HEIRLOOM LACE

In the days after the last war when old houses were being broken up into flats, shabby old family places were emptied of their contents and people moved into smaller more manageable houses.  There were lots of auctions run by the local auctioneers, some of whom were more used to selling farms and livestock than the domestic contents  They were held in old marquees with village hall chairs and roneo'd catalogues that were often incomplete and certainly did not give details of each item to be sold. You had to make up your own mind as to the quality, age and condition, so  view-day was essential if you wanted to know what you were buying.   Much had come out of store after being shut away during the war and there was a huge variety of Victorian furnishings, often shabby and damaged.  I was furnishing a big old house on a very low budget to accomodate my growing family and attended many sales in the Essex, Cambridge area with very good results.  Small items sold for a lot of money but the big old lumps were almost given away and I made the most of this.  I had a Volvo shooting brake and was able to transport everything myself, would search the pantries,  kitchen, servants rooms, stables for the bargains which had often been stored there for years as old fashioned and surplus and were often unlisted at the end of the sale under a heading  'contents of the....'. tool sheds, lamp sheds often had interesting bits waiting to be re-discovered!

     Some of the 'Executors' sales were the best,as they were badly advertised, at short notice, and no-one knew anything about the chattels to be sold.   One of the best was a villa where two maiden ladies, descendants of the great Warren Hastings, had lived with masses of family papers and belongings going back to Georgian times.   The few dealers who were there were interested in the historic papers with details of his Governorship of India, and I found the most delightful and charming momentoes, sewing tools, mini boxwood pill boxes, snuff boxes, etc.  I saw some linen tied up and stacked below the big dining table and had a peep without undoing it as I had seen there was a pretty Paisley shawl I wanted.   I was the only bidder and I think I paid £13 for the bundle.  In those days some of the dealers used to hide the more interesting lots under tables so that the ordinary 'punters' missed them. When I got home, I undid it and to my delight found this amazing lace table cloth, perfect and unused.  I have since found out that it is very rare to have anything so large made with this Bedfordshire lace;  strips of narrow lace are all stitched together to make the square and then the border is worked around the whole.  And I have been told that the wavy line running round the edges was inspired by the river Ouse which runs through the flat lands of Bedfordshire in big loops.  I would be so glad to know more if there are any readers with knowledge of Beds. lace and to know if this is fairly unique - I have seen collars and cuffs for dresses but never anything of this size.   Do Email me at www.dbaer@onetel.com.   or put something in 'comments'  for the benefit of other readers.

QUEEN OF QUILTS

Jen Jones  is indeed the foremost expert and collector of Welsh quilts and at any one moment has several hundred in her collection for sale at home in her cottage shop and at the Quilt Museum in the  old Town Hall, Lampeter, which she has recently opened with the help of her architect husband.    Jen has produced books, gives talks and has organised several exhibitions abroad, and is very well known to all the visitors to the Talent for Textile Fair at Bradford on Avon, where she brings a wonderful collection well displayed quilts on large rails.   She will be with us on May 19th, next, for our Rag Market when she will bring a selection of quilt seconds, Welsh blankets and linen, lots of bargains!Contact her on 01570 480 610 for visits.

A LADY AT WORK

   This is Mme de Pompadour stitching away at her tambour frame 1764/4.   One of her hands is below the frame to guide the hooked tool which was used to trace lines of chain stitch across the net or muslin stretched over the frame.  I have a net canopy over my own four poster bed worked on net and it is a real pleasure to look upwards when lying on the bed to see the elegant tracery above and I much prefer this airy look to the rather grand and stuffy pleated chintzy canopy you see on some old beds.    In the past some of these false ceilings were necessary because very old houses often had no plastered ceilings and were open to the slates and tiles of the roof, draughty and dusty, and sometimes inhabited by insects and animals and birds, a bit of a menace to a good night's rest.

   Madame P's dress is itself a lovely concoction of fine embroidery, trailing flowers, a deep and elaborate border to the skirt and layer upon layer of fine lace swathing her arms, not forgetting the silken striped bow at her bosom  The little lace bonnet with matching ribbon completes this charming portrait of a lady in her boudoir, surrounded by her pet dog at one side and very fine gilded furniture and a musical instrument on the other.  French civilization at its peak! 

