A knife might seem like a simple object, but its form results from hundreds of design decisions. Does the knife need to cut things? The obvious answer is “yes”, but butter knives and putty knives are more for spreading than cutting. Nevertheless, most knives need a cutting blade. A good kitchen knife has a steel [more...]
Look at Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s designs for furnishings, textiles, stained glass etc. and it won’t be long before you see a characteristic rose: typically pink, and less symmetrical than classic rose motifs. The petals often have strong outlines, perhaps the leading of stained glass, or the white space of a stencilled image. Is it right [more...]
In the 1940s, 50s and 60s, Popular Science Magazine ran a column called I’d like to see them make?. The magazine invited readers to write in with suggestions on the gadgets, tools and innovations they would like to see invented to make their lives a little easier. It was a popular item, and published suggestions [more...]
In the 1890s tearooms flourished all over the UK, and nowhere more than in Glasgow. There you would find several city centre premises with a choice of rooms for customers taking tea – including separate rooms for ladies and gentlemen, and smoking rooms. Those managed by the enterprising Miss Cranston, who asked designer-architect Charles Rennie [more...]
While researching the National Trust and the acquisition of their first property of the Clergy House in Alfriston, Sussex, I came across many claims on the internet that the Trust’s symbol was inspired by a carving of an oak leaf to be found in the Clergy House. Image on Wikipedia. I thought I would look [more...]
Many nicely-crafted antique card tables were made in the 1700s and 1800s. The social lives of prosperous families in America, Britain, and other parts of Europe depended on having a card table, or two, for friends to play at in the evening. Before 1700, card-playing was a rich person’s game. It stayed fashionable with the [more...]
I used to see the paisley design as a curled leaf or feather, without thinking about its history. Paisley fabric is “patterned with distinctive, ornate, teardrop- or feather-shaped figures, based on an Indian pine cone design”, according to the dictionary. Textile experts have called it a “drooping bud” or a “Kashmir cone”. It’s also been [more...]
Chinoiserie was a new fashion in the 18th century when China and the Far East seemed incredibly exotic to people in Europe. Imported arts and crafts had an excitingly different beauty from those made at home, and some were clearly superior to anything European – especially Chinese porcelain. Designers and craftsmen wanted to recreate the [more...]
Famille rose decoration for porcelain developed in China around 1720. A new wave of Chinese ceramics using rose and ruby shades in multi-colour designs was greatly admired in Europe. Introduced just before the western craze for oriental style interior decoration peaked in the mid-18th century, plenty was manufactured for export, along with many other Asian [more...]
Jasper dip and solid jasper are two different kinds of Wedgwood jasperware. Both have white classical designs on a coloured background, and look similar to non-experts. If in doubt you are always safe calling this style of pottery jasperware. Solid jasper came first. After secret experiments in the early 1770s, blending clays with other ingredients, [more...]
Creating your own cottage garden is about building up an overall effect, not about following hard and fast rules. Aim for a nostalgic, informal look, with plenty of old-fashioned flowers – sweet-scented if possible. This style can suit not-too-hot parts of North America and Europe as well as anywhere in the UK. A traditional cottage [more...]
Fair Isle and the neighbouring island group of Shetland, on the northern fringes of the UK, have their own traditional styles of multicolour knitting. Local experts can tell the difference between the two, but the designs are so closely related that most people treat them as one single tradition. The early history wasn’t written down, [more...]
The Georgian era was when four kings all called George were on the British throne one after another – a period lasting more than a century (1714-1830). Even though fashions in architecture and interior design didn’t stand still, there was an overall Georgian style favoured during this time – in North America as well as [more...]
Lace knitting is often at its best in shawls. It drapes nicely round the shoulders, while the lacy patterns show up clearly across the back. The design, skill, and hours of work have created a beautiful, easy to wear, warmly luxurious wrap. Although knitted lace can also be used for other projects, delicate, elaborate, lacy [more...]
Tea first arrived in Europe from Asia in 1610, when Dutch traders brought some back to the Netherlands. It reached England in the 1640s and soon became a fashionable drink in London, but it was not yet made at home. If you wanted to drink it in private you had to order a cup from [more...]
Two lovers each wear a ring for their engagement; then on marriage they fit the two together to make a wedding ring. This romantic custom, using a double-hoop gimmel ring, was at a peak of popularity during the 16th and 17th centuries. Gimmel rings have been revived by modern jewellery designers, and seem to have [more...]
The most delicate Shetland shawls can indeed be pulled through a wedding ring. Knitted in cobweb lace patterns, from finely-spun wool, a shawl 6 feet square (1.8 metres) may weigh as little as 2 ounces (57 grams). To make one the traditional way, you need to know that the finest fleece comes from the sheep’s [more...]
Claddagh rings, with a crowned heart held by two hands, are named after a fishing community in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland, where they were used for betrothals and marriages, and handed down from mother to daughter. When I first heard a well-known story about their origins it seemed too fanciful to be [more...]
A coromandel screen is a Chinese folding screen coated in black or dark lacquer. The dark background is richly decorated with painted scenes from life or literature, or landscapes, and a variety of trees, flowers, and birds. Wooden panels are coated with pale clay followed by several layers of lacquer. The design is carved into [more...]
In the 18th century wealthy men with private libraries in their grand houses wanted elegant furniture around them. The upmarket cabinet-makers of the period created fine desks and chairs, but how could they design new, improved versions of the step-ladders needed for reaching books from the highest shelves? One idea was to conceal steps under [more...]