INTERIOR DESIGN IN THE 50's & 60's

I’m still exploring Bournemouth – well it’s only been 7 weeks so there is still lots to see. The other day I visited a little second hand book store – I always like to see if they have any old fabric books to help with researching my fabrics..unfortunately in this particular book store these types of books are popular with Bournemouth University textile students so they didn’t have any. To my absolute delight however they did have some copies of Homes and Gardens and Ideal Home from the 1950’s and 1960’s. Better still, when I was flicking through they had an actual advert for my 1950’s lounger I finished upholstering last year!

Airborne Advert from 1950's

1950's Airbourne Lounger - Reupholstered

I bought five in total and I’m so pleased I did. They have some fabulous textile adverts featured.

David whitehead advert 1953

 

Heals advert 1954

Rosebank fabric advert 1953J.

The earlier editions were heavy on the adverts and very light on the features, but as you enter the 1960’s the articles are much more lifestyle related and the houses featured are more edgy.  The type of house the earlier editions showcase is the sort of house I avoided like the plague when looking for property in Bournemouth-the classic 1950’s bungalow! Can’t stand them personally and they are in abundance down here

Ideal Home 1954

Read all of INTERIOR DESIGN IN THE 50's & 60's

HULL TRADERS FABRIC

BBC Homes & Antiques Aug Issue is on Vintage Textiles

Since my recent publicity in Homes & Antiques magazine I’ve had a few calls from people who have fabric to sell, one of which I am meeting next week from ‘oop north’. The lady in question has some Hull Traders fabric that she has been collecting for a number of years so I’m very excited about meeting with her. I’ve been looking up Hull Traders and have found a great website detailing the history and some famous designers who screen printed images in the 60’s.  

Hull Traders Fabrics

Hull Traders was launched in 1957. Based in Lancashire they used artists and designers to create some fabulous prints for home furnishings. They had their hay-day in the 60’s but later closed in the 1980’s.
There is an exhibition touring the UK at the moment which focuses on Shirley Craven’s designs. Unfortunately it is only touring the north so I probably won’t get a chance to see it. COME DOWN SOUTH PURLEEASE J.

Read all of HULL TRADERS FABRIC

VERA TEXTILES

Vera Textiles. Yum yum yum! I was at a little market early this morning and couldn’t believe my luck when I picked up some gorg placemats designed by Vera textiles. I discovered the many beautiful designs produced by Vera last year whilst browsing images on the Vera Textiles group on Flickr.  I was just blown away by the a-maz-ing floral, abstract and bug themed designs produced in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s on linens and tableware. Just my cup of tea.

Vera Textiles Butterfly design on placemats

Vera Neumann Placemats

Vera Neumann, the founder of Vera textiles was an accomplished artist and turned her talent to textile design in the 1940’s when she formed Printex with her husband in New York. Initially they started by printing placements and tea towels but soon moved on to scarves when the linen supply dwindled and silk became available.

Vera Neumann Curtains

These are just some of the many designs produced which I have found. I currently have a couple of books on order from Amazon which I’m sure I will be writing about once they arrive. Can’t wait.

Read all of VERA TEXTILES

1960's FABRIC EXHIBITIONS


Mr Crabtree (Bob Pedley) has been back in touch again. He’s sent me these wonderful images of some exhibitions held back in the 1960’s. The two images showing people milling about were of an exhibition held in the Penthouse Suite of the Carlton Hotel in London.

Crabtree Fabrics 1960's

Crabtree Fabrics 1960's

The images show the range of fabrics Crabtree sold in the 60’s. I’d particularly like to get my hands on the abstract print on the table in the second image. I’m quite surprised at how many reprint floral fabrics were around. These are the sort of fabrics that never seem to go out of fashion and are still printed today. For this reason it’s fairly hard to date them when you pick them up. I would have said they were from the 50’s if I saw them today. Crabtree were less artist lead like other British manufacturers of the day, but it’s good to see what British Textile mills were printing at the mass market level.

