choice of things to see and buy and I think we should have a memorable day.    There is an excellent coffee shop by the main Museum, with light lunches,cookies and cake (all home-made by Inez and her team), and there are many other things to see - the Museum itself, the special US theme gardens and arboretum. the bonnet shop, the log cabin, etc., etc.,  so you could make it a special all -day visit!  Good facilities for handicapped visitors, toilets and parking.  Please, don't leave application to the last minute, as I hold the invitations and will be both abroad and then very busy just before the great date! Without an invitation you pay full entrance charges.


The Coach House, American Museum