Old Colony: Credit Where Credit Is Due!

Margaret Whiting/Memorial Hall Museum

As  a writer and consultant who has spent the past 25 years working with historic interiors, it's important to me to ensure that proper credit and attributions are given. Back in 2007 when I was researching Arts & Crafts patterns for lace curtains, I came across a collection of unattributed, copyright-free designs including the one that was to become Old Colony.

Last week, I received an email from Suzanne Flynt, Curator of the Memorial Hall Museum in Deerfield, MA informing me that the design was based on a door panel in their collection, and it had been featured in her 2012 book: "Poetry to the Earth: The Arts and Crafts Movement in Deerfield."

It's a beautiful needlework pattern on linen, and it was executed by a Margaret Whiting who lived from 1860 to 1946.  You may learn more about it here. If you're going to be in the Deerfield, MA area, please visit the museum and its exhibit: "Skilled Hands and High Ideals; The Arts and Crafts Movement in Deerfield"

Gothic Lace Curtains; Not Just For Old Houses!

When Cooper Lace introduced the Gothic lace curtain panel, we envisioned them enhancing grand, mid-century homes with high ceilings and broad windows.  Their elegant architectural motifs are a natural for this kind of interior, and indeed, they've been used in mansions all the way from California to Australia.Then, a client in south-eastern Massachusetts just purchased four of them for his loft apartment; it's on the ground floor and abuts the parking lot.  He's delighted that they allow plenty of light, but give him privacy at night.

It's The Times for Galaxy!

Cooper Lace's (and the world's, for that matter)  first Mid-Century Modern lace curtain pattern, Galaxy, was featured in the November 27th edition of the New York Times!  The response has been fantastic, and we're grateful that the publication was impressed enough with Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpaper's Steve Bauer and his design to show it to the world! Please contact us for more information or samples.

I Can Lace, Wendy! I Can Lace!

Courtesy NB

Once again, Cooper Lace has been selected to provide the lace curtains for a film or television set; this time, it's for Peter Pan, a live television performance on NBC this December 4th at 8pm. Starring Christopher Walken and Allison Williams, it's sure to be a magical rendition of the classic tale. Watch for our Neo-Grec lace panels in amongst the flying children! And a special thank you to all of the set designers and decorators who have specified our products throughout 2014!

Many Meadow Lily

One of Cooper Lace's most popular patterns is Meadow Lily, and a customer in New York just sent us this wonderful installation photo of her bay window embellished with five of them (there are several more hung throughout the expansive room).  If you are interested in Meadow Lily or any of our other dozens of patterns, please contact us.
Cooper Lace offers Meadow Lily lace curtains at the lowest prices, with the most affordable and fastest shipping!

We've just added a slideshow of some of our customers' installations on our home page you can see them here.

Tales From A Tower

A customer from Pennsylvania just sent us these installation photos (and please, send us yours!) She owns a wonderful Victorian home with a tower, and chose Alexandra for her first floor and Hunter Rose for the second.  
She writes: "Thank you for helping me dress my tower windows in beautiful lace. Both patterns are so very pretty." This is the most rewarding part of my, and my associate Christine Light's job, making your houses beautiful. 
 

Lace Seflies

We're so flattered when our customers send us photos of their Cooper Lace panels in situ.  We're creating a gallery of them now, and ask that you send us yours.  Here's the latest one that's appeared, our C. F. A. Voysey Oak & Acorn. Please email submissions here.

Summer Cottage (Lace)

A client sent us this photo of her Cottage Panels; it reveals the delightful view from a Victorian dormer window to the summer countryside below. Even though we are given only this tiny glimpse, it's easy to imagine the stillness and warmth in this silent room that remains unchanged for a century. Cooper Lace is devoted to preserving this timelessness and offers a great variety of historic lace curtains in every style imaginable.

It's Nice To Have Options!

