When it was my birthday six months ago, a very dear friend who enjoys photography as much as I do, and knows that I collect beautiful and vintage pieces, gave me a wonderful selection of antique ribbons, buttons, buckles, lace and other fine notions. She also gave me three follow up tins of similar delightful gifts for Christmas.
Those wonderful gifts are what has inspired me to create this series of "Embroider my World" images featuring my vintage bobbin collection. In this case, the wonderfully embroidered olive green Victorian or early Edwardian ribbon adorned with sequin covered paisley patterns from the Edwardian era comes from my own collection of antique notions. I have accessorised it on a 1930s embroidered tablecloth with a Dewhurst's Sylko Olive reel of cotton which dates from between 1938 and 1954.
Belle Vue Mill, commonly known as Dewhurst’s, was built by Thomas Dewhurst in 1828. It opened in 1829 as John Dewhurst & Sons and was one of Skipton’s largest spinning and weaving mills. The mill’s position next to the Leeds Liverpool Canal meant that raw cotton could be shipped in by boats from Liverpool. Finished goods would then be sent back the same way ready for distribution. Coal to power the machine’s steam engines was also delivered by barge. In 1897 Dewhurst’s was bought by the English Sewing Cotton Co. It continued to produce Sylko, one of the mill’s most famous products. It was produced in over 500 colours and sold throughout the world. Sylko cottons are still available at haberdashers today.
Tags: olive olive green green gold filbert latte mocha brown copper cream cotton spool reel cotton reel cotton spool antique ribbon embroidered ribbon vintage ribbon old ribbon sequin sequins paisley paisley pattern Victorian Edwardian Victorian ribbon Edwardian ribbon sequin embroidered sequin embroidered ribbon velvet velvet ribbon vintage lace antique lace lace haberdashery ribbon embroidered embroidery tablecloth cloth embroidered tablecloth sewing stitching stitch Sylko Sylko cotton thread Dewhurst Sylko Dewhurst Sylko cotton Dewhurst Sylko thread Dewhurst Sylko cotton thread Dewhurst's Sylko Dewhurst's Sylko cotton Dewhurst's Sylko thread Dewhurst's Sylko cotton thread vintage old antique retro Dewhurst Dewhurt's English Sewing Cotton Co English Sewing Cotton Company Skipton made in England made in Britain British made English made English British macro macro photography tabletop tabletop photography white Sylko three shells
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“It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds” – Aesop (Greek storyteller).
The theme for "Smile on Saturday" on the 20th of April is "nature in hand", where a picture of one or two human hands holding an animal, a plant or a natural material is requested. In the last two years, I have been exploring a new avenue in my photographic creativity, that of portraiture photography. I used a somewhat illusive sitter for several “Smile on Saturday” themes in the past. My model has kindly returned to sit for me yet again for this theme. I decided that I wanted to photograph his hands holding a delicate feather, as my model has, in my opinion anyway, beautiful hands. The feather came from Cumberland River Beach, along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. I hope that you like my choice for the theme this week, and that it makes you smile!
Tags: Smile on Saturday mature in hand feather nature natural frond material natural material hair hairs portrait face skin chin smile beard shoulder hand finger fingers fingernail fingernails artistic portraiture wrinkle happy love emotion flesh spotted dark light shadow sepia monochrome sepia photo monochrome photo sepia photography monochrome photography close up oblique incognito mystery personality different alternative stubble nose nail knuckle fingerprint pattern patterned
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The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" on the 19th of April is "embossed glass". When the theme was announced, I looked through my glass collection and selected one of my more unusual pieces of glass… well for my collection anyway. Most of my collection is made up of British or European glass, yet this piece is American. It is an American Pattern Glass “Daisy and Diamond” spooner from the late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century. The pattern name comes from the delicate daisies and diamonds embossed into it. Although it doesn’t appear in my photo, it has a slight lavender colourisation to it, which indicates that it is old glass. You’ll also see a couple of bubbles in the ruffled edges, which also identifies this as pre 1920s glass. And what is a spooner? In an ordinary middle-class or lower-class home in America at the turn of the Twentieth Century, knives and forks were kept in a drawer, very much like they are in all households worldwide today. However, the spoons were kept in the spoon holder next to the sugar bowl that was left on the table. There wasn’t a centrepiece, just necessary items on the kitchen table. Some spooners can be mistaken for large sugar bowls since they have handles on each side and are a similar shape. Spooners, however do not have lids. They were designed, as the name suggests, to hold spoons. Most spooners are older than the 1920’s. They are often identified as early American Pattern Glass or pressed glass. Most glass spooners were produced with company patterns that were named. The names can be fanciful and descriptive, such as “Eyewinker”, which refers to orbs that look like winking eyes in the glass. I hope you like my choice of the theme this week, and that it makes you smile!