Crabtree Fabrics 1960's

Read all of 1960's FABRIC EXHIBITIONS

NATIONAL TEXTILE ARCHIVE AT KEW

Textile Archive at Kew- William Morris

I was watching the Genius of Design last Friday night – it’s an excellent five part series produced by the BBC showing what design is and how it affects our lives. I just had to take some (slightly skewiff) ‘on screen’ pictures on a section about William Morris.  As part of the Morris review they visited the National Archive in Kew to view the sample textile books from the 19th Century.

Textile Archive at Kew- William Morris

Textile Archive at Kew- William Morris

These books are textile samples sent in by British textile manufacturers in 1883. The archive was set up in 1839 so manufacturers could obtain copyright for their designs. The books are actual snippets cut from cloth produced at the time. The sheer volume of textiles sent in during 1883 show how important textile manufacturing was in the UK at that time. Lucky Max Donnelly was able to flick through these and draw out Morris’s textiles.  
 
In general (and I say this from what I’ve seen on this programme), the fabrics produced at this time experimented with vivid colourways and repeated images. Morris, on the other hand used a more natural form and this set him aside from intensively machine- produced textiles of the day.
Textile Archive at Kew- William Morris
 
William Morris believed in the craft of textile design and disagreed with the way industrialisation took over this skill, coupled with very poor working conditions of the time. He took the craft and set up small working environments and hand-made all his textiles. Because of this labour-intensive textile making, his textiles were much more expensive and thus only available to the affluent. This was particularly distressing to William Morris as he felt he was a slave to the upper classes.
You can buy the DVD or the book to accompany the series from Amazon UK. I wonder if you can visit the archive..? I shall find out.
 

Read all of NATIONAL TEXTILE ARCHIVE AT KEW

JACQUELINE GROAG BOOK REVIEW

Jacqueline Groag Book Review

My lovely Mum bought me this book recently as a gift. I had seen it advertised when I popped up to MODA last year before it was published, so I was really delighted when she surprised me with it.

You might know Jacqueline Groag from her designs used at The Festival of Britain in 1951, the most famous being the one on the front cover of the book (or at least that’s the one I have seen many times  before).
I usually only buy these books to flick through the pictures, but I found myself becoming really engrossed in Groag’s history. Yes she achieved a lot as a textile designer and was very talented, but who she was and where she came from was equally enticing.  She was married twice – her first husband died very young; she dressed and styled herself on her large collection of peg dolls and she fled Czechoslovakia during the war to start a new life in Britain.
There is a real innocence and simplicity to Groag’s designs and the latter part of the book is filled with images of her many textiles. I like the way this book has a good balance between text and images.
At the back of the book there is a list of all the UK companies Groag designed textiles for. Amongst others these include British manufacturer F. W. Grafton, John Lewis (Jonelle) and Warner & Son.  I often find vintage fabrics by these manufacturers, so I shall be taking a closer look at these fabrics in the future.

Read all of JACQUELINE GROAG BOOK REVIEW

VISIT TO THE QUILTS EXHIBIT AT V&A

Just before visiting the Sanderson exhibition that I wrote about last week, my mum and me went to the V&A for the Quilt Exhibition. Unlike the Fashion and Textile Museum, the V&A is rammed with security guards around every corner and despite my best efforts to take a decent piccie I chickened out- that coupled with the fact it was really dark in the exhibition to help preserve the quilts.

They did give you this little booklet free though which summarises the exhibition.

Quilts Exhibition at V&A

I suppose my real interest at this exhibition was in the detail - I loved looking at the fabrics that were available in the 18th century. I was really surprised how modern they looked. The V&A have reproduced some early Liberty fabrics so I decided to buy a couple of Fat Quarters to keep in my collection. They really wouldn’t look out of place on a dress or in the home today.

Quilt Exhibition at V&A

The first part of the exhibition looked at very early examples of flat quilting and embroidered pieces made for affluent families and Royals. Most celebrated an occasion such as a birth or wedding. This was followed by what i’ll call political quilts – they told a message of war and loss. Honestly the detail was just mind blowing. Intertwined with these were modern examples of quilting by textile artists. There were quilts made by inmates on ships and in cells. And there were quilts used for posh hotels.

