A new Brocante in East Sussex: 'Chapelle Rouge'

Some friends of mine recently opened a large French Brocante-style Barn in West Sussex to sell their wonderful finds: rustic oak furniture, armoires etc, Linen sheets & bedding, textiles, kitchenalia, gardenalia (if there is such a word), architectural salvage and so much more. Here are a few photos I took on my visit today. If ever you are in West Sussex, it is definitely worth a visit.

Chapelle Rouge

Cherry Tree Farm

Henfield Road

Small Dole

BN5 9XT

Tel: 07931660592

grayman57@gmail.com

A riot of Midsummer French Florals c1880-1920

‎"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." ~Iris Murdoch, A Fairly Honourable Defeat

"Earth laughs in flowers." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck." ~Emma Goldman


I will be trying to get some of these lovely fabric listed on the website in a few days, but I am really busy, so let me know if you are interested in anything as yet unlisted.

www.morgaine-le-fay.co.uk

Some Interesting Victorian Items

I am starting to feature some interesting Victorian items on the Misc page of my website, here are the first three items, a collapsable Opera hat or top hat, a farthingale and a miniature Etui in the shape of a Gladstone bag.

Victorian silk Opera top hats are so called as they can be easily collapsed flat to stow away safely, for example in an opera cloakroom. These hats were invented in 1812 by Antoine Gibus in France when the fashion for wearing very tall hats in such places as the Opera became an annoyance to those seated behind the wearer…

The farthingale dates to about 1860 - thanks Glo for the help with the dating - flat fronted with a bell-shaped back to give the correct shape for the period. It is made of pink wool lined with cream silk with metal boning. It too collapses flat for storage. It is quite tatty, but as very few from the period survive it is an interesting piece for reference or study.

The miniature gladstone-style etui is very sweet, perfectly elegant yet eminently practical at the same time! I have sen a few ordinary 19th century handbags in the is style - all French - so although this was bought in the UK I suspect it to be French.

www.morgaine-le-fay.co.uk

A Magpie or possibly a Dragon's Hoard

More glittery things from the magpie's hoard

Those of you who often visit this page will be aware of my haberdashery habit, or fixation with threads, especially of the vantage glittery variety! I staggered home under the weight of quite a few kilograms of booty last weekend, all vintage or antique French threads and braids, ranging from the 1960s right back to about 1916, so some are almost 100 years old!

Where does it all come from? Well, I have been lucky enough to get to know a dealer who cleared an old French factory; he started off a few years ago with a large lock-up stacked full of it all, but now there isn't too mach left, so I greedily grab a bit more whenever I see it... And yes, I do sell it from time to time, but not too much... It is 'My Precious'...

www.morgaine-le-fay.co.uk