One of Cooper Lace's very first customers loves her Old Colony lace door panels, but sometimes she's in the mood for Arts and Crafts instead; so she purchased a set of Kelvin Rose lace curtains for her Manhattan apartment as well.  It's remarkable how switching patterns changes the character of her French doors; as the photo at right reveals. Visit our Historics Line for the lowest prices and fastest delivery on Meadow-Lily, Kelvin Rose, Neo-Grec, Victorian, Cottage Panel Pairs, The Stag and Mimosa, along with other Scottish Nottingham lace curtain panels.

Anything For You!

We love custom orders; they challenge us to make our clients' homes more beautiful in ways we might not have considered.  Such is the case with this recently completed job, where our customer loved our Prairie Sumac panels, but needed them a few inches wider and much longer than our stock lengths.  Our brilliant Art Department was able to accomplish this, and the results are depicted here.

We also create custom designs working with your concepts or artwork, or will weave any of our patterns in any length (16 feet long?  No problem!)  The cost is much less than you'd think, and the minimum number of panels is usually around a dozen.  Please email or call me for more details.

Triple Play

I love it when proud and happy customers send in photos of our curtains installed in their homes! We've just received this one, wherein a client used three Prairie Sumac panels side-by-side. Our seamstress was able to modify the length to fit the windows exactly and add a bottom rod pocket to keep the lace curtains in place, as these windows swing into the room. Please contact us with any measurement or installation questions you might have, we're delighted to be of assistance!

I Share Your Frustration.

@%$#&^%$!

I am appalled at just how terrible customer service seems to be with many online companies.  I want to use much stronger language, but I'd rather not offend anyone who doesn't know me well.  Those who do know me can easily imagine the actual words currently being flung around my office.

This past week, instead of being in the position of assisting customers, I had to be one; I'm helping a design client with some major purchases for an Arts & Crafts style home spa, and have been commissioned to source materials.

My client is spending thousands of dollars, and I CAN'T GET THE COMPANIES TO CALL OR EVEN EMAIL ME!!!

Hello, certain hot tub and sauna companies: you come up high on the search engines, but you refuse respond to very basic technical questions: You're off the list.

Decorative finish company that can't seem to produce a sample? We went to your competitor.

We at Cooper Lace hear the same sort of complaints from our customers who looked elsewhere first:
They get bumped to voicemail or their emails are never returned. No one helps with measuring. There's a complete indifference to those who want to buy something!

What's so difficult about communicating with your clients?
I LOVE speaking with you!
Day or Night.
Weekday, Weekend or Holiday.

I've spent countless hours over the last 20-odd years with one spouse on the telephone and the other on a step-ladder with a tape measure.  Bring it on; I'm here for you.

Do you have a question about our lace? Call or email me NOW. The office line forwards to my cellphone in the off-hours; I shut it off when I'm sleeping.  Otherwise, we're open for business. I promise to respond to your email as soon as possible; usually within the hour (once again, unless I'm sleeping or on an airplane).

Click here for our contact information and the best customer service of any company, anywhere.

That's my promise to you, Dear Client.

Dan

With Thanks To You All

Seven years ago, on Thanksgiving weekend, I quit my job of 16 years. I was deeply unhappy, and after taking a little time off, decided to create the best lace curtain company in existence. It was a field I knew intimately, and I wanted to offer the most distinctive patterns that were unrivaled for their artistry and quality. Additionally, I was determined to have the finest customer service, not only for any company selling lace, but for any company, anywhere. 

To make my task even more challenging, I launched just as the Great Recession began taking its toll on the global economy. It was damned scary for the first couple of years, but I stuck it out, steadily adding patterns and always keeping my customers' interests in the forefront. My goal was and is to always satisfy my clients and to do it as quickly as possible, even with the typical bumps and glitches that every retailer experiences.  In fact, I received this email today:

"Mr. Cooper, We would like to state that the exchange occurred because of my error. We noticed that when we made you aware that an exchange was needed that you immediately sent the replacements even before receiving our payment.  We have thoroughly enjoyed doing business with you."

Today, Cooper Lace is the largest retailer of Scottish Cotton lace in North America. We now offer more than seven times as many patterns as when we started with our Exclusives, including our recently added Historics line which features the highly popular Meadow Lily Arts and Crafts pattern. We've grown so much, that I've enlisted a colleague, Christine Light, to handle fulfillment for this and our Traditionals line.

