Textile Crafts · 25 March 2025
After Sachio Yoshioka took over the family business, which was working with synthetic dyes at the time, he switched completely to dyeing with natural plants - because he found their variety of colours so wonderful.
Books · 24 March 2025
Undertaking a doctorate degree, especially a PhD in the humanities, generally means years of being text-bound. Reading papers and books, taking notes, and writing. Rinse and repeat, every day for three to six years. This cycle is, of course, happily interrupted by teaching commitments, conference visits, giving talks or doing community outreach. Yet fundamentally, the written word is at the core and reading and digesting the knowledge of a field means skim-reading thousands and thousands of...
18th Century · 09 March 2025
When we think of art of the Italian Baroque – which paintings and artists come to mind? Most of what makes the Italian Baroque in our viewing habits and popular imagination is by male artists. There were many female painters of the Italian Baroque era and they are being gradually rediscovered though shifting focus in scholarship and restoration funding. Here I present a selection of lesser known women artists of the late 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
18th Century · 05 March 2025
This is the story of Jean-Baptiste Réveillon (1725–1811). In 18th-century France, this wallpaper manufacturer became connected to hot-air ballooning, celebrity endorsement and ultimately the outbreak of the French Revolution.
Textile Crafts · 09 February 2025
In October of 2023 I went on holiday to Indonesia and there in Yogjakarta, in what is commonly considered the artisan and crafts capital of the nation, I studied the art of batik. Batik is an ancient tradition in Indonesia, created by blocking out parts of a cloth with wax to dye over the unblocked parts and craft intricate patterns.
19th Century · 30 December 2024
In August 1827, a giraffe calf arrived on the shores of England as a diplomatic gift by Muhammad Ali of Egypt to King George IV. It was housed in George IV's menagerie and the giraffe quickly became the talk of the town, igniting a fascination that influenced everything from fashion to hairstyles.
Jewellery History · 10 December 2024
Garnets with their deep red splendour are a staple in 19th century jewellery. They added splashes of colour to the already colourful dress of this century.
19th Century · 18 November 2024
Women in 19th Century Publishing – La Mode Illustrée, Magazine Owner Emmeline Raymond and Her Illustrators Héloïse and Adele-Anaïs Colin
Jewellery History · 12 November 2024
One material that gained prominence during the Romantic and early Victorian era was foam gold, or "Schaumgold" in German.
Books · 10 October 2024
Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper – by Neil Buttery & Blighty or Bust: The Epic 2,000-Mile Escape of WWII prisoner-of-war, Raymond Bailey. In His Own Words – Edited by David Wilkins