One of things I learnt was that quilt making was a way in which women could gain some financial independence a 100 years ago. Women joined a syndicate and made quilts for money to earn extra cash.

The exhibition ended with this poignant quote by Tracy Emin “Making quilts isn’t just a graphic process, wrapped up with the production of sewing. It involves a lot of thought and love. Just the time involved in the process means many things are discussed and considered concerning life.”

Read all of VISIT TO THE QUILTS EXHIBIT AT V&A

A VISIT TO THE SANDERSON EXHIBITION

For ages I’ve been thinking I will definitely go to two exhibitions this March and even more so now I’m moving out of London. One is the Quilts Exhibition at the V&A . The other is 150 years of Sanderson . Well today I had a fabulous time visiting both with my Mum and a very good little boy. Both were excellent.

The Sanderson Exhibition has been open since Saturday and I was actually expecting it to be quite busy, but luckily for us there were only a few people mooching around. The exhibition started with the history of the family, which in all honestly I sort of skimmed over in favour of the fabulous vintage textiles on display.

As you walk in the textiles sort of fall from the sky. The displays mimicked those of the 50s, 60s and 70s and you feel as if you are walking excitedly into a showroom.

150 Years of Sanderson Fabric

150 Years of Sanderson Fabric

150 Years of Sanderson Fabric

 I loved the wall of vintage adverts Sanderson put on in the 60s and 70s. This one shows a pile of fabrics still on the bolt- awf, what I would do to get hold of those!

150 Years of Sanderson Fabric

Sanderson designed some adorable novelty children’s curtains and wallpaper. Mum said she bought some back in the 60s for my sister’s room. 

 150 Years of Sanderson Fabric

 This fabric is from the 40s and actually has the utility sign on it which meant you could purchase it with your ration book during the war. Yum.

Upstairs they had a series of flip books with the original drawings for fabrics and wallpapers. Unfortunately they were under the safety of glass cabinets. They also brought you up to date with their most recent designs.

I really enjoyed the visit and would recommend it. I’ll talk about the V&A next week.

Read all of A VISIT TO THE SANDERSON EXHIBITION

VINTAGE FABRIC CLEAR OUT

Very neat vintage fabric cupboard

As mentioned on my home page- I've just spent the weekend clearing out my vintage fabric cupboard. I am a bit proud so thought I would post a piccy. No other news than that really..Although I did find a few gems hidden at the back which I had forgotton I had...

Read all of VINTAGE FABRIC CLEAR OUT

THE BRITISH TEXTILE INDUSTRY- CRABTREE

As some of you may know I upload my vintage fabric finds to Flickr every week. Sometimes I’ll write a little something about the textile if it has the manufacturer or designer printed on the selvedge, but in general most of the fabrics have been cut and are unidentifiable. What I LOVE about Flickr is that every now and again someone like Bob Pedley comes along and comments on one of my pictures. Bob identified the fabric below as a Crabtree Fabrics Ltd print

Flower 1950's Fabric

He was able to tell me what the fabric was made of (cotton bark-weave) and even what machine it was printed on (Aljaba Duplex)! Apparently there was so much ink on the early prints that the fabrics could be stood up on their end. The coarseness of this design was considered quite crude – perhaps representing the operators getting used to the changes in printing. Later designs were much more precise.

Bob worked as a Textile Designer from 1952 when Ben Crabtree started up Crabtree Fabrics Ltd. Crabtree were the main contractor using Heaton Mills near Manchester, England. Along with printing, fabrics were prepared for printing and other processes with bleaching and dyeing of cottons, and later man-made fibres, polyester, nylon.

Crabtree Fabrics were produced for furnishings, principally curtains. I asked if Crabtree collaborated with any art designers like it’s counterparts such as David Whitehead in the 1960’s. Bob said that most the designs were bought from freelance designers or design studios around Manchester or ideas were given to a studio who produced sketches. So no particular designer was collaborated with, although it was mentioned that Ben Crabtree bought from Conrad in the early days. I suspect the reason for this was that the fabrics produced at Crabtree were mass market and cheaper.