Tags: Looking Close on Friday embossed glass Cristal Gofrado glass spooner glass spooner American glass spooner American Pattern Glass spooner American Pattern Glass Pattern glass American Americana made in America American made Nineteenth Century Twentieth Century 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s old glass antique glass vintage glass antique spooner vintage spooner daisy and diamond Daisy and Diamond pattern patterned glass daisy diamond daisy pattern diamond pattern bubble collectable collectible 19th Century 20th Century clear glass facet facets faceted faceted glass handle ruffle ruffled light shade bokeh green garden spoon holder container spoon container holder edge glint sheen shine air bubble fault
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Scrapbooking was a popular pastime in Victorian times for both children and adults. Creating a scrapbook was not only a craft project, it was also a way of preserving memories.
In the 1800s, the automated printing press was invented. Suddenly books and printed material became much more widely available. As well as writing in their commonplace books, people began to cut out and stick in printed items. Things like greeting cards, calling cards, postcards, prayer cards, advertising trading cards and newspaper clippings were collected. Some of these books contained a mix of personal journal entries, hand-drawn sketches and watercolours, along with various scraps of printed material. These books were literally books of scraps.
By the 1820s, collectable scraps had become more elaborate. Some items were embossed: a process by which a die (a metal stamp for cutting or pressing) was punched into the reverse side of the paper, giving the front a raised three-dimensional appearance.
In 1837, the first year of Queen Victoria's reign, the colour printing process known as chromolithography was invented. This lead to the production of ‘ready made’ scraps. Brightly coloured and embossed scraps were sold in sheets with the relief stamped out to the approximate shape of the image. These pre-cut scraps were connected by small strips of paper to keep them in place. The laborious task of cutting out small pictures was thus removed, and sales of scraps went soaring. Many of the best-quality scraps of the period were produced in Germany, where bakers and confectioners used small reliefs to decorate cakes and biscuits for special occasions such as christenings, weddings, Christmas and Easter.
These embossed chromolithograph scraps are of German and British in origin and date from the 1880s.
Tags: scraps paper scraps German English made in Germany made in England British made in Britain made in Great Britain forget me nots ephemera ephemeron scrapbook scrapbooking Victorian scraps Victorian paper scraps Victorian ephemera Victorian ephemeron Victorian scrapbooking Victorian Victoriana Nineteenth Century 19th Century old antique vintage nostalgia nostalgic paper chromolithograph chromolithograph paper embossed embossed paper chromolithography embossing hand hands dove bird letter love romance romantic flower flowers rose roses petal petals leaf leaves daisy daises red rose pink rose yellow rose lily lilies bow bows snowdrop snowdrops fern ribbon ribbons vase pot jardinière jardiniere cuff sleeve 1880s 1800s daffodil collection
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PADDY: "So this is a painting called 'Boulevard Poissonnière in the Rain' by the famous French artist Jean Béraud."
SCOUT: "Oh yes, I can see it's raining, Paddy. The ladies and the gentleman on the street have their brollies up. Oh! Hurry home horsies and get dry! The poor horsies don't have umbrellas."
PADDY: "Jean Béraud was a famous Impressionist painter who incorporated fine details along with social realism."
SCOUT: "At least because it's raining, there are no window lickers at the shop windows."