Yes, I'm blowing my own horn, but only because I wanted to show just how very grateful I am to all of you for contributing to that success.  I am humbled by your patronage and your faith in the company that bears my name.

Thank you, and I wish you all the happiest of Thanksgivings.

Dan Cooper

Thanks on Loan

Cooper Lace just received this touching, handwritten note from a very happy customer, and we're very flattered. She's not only thanking us for her curtains, but also for our Lace-on-Loan sample program, which has been hugely popular:  we'll send out entire panels for a two-week loan so that you may examine them in your home at no cost to you, other than the return postage.

If you'd like to see any of our lace curtain panels, please contact me or Christine Light.

Grecian Surprise

Volttage Pictures/HitRecord FIlms

Usually, we're well aware of when Cooper Lace will appear in a film or television show, but this time, we had no idea. If you're going to see "Don Jon", the new film starring Jason Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore, keep your eyes open for scenes towards the end of the film in Ms. Moore's Craftsman-style home. You'll most likely see our Grecian Panels artfully hung in the French doors.

Rushing Alpha House

Cooper Lace was just selected to provide a large number of our William Morris Cherwell Lace Curtains for an upcoming episode of Amazon Prime's Alpha House starring John Goodman and Bill Murray. As with most film and television productions, time was of the essence, and we were able to deliver 18 custom-sized panels in record time, thanks to the efforts of our seamstress, Ana Sousa. We'll post the air date as soon as we have it!

Lace of the (Boardwalk) Empire

-HBO/Home Box Office

Once again, Cooper Lace has been selected to provide the lace curtains for the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire". It was a tall order, literally, as we rushed dozens of our longest panels overnight to the Brooklyn, New York set from our warehouses in the United States and Scotland. Among the patterns used were Victorianna,  Lucynda, Brownstone, Grecian, Regency, and Neo-Grec.  Look for them during Episode 11!

We're a Bargain!

A friend sent me the above image: it's an 1850s Illinois newspaper advertisement for lace curtains, and it proudly proclaims lace curtains priced at "$5 to $100 a pair"  I did a little research, and it seems that an 1850s dollar, with inflation, would be worth $27 today.  Thus, this firm's cheapest curtains would be $135 a pair or $62.50 a panel.  In fact, our Cottage Lace Panel starts at only $69 a pair! We don't have anything, though, that costs $2700 a pair or $1350 a panel...

SNEAK PREVIEW! "Bellflower"

Cooper Lace has long been the leading resource for English Arts and Crafts movement lace curtains, and as of today, we've adding yet another pattern by the English architect and designer C. F. A. Voysey. Bellflower, a circa 1900 design, is one of our most intricate patterns to date, and has subtle shading and an alternating repeat that delights the eye. Bellflower was originally a carpet design drawn for the Tompkinson's/Steele's mill, and it, along with Oak & Acorn, create stunning curtain panels when interpreted in 100% cotton lace. Bellflower and Oak & Acorn join The Stag for our current selection of Voysey patterns, along with William Morris' Cherwell to complete our selection of notable English patterns.

Fastest Lace in the West

Neo-Grec

Victorianna

In the heat of the summer,  you'd think things would quiet down in the World of Lace. Not so; in fact, Cooper Lace's Historics line has been flying off the shelves. For those in search of Nottingham cotton lace curtains in the Victorian and Arts and Crafts styles, our extensive selection of long-time favorites such as Victorianna, Neo-Grec, Meadow Lily, Kelvin Rose. Not only does Cooper Lace offer these at the lowest prices, we promise to deliver them in less than 10 days from date of order, or the shipping is free. As of this writing, every pattern and length is in stock, and we've been making a lot of customers very, very happy with our speedy delivery times and personalized customer service. If you're reading this from outside of the United States, we'd be delighted to be of assistance! In the past month, we've shipped to Italy, Finland, Australia, Russia and Canada. Please contact Christine Light at 866-286-6552 (toll free in the US) or 781-718-9339, or email her at christine@cooperlace.com. 

Kelvin Rose

Meadow Lily