Here is another example of the sort of fabrics Crabtree produced. Thunderbirds were produced under licence in the mid 60's. The irony is that these are worth a fortune now, so they may have well been produced using a famous designer!

Thunderbirds Vintage Fabric

Bob continued to work for Crabtree Fabrics as Export Manager and travelled widely in Europe & Scandinavia in the late 50's and 60's. When the Transfer Paper side of the Group was introduced he moved to Heaton Mills and ran Transfer Paper Printers Ltd., from 1972 until Heaton Mills closed in 1984.

When the mill closed Bob set up his own printing company acquiring the machines used and in recent years has scrapped perfectly good machinery and about 2000 rollers of the over 3000 they had.

Thanks Bob for an interesting discussion.

Read all of THE BRITISH TEXTILE INDUSTRY- CRABTREE

ANGELS VINTAGE COSTUME SALE

Queuing at the Angels vintage costume sale

My lovely friend Shona and I braved the very early morning and chilly weather to queue for the Angels Vintage Costume Sale in Wembley last weekend. We arrived at 6am just before the hoards, but we certainly weren’t the first. People had been sleeping in their place since the night before!

Angels vintage costume sale

You might expect that getting there that early allowed you a little time inside to start ferrying through the boxes, but you’d be wrong. Instead the organisers just decided to let everyone in at once resulting in what can only be described as a stampede. I lost Shona immediately, buried amongst the 1960’s dresses and 1970’s coats.

Angels vintage costume sale

I personally found the whole experience a bit hectic. The concept was a good one– there were two bags on offer- fill and large bag for £50 and a small bag for £20, however, this just encouraged people to shovel anything in to the bags and then find a corridor and try everything on making it impossible to move about.

Shona got some good items, but a lot of what was on offer was either stained or broken so not brilliant. Overall a good experience, but would I go again? Nop.

Read all of ANGELS VINTAGE COSTUME SALE

EMBROIDERY FROM THE 1940'S

Embroidery from 1940's

I travelled down to Devon last Thursday to stay with my Mum over Christmas. My Mum is a bit like me in that she collects everything. I love looking on her shelves - it's like visiting Waterstones. There doesn't seem to be anything she doesn't know about crafting. We were trawling through some boxes yesterday and Mum pulled out these beautiful tapestries from the 1940's. She was given them 10 years ago by a friends mum and has been meaning to finish them ever since. She was also given all the silks.

Embroidery from 1940's

 

I'm not usually a fan of embroidered pieces, but these are so vibrant in colour and I love the intricate detail. Mum has given me some books on Victoria embroidery so I'm having a stab at it. I think it will take me a while to get to the standard of the lovely old lady that started these.

 

Embroidery from 1940's

Embroidery from 1940's

Read all of EMBROIDERY FROM THE 1940'S

WARNER TEXTILE ARCHIVE

Warner Brothers Textile

I recently came across a beautiful oriental themed fabric made by Warner Brothers. This is UK based textile mill that was set up in the 19th century, unfortunately like many British mills it went into administration in 1990. There has been a revival in the interest in Warner Brothers recently though because the entire contents of the Warner Archive came up for sale! Awf can you imagine getting your hands on that! It included 80,000 examples from between 1820 and 1970. My fabric was from the 70’s so not sure it would have made the cut.

The archive was set up by Frank Warner when the mill opened and included samples of his own collection from when he was learning the trade. Warner Brothers was a really important manufacturer and went out it’s way to create unique textiles patenting new weaves and employing up and coming artists to design for them.

The entire collection now resides in the Braintree Museum

Read all of WARNER TEXTILE ARCHIVE

LIBERTY BOOK REVIEW

 

Liberty Vintage Textile Book

I’ve just bought some vintage Liberty fabric. Woo. It was a combination of going to Merton Abbey Mills and the purchase of the Buruma Liberty Textiles Book that did it.

