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"

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.

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!

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

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!

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

Meadow Lily Lace Curtain Panel

Occasionally, I post a piece devoted to one of our lace patterns; to celebrate the debut of Cooper Lace's Historics line; I thought I'd give you a little background on one of the most popular ones: Meadow Lily

Meadow Lily (lower left)

The design for the Meadow Lily lace panel is taken from the 1910 Come-Packt Furniture catalog "F" (image courtesy of the Winterthur Museum Library).  Filled with Arts & Crafts style appointments including furniture, lighting and lace curtains, this catalog features a glimpse into the well-appointed Craftsman-style home from just after the turn of the 20th century. Meadow Lily is by far the most distinctive pattern of the lot and was recreated by the art department of the mill in Scotland.  We offer it in two widths; 30" and 50", and two colors, white and ecru (ivory).  The panel is also available in lengths ranging from 54" to 108".

For more information, samples or ordering, please contact Christine Light at christine@cooperlace.com or call 866-286-6552

Two New Lines; 19 More Patterns!

Meadow Lily 

Finally!  

Yes, I know I said February 1st, but in the scheme of things, March 14th isn't too bad.  So here's the news:

The Scottish mill that weaves our curtains has been so impressed with our progress (we're their largest North American lace curtain customer), that they've offered us two new lines of historic reproduction lace curtain panels to represent!

Our current line has been renamed Cooper Lace Exclusives, and the two new lines are Cooper Lace Historics and Cooper Lace Traditionals.

Our Historics line is composed of cotton Nottingham lace curtains woven in documented patterns from 1870-1930, and features such notable designers as C. F. A. Voysey.  There are also great mid-Victorian designs, and some wonderful Arts & Crafts patterns such as Meadow Lily (seen above), and a Mackintosh-inspired panel, as well as a Chinoiserie/Art Deco pattern.

Our Traditionals line, also of Nottingham weave, is assembled around the mill's archival patterns of late Victorian and early Edwardian designs; these are the finest examples available of floral and foliate patterns embellished with swags and wreaths. All of our new patterns are available in pure White or Ecru/Ivory.

Lydia from our Traditionals

Because we're literally doubling our offerings, I've enlisted the services of an associate, an old friend and colleague, Christine Light.  I met Christine and encouraged her to work with me for another firm  many years ago, and thus, she is very familiar with the Historics line.Christine is a terrific person, and in her, you'll find the same exceptional customer service and attention to detail that you've found at Cooper Lace Exclusives. You can reach her at christine@cooperlace.com or 866-286-6552.

Custom Lace Door Panels and Sidelights

I'm always flattered when clients send me photographs of Cooper Lace's curtains in situ. This one just came in from a delightful customer in Boulder, Colorado, who is obsessed with the work of C. F. A. Voysey. One of her many lace curtain purchases was a front door panel and matching sidelights for her magnificent house's entry.  She selected "Oak & Acorn" and our seamstress carefully cut and hemmed them to her measurements.  Incidentally, Oak and Acorn wallpaper is available from Trustworth Studios, and the coordinating carpet is available through English Wilton, who maintains an exclusive library of Voysey's carpet designs.

William Morris Lace Curtains

 As you may know, Cooper Lace is the first and only firm to create a lace curtain using a design by William Morris. We're very proud of our Morris & Company pattern, Cherwell, for we had felt that this great designer had been ignored for far too long. What you may not know is that lace curtains are one of the most difficult objects to photograph; from inside a room, they look washed out and it's difficult to discern the pattern against the brightness of the outdoors light. 

The secret to Cooper Lace's great images is our photographer friend, Huong Phan. Huong finds the beauty in every vignette, and makes it transcend the mundane product shot.  She was so skilled photographing our Gothic Lace Curtain Panel, that when the opportunity arose to shoot inside a wonderful 1915 English Arts & Crafts house in Amherst, MA, I rang her immediately.  Here are my two favorites from the session, with all thanks and credit going to Ms. Phan.

Too Big For a Cottage

As of March 1st, 2012, Cooper’s Cottage Lace, LLC will be known as Cooper Lace. After five years of rapid growth, “Cottage” was beginning to sound a bit quaint; we started with six Arts and Crafts lace patterns, all of which focused on the 1890-1910 period, and now we have fourteen patterns appropriate for houses dating from 1790 to the present! Our unique approach to selecting distinctive patterns quickly separated us from all of the other lace retailers and won us rave reviews for our quality and beautiful patterns, to say nothing of our consistently providing the best and most personalized customer service. Our patterns are available in more lengths, and more importantly, more widths than any other company. We’ve expanded from a tiny newcomer to the leading provider of the finest 100% Scottish Cotton lace panels, and our products now enhance countless homes, museums and film sets. I’m very proud of our success, and so very grateful to all of you who have supported us over the past five years. Our new website will go online very shortly, and, to celebrate, my next blog entry shall introduce our newest pattern, which I promise you is the most spectacular lace curtain design created in the past century! Its sneak preview at a trade show last week actually stopped attendees in their tracks; in 21 years of selling and designing lace curtains, I've never seen a response like this to a lace curtain panel!

Lace On Loan

"I'd like to place an order, but if I don't like them, may I return the lace curtains?"

Of course you may; but in truth, merchants would prefer not to have returns. It means that inventory that could be with other customers is somewhere out in the world, and funds have to be credited.

So, we've pretty much solved this problem with our Loaner Program. If you're "not sure" about which pattern or width will work best for you, simply call or email us here at Cooper's Cottage Lace, and we'll send out previously opened panels or factory seconds of the lace curtains that interest you, and you can try them out in your home for a couple of weeks. All we ask is that you mail them back when you're finished.

We're frequently praised for this service, as it's such an easy way to try our products with no obligation. Please contact us today!

Selling Well is the Best Revenge

By nature, business blogs are self-promoting; as proprietors, we use them as tools to publicize our products, and to inform our clients about new items or how to use and care for our goods.

And then sometimes, we just have to congratulate ourselves shamelessly.

I've just been informed that Cooper's Cottage Lace, LLC is the far and away leader in Madras lace curtains for the United States; a fact that makes me incredibly proud of our company. We began with the premise that we would make our mark not as the biggest, but as the best and most interesting source for Scottish cotton lace curtain panels in North America.

I could only dream that we'd do this well, and never in four short years, and certainly not during the bleakest economic period in 80 years.

So thank you all, I am truly honored by your patronage and enthusiasm.

Yours,

Dan

ps: watch this space for our newest pattern, due out very shortly!

You Gotta Move...

Some may recognize the title of this post as the name of a song on the 1971 Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers; while not my favorite track, it has some sentimental value, for I learned to play bottleneck slide guitar to it.

But I digress...

Last weekend, we moved all of Cottage Lace's inventory to a new warehouse; we'd grown so much since 2007 that there just wasn't room to organize everything! The new place is much larger and climate controlled, and since we'll be adding some amazing new patterns over the course of 2011, we'll have room for those as well.

As each lace curtain was boxed, labeled and loaded, it made me appreciate how fortunate I've been. We started with six products, and now we have twenty three, with more appearing shortly. The praise and support I've received from all of you has been fantastic, and I'm constantly amazed how you've helped us become the leader in historically-inspired Scottish cotton lace panels, valances and tablecloths.

Oh yes; the other Stones song I learned to play slide to is No Expectations; but I didn't want to use that as the title of my blog, for all of you have helped me far exceed of all of mine.

Thank you!

Dan Cooper, President,
Cooper's Cottage Lace, LLC