Material World

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Large number of vintage fabric bolts | H is for Home

What a boot full of booty!!

large number of vintage fabric bolts stuffed into the boot of our car

Unbelievably, we’ve just acquired approximately 40 bolts of vintage fabric.

large number of vintage fabric bolts

It all dates from the 1950s & 60s.

bolt of vintage David Whitehead fabric still wrapped in its original brown paper and address label

Most of them are unused – some still have their original labels & packaging. It’s so rare to discover original vintage textiles like this – especially in this quantity.

large number of vintage fabric bolts

A friend of ours works in the textiles. He has a friend, also in the trade, who was clearing one of his storage areas. Lurking at the back was all this fabric – bought by his father – which had lain there untouched for 50 or 60 years. A real fabric collectors dream!

large number of vintage fabric bolts

Each bolt measures between 30 & 60 yards in length.

large number of vintage fabric bolts

There are some fantastic patterns.

large number of vintage fabric bolts

…period designs featuring flowers & fruit, geometric shapes and even space galaxies.

group of vintage monotone fabric bolts

Some bold & bright, some monochrome.

close up of vintage monotone fabric bolt

We’ve only had the fabric for a few days and haven’t started identifying designers as yet – having said that, there are lots still with original David Whitehead labels…

close up of vintage David Whitehead fabric with rose pattern

…a prominent textile manufacturer from this period.

close up of vintage David Whitehead fabric with leaf pattern

We’re pretty sure that a good number of the ones without labels intact are by them too.

close up of vintage fabric with pink and grey stripe and embossed flower pattern

Here’s a quartet of David Whitehead adverts; we often come across them in vintage magazines from the 50s & 60s.

four vintage magazine adverts for Davis Whitehead fabrics

We’ll be putting the fabric up for sale in the coming weeks. Some we’ll sell as long fabric lengths in our Picture House Antiques pitch – some we’ll sell by the metre in our webshop and Etsy & Folksy and eBay outlets.

close up of vintage David Whitehead fabric with fruit pattern

A once in a lifetime find… many thanks to Shaun!!!

Z is for… Zoo

Vintage comic illustration of a zoo keeper and animals | H is for Home

We’ve reached the end of the alphabet… and ‘Z’ is for zoo. Our virtual zoo is full of animals beautifully interpreted in pottery, glass, textiles, book illustrations and more. All our animals are well looked after… and there’s no entrance fee!!