The MARKET PLACE

This last year was very successful for Talent for Textiles and we had 5 good fairs during the summer months.   Yarlington and Bradford were particularly well attended and busy all day (although rain spoilt the afternoon at Y. but neverthless the profit for the two charities was over £6000)  It is always so good to see all our regular long term supporters coming back and bringing so many friends.  We really do value this support and it makes the fairs happy and successful events enjoyed by everyone.This is advance notice of a rather different sort of Textile Fair I am planning for late Spring, next year.  This is for anyone wanting to dispose of surplus textiles.
   I propose a Rag market to be held on May 19th, Sunday in our usual spaces in Bradford on Avon, with 1/3 our  regular exhibitors, 1/3 new exhibitors (decorators, curtain makers, craft workers), and 1/3 private sellers with surplus  textiles.  All will have a 6' trestle table, with small space for one card table (bring your own) or a short clothes rail, not both.  Simple home-made refreshments by The Fat Fowl, as before. The idea is that everyone who has dress and furnishing remnants, ends of rolls, surplus linens, blankets, buttons and trims, and vintage oddments in their stores, cupboards, attics, should bring them along and make a modest profit!  Good designer label clothes welcome.
   I am always hearing the refrain, 'I don't know what to do with this old thing from my Granny, too good for a jumble sale and not enough to put in an auction',  This is your chance to clear the decks while you Spring Clean!
  We have held similar Rag Markets on the South Coast and they have been highly successful and copied elsewhere!  Large amounts of stuff have been moved and keen buyers have loaded up and often come back for more!
  The rent for the day will be £20 per stand, 9 am. - 3pm.  Application for stands can be made any time up to the end of November;  new exhibitors, please give an indication of your goods.  Those selected will be sent flyers to distribute among their friends, (a really important part of the deal)  full details of parking and unloading, and a request for the rent to be paid by March 30th, 2013.  Send no money now, please.  This will be a fun and sociable event, and better than a Boot Fair!  Start sorting now all the things you can live without!  Contact me at dbaer@onetel.com.   I am trying to do as much as possible by Email to save time and expense as I am on the verge of retirement and this may be my final fling!

A ROMANTIC ROMANY ROOM



Traditional West Country Shepherds Smock



  Have you heard of the highly mobile shepherd's huts that are rolling round the countryside, providing extra office, studio and lodging space ?  For years they have stood neglected in remote grazing fields where shepherds used to watch their flocks in the lambing season, with primitive lighting by lanterns and small iron stoves to keep the newborn lambs warm in their little hay-beds.    The huts had large iron wheels and could be pulled from one field to another.  I used to see several high on the Marlborough Downs when walking with the beaters on a game shoot there.   Now a friend of mine,  Caron Cooper, who runs a delightful B and B in her traditional farmhouse, Fosse Farmhouse, near Chippenham,  has renovated two of these old wagons and many of her visitors book them ahead for a totally peaceful and romantic stay.  Here she is wearing the best smock I ever had with fantastic smocking back and front, looking the part in front of her renovated van.   Contact Caron 01249 782 28 for accommodation , www.fossefarmhouse.com and contact me www.dbaer@onetel.com for another genuine West country smock, newly acquired!  These are now rare to find in good condition as many have gone into the County Agricultural Museums, and are kept for agricultural shows.



Caron's B and B



Kate Humble's new spare room



Caron's smock bought last year



FLYING HIGH

  I have written before about some of the aspiring and inspiring young people who  have started with a skill and used it to develop into a successful business.  Getting started can be quite a struggle and to get in touch with the right outlets and sponsors takes time and money!  So I applaud those who make it to the top and try to encourage any young person whom I feel has that 'star' quality.  Mel   White is just such a person and she sent me news that not only has her work been taken on by the prestigeous firm of Zoffany, but her design Verdure in the Arden collection has been given the House & Garden  best printed fabric  award - it is a lovely greenery view based on the famous French tapestries - and also now nominated for the Elle Decoration British Design Award. If you have a medieval cottage or a moated mansion, what better way to commemorate period furnishings and English talent !

LINING UP YOUR LINEN

This large and handsome piece of furniture is an Irish Regency pine housekeeper's cupboard for storing the linen of a large household.  Sheets, pillow cases, table cloths, napkins, could all be neatly stacked on the narrow shelves and good ventilation for when the cupboard was locked was provided by the ornamental mesh covered holes.  There are two keys and normally the linen would be kept under lock and key by the housekeeper who kept the keys for all storage cupboards on her chatelaine key ring attached to her waist.  Linen was valuable and could be 'borrowed' and stolen by dishonest servants.  The housekeeper would dole out the required sheets and other linens  to the housemaids  who made the beds and  helped to lay the tables and she kept hand-written lists of the contents pinned to the cupboard doors as well as lists for the house laundry.   When the housework was done, the maids used to go to the housekeepers room and repair and sew some of the laundry items, so they were never allowed to be idle.
  I have used this cupboard for over 25 years (in two different homes) and I must have sold many hundreds of sheets, tablecloths, napkins and tea towels to my customers.  It was a great place to display them and keep the piles tidy.  Now, alas! its usefulness is gone and the room where I have it is to become a spare room and a large double bed will replace the cupboard so my linen cupboard must move on;  it is for sale and will move in two parts.  Price on application to E.Baer at  dbaer@onetel.com

A bit of Happenstance

I have a good friend, Sharon Mrozinski, who has a lovely shop in Wiscasset, (pictured in detail) far away on the cold North seaboard of Maine USA. It is a popular Marina for large yachts and apart from her folk art, tools and furniture, she has interesting costume items and some Ralph Lauren 'seconds' for her wealthy clients. One day, a chic English lady came in and asked about the smock-shirt that Sharon was wearing. She was told that it had come from an eccentric English dealer near Bath called Elizabeth, and with that, the chic lady drew a magazine cutting out of her bag (Hermes of course) and asked Sharon if it was all about the same person! Fame at last! She later came shopping here with her London -based decorator and I heard all about the strange coincidence. The smock shirts are what the French peasants used to wear every day for working. They were made of cream linen or hemp, entirely hand-sewn with finely gathered collars and cuffs, and I have bought and sold several hundred of them for film costume work. I have written more about them in 'Keep your shirt on...' For more about Sharon, go to http://www.marstonhouse.com/