Sudpsuez Fringe, Frog and Tassel: The Art of the Trimmings-Maker in Interior Decoration Annabel Westman
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Description
Words by Annabel Westman
Trimmings are often overlooked as mere details of a furnished interior. However, in the past they were seen as vital and costly elements in the decoration of a room. They were used not only on curtains and beds but also on wall hangings, upholstered seat furniture and cushions, providing a visual feast for the eye with their colour and intricate detail. Sometimes more expensive than the rich fabrics they enhanced, trimmings are often the only surviving evidence of a lost decorative scheme, reapplied to replacement textiles or found as fragments in the attic.
This book, the first of its kind, traces their history in Britain and Ireland from 1320 to 1970, examining the design and usage of tassels, fringe, braid (woven lace), gimp and cord and their dependence on French fashion. The substantial text links surviving items in historic houses and museums to written evidence, paintings, drawings and other primary sources to provide a firm framework for dating pieces of less-certain provenance. The importance of the ‘laceman’, the maker of these trimmings, is also examined within an economic and social context, together with the relationship to the upholsterer and interior decorator in the creation of a fashionable room.
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing
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Sudpsuez Botanical Sketchbooks
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Sudpsuez Retrouvius: Contemporary Salvage: Designing Homes from a Philosophy of Re-Use
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London-based design studio Retrouvius has carved a unique and important niche in the interior design and architecture spheres by blending architectural salvage with innovative design. Every project is a reinvention of the past and a promise made to our shared future.
In a world increasingly defined by the fleeting and the disposable, Retrouvius stands as a beacon of sustainability, creativity, and enduring beauty in interior design. Each space transformed by the studio is imbued with a history and a character uniquely its own, and a deep respect and sensitivity for original, historic designs and materials.
As interior designers and architects increasingly adopt sustainable practices to reduce their environmental footprint, Retrouvius has been discovering new life in the old and patinaed, new purpose in the centuries overlooked. Its work is a testament to the belief that sustainability can be synonymous with sophistication, and that the past can beautifully and intelligently inform the present.
This important volume is an invitation to explore the world of Retrouvius through the design studio’s most significant projects. Through stunning photography and insightful texts, this book journeys into the heart of spaces that are as functional as they are artful, as timeless as they are tailored to contemporary living.
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Both the tapestry specialist and the keen art-history enthusiast can find a wealth of information here about woven wall hangings and furnishings, including methods of production, purchase and distribution, evolving techniques and technologies, the changing trends of subject matter across time, and how tapestries have been collected, used and displayed in British country houses across the centuries.
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