The fabric I bought was made by Liberty of London Prints Ltd. The person selling the fabric thought it was from the 1930’s, but I could tell it was later. Over the years I’ve realised that one of the ways to judge the age of a fabric is to measure it’s width. In addition, the book says that this subsidiary print company was set up in 1967. So my fabric would have had to have been produced after that. 

The book is a fascinating read. It is written by one of Liberty’s archivists. I’ve picked out a few of my favourite images. I must say I’m not really a fan of the classic Liberty floral and paisley prints. Luckily the book mainly covers abstract and geometric prints. Interestingly, a lot of these prints produced during the 50’s and 60’s were purchased wholesale by large fashion houses such as Carcharel and made into scarves, dresses and shirts.

If you're interested in buying the book it's available on the Liberty website.

Read all of LIBERTY BOOK REVIEW

LIBERTY & WILLIAM MORRIS TEXTILE MILLS

Wandering through that antique market I spoke about in my last post, I found a stall selling books about antiques and textiles. I purchased a hardback all about Liberty prints from the fifties and sixties, conveniently entitled ‘Liberty and Co. in the Fifties & Sixties’ (Buruma, A. (2009)). I’ve spent some time reading through it and to my surprise Liberty fabrics were actually printed just down the road from where I live! And upon further investigation William Morris also printed there. For the last three years I’ve been navigating the roads of Merton attending college and never knew the area is famous for it’s Water Mills (oh and Lavender fields apparently). This morning, a little unprepared, I decided to head there looking for Merton Abbey Mills.

If you’ve ever been to Merton you will know it’s a myriad of shopping super stores and A roads. Tucked behind a drive through KFC, Pizza Hut and two high rise blocks of modern flats I found a selection of beautiful mill buildings. I have no idea how the Local Authority gave planning permission for these buildings on the same site that had such a profound effect on British taste. It really annoyed me actually, as you can only imagine how beautiful the area once was. In fact I picked up this quote from the Wheelhouse “One of the first things Morris did was plant poplars around the meadow on the grounds in which the calico prints were to be cleared by exposure to the factory…even upon the great sunk dye vats the sun flickers through the windows where the carpet looms are built”…Ahhh.

Merton Abbey Textile Mill

The Wheelhouse dates back to 1860 and apparently it’s London’s only working example. Liberty used it to drive the spools and rinse the silk after gumming and printing. I love the way they feel it necessary to stipulate it’s Grade II listed. The irony!

This is the floor as you walk into the Wheelhouse- gorgeous isn’t it?

Merton Abbey Textile Mill

 

Read all of LIBERTY & WILLIAM MORRIS TEXTILE MILLS

HUGE ANTIQUE MARKET VISIT

Big Antique Market I visited today

Dylan and I had a fantastic time at a HUGE antique market today near my home. It’s on once a month and I’ve seen it advertised but never been before and now I’m seriously regretting it. I could have literally kitted my whole house out and the prices weren’t ridiculous either. Once again I forgot my camera so had to take pics with my less than adequate phone. I saw some great 50’s and 60’s chairs, unfortunately most had been reupholstered and I never feel like buying when someone has already put in all the hard work. I did see a regency chair with horse hair fluffing out from it’s arms but it was £100. Still the guy gave me an excellent sales pitch and I was almost ready to put my hand in my pocket. I was really surprised how many Franch traders there were there, I guess they travel over from France for the day. It was very busy.

Big Antique Market I visited today

Read all of HUGE ANTIQUE MARKET VISIT

SOMETHING FINE HOME OFFICE

My Home Office

This is my home office. OK. It’s not normally this tidy. Five minutes before this was taken there was fabric everywhere. It’s just behind me and the camera… The chair is my most recent upholstery project. It’s just a pin cushion so it didn’t take me long. I upholstered it in one of my favourite satin brocades - I’ve had it absolutely yonks. I think I’m going to paint the wall matt aubergine purple behind my desk as a feature wall when I get the chance…I’ll add that to the ever growing list of house chores. I’ve recently purchased the big glass cabinet for my fabrics. It’s absolutely massive. It’s an old School book cabinet and was a bit of a challenge to get into my house. I had to rope in my neighbour for help. It’s perfect for my fabrics though as it keeps the dust off..The desk is also a project of mine. I bought it at auction a couple of years ago. I sanded it all down then painted the bottom bit and changed the handles.

