Where's Me Washboard?

I surprise even myself sometimes! But always keen to rescue some old bit of fabric, decrepit furniture, or tattered paper, I decided to take a risk with this very soiled piece of vintage hand embroidery. (Yes, I did actually pay money for this!)

The crinoline lady stood in her cottage garden amongst a riot of pretty colourful blooms...and a rather nasty brown stain at her feet :(

She had languished unprotected in a picture frame without glass, and the years had not been kind. I carefully removed her from it (I shall probably paint the (potentially!) pretty frame and make it into a display board, similar to the one shown half way through this post) and brushed away the cobwebs.

The linen that she had been embroidered on was still good and strong, so I thought it worth risking the boiling method!

She bubbled away for a few minutes, and at first I wasn't sure if it was going to have any effect...In fact it looked like things were getting worse! But soon she was drowning in a brown soup-like liquid and a transformation had taken place.

A good rinse, an hour drip drying on the washing line and I'm pleased to say she scrubbed up nicely!

A few marks remained along the edges, but these would be easy to avoid. I had to trim away slightly more than I would have liked, but at least she's been rescued.

Today I sat her amongst more vintage flowers and she now features as the centrepiece to this patchwork cushion.

Where hopefully she will be enjoyed for many more years to come.

(The reverse with tie fastenings.)

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Other items that have come my way recently (and which required a lot less work to make them presentable :)...

A Victorian decorative plate.

A C1940's cake plate.

A large linen tablecloth with a huge amount of hand embroidery (which did require a good laundering, and a very therapeutic ironing session - am I sad?!)

And two pretty lace panels for windows.

A cute baby blouse. (I sold today, thank you!)

Glass bead necklace and three vintage costume brooches.

(Pale lucite brooch sold today - Thank you"!)

A cute child's garment cover in the sweetest vintage print fabric.

A Victorian religious text print.

Furniture; including three French bistro chairs and an occasional table with distressed paint effect.

A set of lustreware eggcups and this little daydreaming pixie posy holder.

And finally a C1950's half hat with velvet flower trim.

Thanks for stopping-by...I appreciate all who check-in, comment, or email...I know time is precious.

Enjoy the rest of your day,

Niki x

Making Hay...

Summertime, and the living is easy...

Well, a little easier anyway...

Blue skies make for a positive start to the day...

Doors and windows can be thrown open...

The laundry dries quickly in the gentle breeze...

and smells so much better for it.

Alfresco dinning at every opportunity...

with lots of refreshing salads.

A time to watch the flowers grow...

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And to walk through a quieter home, where rooms stay a little tidier because life has moved outside.

Sipping lemonade whilst sat in deckchairs.

Harvesting the bounty.

And picking informal bunches for the table.

Hope you've had sunshine today,

Niki x

Brushes with my Past

The long eleven weeks off that spread before me on leaving school after completing my exams, and before I started the course I had chosen to study at college, back in the early 80's, I worked for GB Kent in their factory.

GB Kent and Sons were/are brushmakers by royal warrant to the Queen. In those early years, before I moved to Somerset, the factory was within easy walking distance from my family home. The tall chimney that stood on its roof, with 'Kents Brushes' written in large white letters down its length, could be seen from my bedroom window. I think the building dated from around 1901, although Kents have produced brushes since 1777.

(I found this lovely short video on You Tube here)

This was my first proper job; I earned a very minimum wage, and found the long days a challenge! Clocking-in was at 8am (until 5pm), with wages docked if you were more than 3 minutes late - I was assigned to the toothbrush department.

I learned a variety of jobs within the factory. My 'favourite' if I can call it that, was stamping the Kents log onto the toothbrush handles with real gold leaf, using a machine that reassembled a one-arm-bandit which heat sealed the letters into the plastic.

Another machine required me to push toothbrushes head first into apertures on a moving conveyor belt, which then trimmed the bristles flat. Working so quickly and concentrating hard, this machine often gave me motion sickness!

Occasionally I was put alongside some of the women who had worked in the factory for all their working lives - Sometimes 'picking', which was rather labour intensive. Stray bristles had to be trimmed away with a small knife to give the toothbrush head an immaculate finished look. Other times I worked feeding the finished boxes of toothbrushes into a heat sealing machine that shrink-wrapped a plastic film around them for delivery.

It was an experience to say the least, and I learned the value of a day-off when the factory was closed for one day, for the Royal Wedding.

(A special gift of handmade his and hers hair brushes, in a sumptuous presentation box, was sent to the happy couple by GB. Kents!)

At the end of my 11 weeks, I was offered a job at the factory...but I declined and took my place at college!

A few years later the factory needed upgrading, so was demolished. I remember going down to the site to watch the tall chimney fall to the ground. A huge crowd had gathered on the main A41 to see this end to an era. John Dickensons (of Basildon Bond writing paper fame) was also demolished around the same time, and this area of Hertfordshire would never be quite the same.

When I return now, its a very busy place from the one I remember; full up with riverside and canal-side apartments (with easy access into London by rail) and a large Sainsburys supermarket in the place of the brick built factories!

My time at GB Kents was not one I particularly look back on with fondness - It was a tiny part of my life, where I earned a few pennies to see me through college, but I learned the importance of producing a good quality, beautiful product and working hard to keep the company's good reputation.

Many of the brushes were hand-finished and were made from fine materials. Badger hair brushes were a speciality, particularly men's shaving brushes . It was even possible to buy a badger hair toothbrush...but I can't say that ever appealed to me!

Knowing that the brushes produced were of a very good quality and made to last, I am somewhat surprised that I've not come across any antique or vintage ones on my travels.

I've bought a lot of hair brushes over the years, but I can't recall one having the Kent logo on it.

I've trawled through my archives and have found quite a few photos of different brushes that I've found over the years...

Some I have kept...

And others have been sold and have new homes.

Thanks for indulging me in another of my stories from my past...

I'll leave you with the photos that I found - I hope you will enjoy seeing some of them again...

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Enjoy the rest of your weekend,

Niki x