Spring Newsletter
Our Christmas sale was a great success, and wishing to re invest the proceeds in new stock, we decided to go to the big carpet traders' fair in Hanover in January. We kitted out our Volvo with snow tyres, shovel, blankets and muesli bars, as we were told the weather can be very severe in Germany at this time of year. I met David at Heathrow airport in the late afternoon; he was returning from his first trip of the year to Bulgaria to check on the weaving progress. Then, in anticipation of a great adventure, we set off into the fading light towards Dover and Calais and early the next morning, in pouring rain, we drove to Hanover.
The show is an amazing experience and one I do not tire of. Hall upon hall of rug traders, their rugs piled high in neatly folded stacks, with all nationalities of men and women haggling while the rugs are moved from one pile to another, a timeless picture only changing with the clothes and props.
90% of the carpets are very commercial and are of no interest to us but there are a few producers springing up using hand spun wool and vegetable dyes, most of them from Iran. Over the years David has been talking to two small companies and has persuaded them to experiment with omitting the chemical wash that makes the carpets look shiny and old ing the short term but, in the long term, kills the wool, has nasty toxic waste that is often just flushed into the system, using vast amounts of water. The results from the two companies were very inspiring; small rugs, exquisitely drawn and woven in Bidjar, Baktihari, Farahan and Qashqay designs.
We also tracked down two Afghan men who produce lovely traditional Soumak rugs and another Iranian weaver with a collection of natural wool carpets and kilims with no dyes in at all, just shades of brown and grey. They had a small pile of antique kilims, again all in natural wool stripes, which we could not resist and we returned with a very full car and had to ship the rest. Luckily the snow shovel and blankets were not needed and we drove home in full sun, bursting with new ideas.
We are now working on re-vamping our showroom at the Workhouse Studio into a more useful gallery, where we will be mounting at least four exhibitions a year of carpets rugs and textiles including other interesting artefacts either commisssioned by us or found on our travels.
The first exhibition starts on March 21st entitled PERSIAN JEWELS. These are small rugs of exquisite colour, workmanship and materials. Made in designs that are classically Persian, they are woven by small groups of women in villages attached to the famous weaving areas in Iran. They are literally miles apart from the normal commercial productions and, we think, express an aesthetic integrity that was once the norm in making rugs. Even if you are not buying come and feast your eyes on pieces that are not available any where else.
On the repair front.
The National Trust asked us to look at a large carpet they had had in store for a number of years with a view to using it in another house. It turned out to be an Axminster circa 1800 of Oriental design and colouring; the ground colour a lovely deep rose, madder pink, with small details picked out in dark and light indigo blues, olive green, white, pale pink and creams etc; a very pleasant surprise for all concerned. The carpet was cleaned and stabilised at our workshop and has gone to Hanbury Hall, where you will be able to see it in all its glory.
Spring Cleaning.
Sorting through our junk in an attempt to de-clutter, I found a 1940's publication called Modern Teaching and lo - it had a section on spring cleaning with a reference to moths; a big problem nowadays as, with more heating in the home and natural fibres for the moths to feast on, they are having a field day. The book suggested brushing all garments, taking special care with seams in case moth eggs are lodged in them; very sound advice and it brought to mind a discovery I made recently when I found lots of moth eggs in the crease of a dusty box that was in the bottom of my wardrobe. I now keep my cashmere and precious jumpers in lidded plastic boxes. A good idea is to check all your rugs and carpets for the signs of moth, carpet beetle, damp etc and maybe consider turning them, checking the underlay and vacuuming under and on the reverse of the carpet, at the same time checking that sides and ends are in good order.
Forthcoming Events.
For the past two years David has been working with a small group of settled Gypsies in villages in the Bulgarian Rhodopsky Mountains where we have our weaving workshops. They have been collecting large quantities of natural coloured wools in beautiful shades of browns, greys and black; this wool has been hand spun and woven into small flat weave kilims and there are now 25 pieces ready. We have been looking for an excuse to show these and have decided that they would be part of an exhibition starting in mid May showing the rugs together with a large selection of work by local Marches artisans that feature natural materials.
If you would like to be on our e-mail list so that we can send you our newsletter and invitations 3 times a year please reply to : e-mail d.s.bamford@btinternet.com
With best wishes from
David & Sara Bamford
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