My Home Office

Read all of SOMETHING FINE HOME OFFICE

VISITING BROCANTES IN FRANCE

French Brocante

French Brocante

My Mum’s house in the South of France is blessed with having some of the best Brocante’s the region has to offer right on her doorstep. My Mum, Baby Dylan and Me took the 9 hour trip from Calais there last week for a week of relaxation and good weather, not to forget good vin and delicious fromage. During the summer months, Charentes has some excellent Vide Greniers and Town Brocante weekends. I like to visit two or three when we go over. I had planned to take my camera with me, but I completely forgot so I took some dodgy pics on my mobile. This particular Brocante is very well organised with glass stacked in categories and semi-neatly displayed. It is one of a row of five all together and it probably takes us a good few hours to get round them all. I always have to remind myself that they shut up shop for 3 hours at 12pm so you have to get there early!

Read all of VISITING BROCANTES IN FRANCE

MORE VINTAGE FABRIC ART

Vintage Tapestry from 1970's in Frame

Yesterday I didn't have time to finish my little blog I wanted to take some pictures of some wall art I have around my house, namely this lovely tapestry that my mother in law started in the 1970's to make into a cushion. I asked if she would finish it, then a couple of years ago we had it framed. It is huge - 1m x 1m and VERY heavy. I think it looks fab in our dining room above our fireplace. The picture of the boat is from a 50's fabric my mum found for me. This is situated in my little boys room. I've got quite a lot of this fabric and I could have used so many different areas of it because there is so much detail across the fabric. It's made by Sanderson.

Vintage Fabric in Frame

Read all of MORE VINTAGE FABRIC ART

VINTAGE FABRIC ART

Pausa Textiles on Canvas

Pausa red circles

I’m always looking for novel ways to decorate my house and one of my recent projects is placing vintage fabrics and tapestries into frames. My partner and I have completely different taste when it comes to visual art but we always agree on a good geometric print and these always look great on canvas. When I visited Pausa in Germany I got my colleague to hold up some of the amazing textiles they had to offer. Some were already presented in frames and on canvas.

Read all of VINTAGE FABRIC ART

VIFFY's (very important fabrics)

Selection of my VIFFY's

I’ve just designed an area of my website to include an online shop. I wanted to be able to showcase some of my VIFFY’s. It will be up and running very soon and I’m a little bit excited…here is a taster of some of the vintage textiles I’m going to include. I also have a large selection of 1950’s-70’s curtains by well known designers. In addition there will be a portfolio page where I will display some of my finished upholstery projects that have since been re-homed. It will go live at the end of this month.

Read all of VIFFY's (very important fabrics)

Vintage Collections

I like to hoard things and my partner only allows some of my collections on show! I guess that’s what comes with being married to a designer. I’ve never met a man more picky about what’s displayed in their house (let me know if you know one!). Here are some of my vintage finds that I have collected over the years. Some from jumble sales and car boot sales, some from brocantes and antique markets. I have a lot more sheets and pillow cases. Some are from the 60’s and 70’s but I also buy the lovely new retro patterned duvets available. Most recently one from Orla Kiely’s range (it arrive in the most gorgeous boxes with her infamous print on).

Vintage Flower Pot Collection

Read all of Vintage Collections

Sewing up my 1950's Lounger

I've nearly finished it! OK - not quite there but was desperate to feel like I had finished so decided to post this up. I've just got the right arm, back and bottom to complete, plus I'm putting 8 turquoise buttons on the front. There is a lot of hand sewing with this piece because it's a metal frame, but the fabric is an absolute dream to work with. It's by Bute Fabrics, they are the same company that supply Orla Kiely's range for Heals, I believe.