1960s lion tile designed by Kenneth Townsend | H is for Home
1960s lion tile designed by Kenneth Townsend
Detail from a vintage fabric peg bag | H is for Home
Detail from a vintage fabric peg bag
Vintage glass ram designed by Pavel Pánek for Rudolfova Hut Glass, part of the SKLO UNION Group of Czechoslovakia | H is for Home
Vintage glass ram designed by Pavel Pánek for Rudolfova Hut Glass, part of the SKLO UNION Group of Czechoslovakia
Vintage childrens book cover: 'A Peaceable Kingdom, the Shaker Abecedarius' illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen | H is for Home
Vintage children’s book cover
Vintage childrens book cover: 'A Peaceable Kingdom, the Shaker Abecedarius' illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen | H is for Home
Shaker Abecedarius illustration
Vintage childrens book cover: 'A Peaceable Kingdom, the Shaker Abecedarius' illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen | H is for Home
Shaker Abecedarius illustration
Vintage childrens book cover: 'A Peaceable Kingdom, the Shaker Abecedarius' illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen | H is for Home
List of animals in the Shaker Abecedarius
Vintage Beefeater steak plates by Washington Pottery | H is for Home
Vintage 1960s ‘Beefeater’ steak plates by Washington Pottery
Vintage Staffordshire pottery mug with orange cat illustration | H is for Home
Vintage 1970s Staffordshire pottery mug
Vintage Hornsea 'Aries' mug designed by John Clappison | H is for Home
Vintage 1960s/70s Hornsea pottery mug
Life of St Martin: 'St Martin with dogs' illustrated by Emile Probst, 1966 | H is for Home
‘Life of St Martin’ illustrated by Emile Probst, 1966
Vintage Acupulco chopping board by Villeroy & Boch | H is for Home
Vintage 1960s ‘Acapulco’ chopping board by Villeroy & Boch
Detail from a vintage Acupulco chopping board by Villeroy & Boch | H is for Home
‘Acapulco’ chopping board detail
Vintage 1970s Danish pottery plaque of a snail designed by Ib Antoni for Bing and Grøndahl | H is for Home
Vintage 1970s Danish pottery plaque of a snail designed by Ib Antoni for Bing and Grøndahl
Illustration of an elephant carrying children from 'This is Edinburgh' by Miroslav Sasek, 1961 | H is for Home
Illustration from ‘This is London’ by Miroslav Sasek, 1959
Illustration of penguins from 'This is Edinburgh' by Miroslav Sasek, 1961 | H is for Home
Illustration from ‘This is Edinburgh’ by Miroslav Sasek, 1961
Vintage Cadburys biscuit tin with colourful illustration of birds | H is for Home
Detail from a vintage 1950s Cadbury biscuit tin
Vintage 1950s pottery giraffe produced by Lomonosov of the USSR | H is for Home
Vintage 1950s pottery giraffe produced by Lomonosov of the USSR
Illustration by Dean Mitchell from 'Folk Tales of the World, Australia', 1965 | H is for Home
Illustration by Dean Mitchell from ‘Folk Tales of the World, Australia’, 1965
Little orange felt elephant made in Nepal | H is for Home
Little felt elephant made in Nepal
Vintage pottery owl plaque | H is for Home
Vintage 1960s/70s pottery owl plaque
Vintage Scandinavian teak mouse | H is for Home
Vintage 1960s Danish teak mouse
Tiger print by Wallase Ting | H is for Home
Tiger print by Walasse Ting

Fabric Magazine feature for H is for Home

We’ve had another lovely mention in the press – we’re in this month’s Fabric Magazine. It’s a London-based, monthly glossy that specialises in the capital city’s properties as well as features on interiors, travel, health, beauty & style, food & eating out. Take a look at the clipping below!

Thanks to them for their coverage and thanks to all of you out there for your continued support and feedback.

O is for… Orange

'O is for... Orange' blog post banner

Original ink & wash painting by Geoffrey Key entitled Welsh Valley

This week’s blog is a small homage to a glorious colour. O just had to be for orange.

Vintage orange Metamec wall clock | H is for Home detail from orange vintage pop art fabric | H is for Home

Vintage 'Dolly Days' porcelain coffee set designed by John Russell for Hostess Tableware in the 1960s | H is for Home

Vintage orange floral metal biscuit barrel | H is for Home Vintage orange & white 'Lotus' skillet produced by Cathrineholm | H is for Home

We are big fans, and judging by our popular photos on Flickr and items that always sell well on H is for Home, so are a lot of you out there.

Vintage orange & white daisy patterned enamel lidded saucepan | H is for Home Vintage teapot with tea cosy hand-knitted from vintage wool | H is for Home

Orange has the wonderful ability to look warm & cosy in the winter or lively & fresh in the summer.

Set of vintage 'Gaytime' drinking glasses | H is fo rHome Vintage orange plastic 'Party Set' snack dish | H is for Home

Orange objects really catch the eye. It enables them to shout loudly in a collection of other brightly coloured pieces.

Collection of vintage art glass vases | H is for Home

Alternatively, it’s perfect as a highlight colour within a muted décor or against natural materials.

We’ve given a few different chairs the orange treatment!

We did a G is for… Garden blog post a couple of months ago having just planted out some annuals. Our French marigolds are doing well with all the sunshine & showers we’ve been having.

French marigold flowers | H is for Home

Till next week! x