PADDY: "Scout, like I said before, in French, window shopping is called ‘lèche vitrine’ which translates to English literally as ‘window licking’. However, Parisians don't actually lick the windows when they are window shopping."
SCOUT: "That is just as well, Paddy, because the windows would be dirty! Yucky!" *Sticks out little pink bear tongue.*
PADDY: "Oh! Hullo everyone! Do you know what? Monday the 15th of April is World Art Day. World Art Day is an international celebration of the fine arts which was declared by the International Association of Art in order to promote awareness of creative activity worldwide. We are celebrating this day by looking at this lovely painting, 'Boulevard Poissonnière in the Rain' painted by the famous French Impressionist artist Jean Béraud around 1880 which is on display as part of the Bendigo Art Gallery's exhibition ‘Paris: Impressions of Life 1880 – 1925’."
SCOUT: “Paddy? Paddy!"
PADDY: "Yes Scout?"
SCOUT: "Since today is World Art Day, I have a question, Paddy.”
PADDY: “And what is that, Scout?”
SCOUT: “Well, if this painting was done in Paris in the very olden days, how come he painted it in colour when the world was black and white? Wasn’t the world black and white there too, or was that only in England where you and Daddy lived, Paddy?”
PADDY: “Scout, I keep telling you, Scout. The world wasn't black and white then, only the telly, and there were no tellies in 1880s France."
SCOUT: "Then why are all the photos in this exhibition black and white, Paddy? Tell me that?"
PADDY: "It's because they only had black and white film then, Scout. Colour film wasn't invented until the 1930s."
SCOUT: "Well, I'll just have to take your word for that, Paddy. Unlike you, I am young and beautiful, being five years old, whereas you and Daddy are ancient, from the days when the world was black and white. I think you might be fibbing, Paddy." *Giggles.*
PADDY: *Sighs.* "Happy World Art Day everyone and everybear!"
This weekend just gone, Paddy, Scout and I went to the Bendigo Art Gallery to view the ‘Paris: Impressions of Life 1880 – 1925’ exhibition. Exclusive to Bendigo Art Gallery, the ‘Paris: Impressions of Life 1880–1925’ exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the lively and picturesque streets of historic Paris. Tour seven themed pathways and discover artisan street signs, historic couture, decorative arts, and everyday ephemera alongside paintings by artists including Jean Béraud, the pre-eminent painter of Parisian life in the Belle Époque, Maurice Utrillo and Paul Signac, pioneer of the artistic technique of pointillism, as well as vibrant graphic prints by Toulouse-Lautrec and his contemporaries.
This painting, 'Boulevard Poissonnière in the Rain' was painted by the famous French Impressionist artist Jean Béraud around 1880. Jean Béraud was a French painter renowned for his numerous paintings depicting the life of Paris, and the nightlife of Paris society. Pictures of the Champs Elysees, cafés, Montmartre and the banks of the Seine are precisely detailed illustrations of everyday Parisian life during the Belle Époque.
My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his mackintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his mackintosh.
He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.
Scout was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.
Tags: Paddington Paddington Bear Paddy Bear Paddy teddy teddy bear bear soft toy vintage vintage teddy vintage teddy bear vintage toy hand made softie plush cute cuddly soft Scout Scout bear knitting knitted knitted toy Fair Trade Fair Trade Bear Scout House Bendigo Bendigo Art Gallery art gallery painting art artwork frame wooden frame Victoria Australia provincial Victoria country Victoria exhibition Paris: Impressions of Life 1880 – 1925 Paris Impressions of Life 1880 1925 Paris: Impressions of Life 1880 – 1925 exhibition Paris Impressions of Life 1880 1925 exhibition 1880s 1800s Belle Époque Belle Epoque Art Nouveau Impressionist painting Impressionist 19th Century Nineteenth Century woman man hore carriage boulevard Jean Béraud Boulevard Poissonniere in the Rain Boulevard Poissonniére in the Rain Impressionistic oil on canvas gilt frame gilt gold gold frame ornate Paris World Art Day World Art Day 2024
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