from this to this

Read all of Sewing up my 1950's Lounger

Punk Rock Antiquing

Every time I've opened a newspaper or mag recently I've seen an article on improving and renovating your home, rather than buying new.I've actually possessed this desire since I was a teenager and much prefer to find a battered old piece of furniture and give it a new lease of life than buy new. I was watching the new series of It's not easy being Green a few weeks ago and they had a fantastic feature on renovating furniture where they coined the term 'Punk Rock Antiquing'. They spent £330 at auction, limited their makeover to £500 and when it was all finished it was valued at £2,000! Not bad. Here's one I made earlier:

Punk Rock Antiquing

Read all of Punk Rock Antiquing

Out and About in London

Living in London you sometimes feel like you have the world at your feet. There are so many things to do of a weekend – visiting museums, concerts, shops, restaurants...the list goes on...and do I ever get off my arse and explore the beautiful city that is London? Well this weekend I am. I’m going to visit the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture I keep opening up magazines and seeing it featured. They’ve just started an exhibition inspired by 1950’s style. I’m particularly interested in the display of 50’s textiles they have. (P.S. I visited it! here is a leaflet I picked up thought you might be interested...)

Vintage Textile Lecture

Read all of Out and About in London

Visiting Pausa in Germany

Recently I visited the Pausa Textile Factory in Germany. I’d never heard of Pausa before setting out on this European textile research project. Set up by a Jewish community at the turn of the century Pausa was one of the most influential textile manufacturers in Europe. During it’s reign it was responsible for creating political textiles during world war two, religious textiles and art textiles in the 50’s through to 70’s. Sadly it went into liquidation in 2002.

Pausa Factory Textile Storage x3

Read all of Visiting Pausa in Germany

cup of tea

I just had a little look at eBay under ‘retro fabric’A lot of peeps just list new fabric in this category – stuff that has a vintage feel. I love the cupcakes by Robert Kaufman and the 60’s-esque designs of Alexander Henry. But...I don’t know, It’s not quite the real thing is it? I suppose if you find a delicious 1970’s design fabric you know that in your heart there probably isn’t another metre readily available in the whole world – real vintage fabrics truly are unique!

Ercol Teapot Chair for my Blog

Read all of cup of tea

Books Books Books

Do you know of any vintage textile books? I’ve had it in mind for a while now that I would like to create a book. I say “create a book” because I’m more thinking it will involve lots of piccies rather than a lot of text. I’ve been cataloguing my collection of fabrics for a long time and, as you might have guessed, love geometric patterns from the 70’s! So I’m thinking my book will illustrate European geometric patterns from 60’s and 70’s, but it’s in the early ‘idea’ stage at the moment. Still, watch this space!

I like to hoard books and catalogues on vintage textiles, most are written in a foreign language so I have no idea what they say, but the pictures are fabulous! At the end of the Summer I have a trip planned to visit the Pausa textile factory in Germany and will be meeting with Hermann Berner, the author of the book in the first picture. I can’t wait to blog that!

Pausa Fabric Book

Read all of Books Books Books

I heart satin brocade

YAWWWN! I’m feeling a little tired today having whizzed around Alton Towers yesterday with my friends, awf SOO much fun.…anyway I was just sorting through some fabrics and came across my stash of satin brocades. I suppose in the 50’s and 60’s it was popular as a fashion fabric, but I think my patterns would look great upholstered on to some dining chairs. I’m looking for a revival of these silky textiles and predicting more and more people will start upholstering with them. Here is a taster of my collection.

Satin Brocade - Gold & Turquoise

Satin Brocade Orange and Yellow

 

Read all of I heart satin brocade

A View From My Ironing Board

View from my ironing board

One of the Fabric Stores

My other half is sailing around the Ionion so it has given me the chance to crack on with a few domestic chores. One of the things I've been meaning to do for ages is sort through my fabrics - Martha stylie. So yesterday I got my iron out and had an absolute marathon session. I categorised my textiles into cotton, cotton mix, chintz, barkcloth, twill and collection - those ones I just can't let go of. I also started to hang the curtains onto coat hangers. Here is a little taster of my office. This isn't even a fifth of it!

Read all of A View From My Ironing Board