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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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...

We're The Best! Ask our customers....

We've always felt that Cooper Lace had the finest customer service, best patterns and largest inventory, but this unsolicited email appeared in our in-box this week.  I promise you this was a new customer, one previously unknown to us, and someone who had absolutely no interest in promoting us:

Oh my God! You guys really take first place! Your website is amazing and you have the best stuff. I have been trying to find just the right lace curtains for months now. No one ever has anything in stock and some don't even respond to emails. I am holding my breath for my curtains to arrive. I cant wait! 

Thanks for being so great.

My best,

(name withheld)

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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.

Patience is a Virture

Or so I'm told...

In my last post, I told everyone to watch this space for a major announcement on February 1st.

The day came and went, and....nothing.

And today, a reader asked "Well?"

Sorry, I was premature.

It's nice to know that someone's reading our blog, though.

We still have a big announcement coming up, but our web designer and developer have been so busy implementing it, we haven't had a chance to launch.  It'll happen sometime this month, and I promise you, it's very exciting news in the World of Lace.  In fact, it will cement Cooper Lace's position as the leading resource of historic cotton lace in North America.

So, thank you for your patience and understanding, and stay tuned!

Yours,

Dan

Gothic Redux

Here are some more shots from our "Great Expectations" shoot of last week. I had a wonderfultime running around Hills House in Amherst, MA with photographer Huong 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!

That's A Wrap!

We've just placed the last (for the time being) of our rush Christmas and Hanukkah orders on the loading dock. It's been frantic, and our seamstress, Ana, has been truly heroic in finishing the dozens of custom requests we've received in the past weeks. Now it's time for year-end inventory and a week of planning for what promises to be our best year yet.

Not that I can complain about the last year; folks, you've been wonderful, and I am humbled and flattered by your patronage.

The big news is that shortly, we shall be unveiling our newest lace curtain pattern, and I promise you that it will be the most spectacular lace panel to be woven in the past century!

I make this claim with no reticence or qualifiers. No other lace curtain pattern in production comes even close to it; It's of a style that has been ignored by so many for so long, and will be unique in its field. I've shown it to a select few, and I've never seen such a response in my tenure. And there are other surprises that shall accompany it! So watch this space, and be amazed.

Finally, I wish you all the happiest of holidays, and thank you again for making 2011 such a great year for us.

Yours,

Dan Cooper, President
Cooper's Cottage Lace, LLC

Above and Beyond

This post started out as a promotional piece mentioning that Cooper's Cottage Lace had just sold lace curtains to the set of the television show Pan Am on ABC. But overnight, it turned into an example of how far we're willing to go for a customer in need.

The first order of our new Regency Panels had arrived on the set in Brooklyn, NY, last Monday, as requested. The next day, I happened to be in Manhattan visiting clients and meeting with the photographers of my next book to discuss layout and content. A call came in the afternoon; the set decorators needed more lace, but it had to be on set in Brooklyn by 8:00 am the next day.

Mind you, the lace was in the warehouse in Amherst, MA, 175 miles north of New York City. And it was too late to get it on Fedex. The shoot was scheduled for 9:00 am...panic ensued. So, I trained home, arriving around midnight, set my alarm for 3:30 am, and drove the lace down to Brooklyn, arriving at 7:03 at the gates of Steiner Studios. (I had left an hour to spare, in case traffic got ugly). I turned around, and returned to Amherst at 11am, in time to complete the day's work, content in the knowledge that the show would go on...

Watch for the episode "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" on December 4th; I'm told that's the air date!

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!

Regency Revived

Following up on your phenomenal response to our Art Deco lace pattern, Cooper's Cottage Lace has again collaborated with Steve Bauer of Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpapers to bring you another post-1900 pattern for your Dutch Colonial, Tudor Revival, Bungalow or other early 20^th century house. Regency adapts the delicate Neo-Classical motifs of the Adam era to coordinate with the furnishings of the American Colonial Revival from 1910-1940 (although it looks just as beautiful in any Federal, Greek Revival or Victorian home dating from 1790-1900!) The addition of this graceful and elegant lace curtain panel to our line creates the finest collection of Colonial Revival, Old Colony and Neo-Classical lace patterns available today. The Regency panel promises privacy whilst permitting an abundance of light to filter into your home. Available October 1st, it will be sold in our standard widths of 20, 33 and 47 inches, and lengths of 54, 60, 72 and 90".

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!

Old House Writing

On any given day, my professional life veers between Cottage Lace, Historic Carpet and writing articles and books. I post my articles and seldom think about them again. Recently, I saw a reference to one of them, a piece on Old House Online's (Old House Interior and Old House Journal's) Facebook page that was promoting my article on Tiling on A Budget. I clicked on the link, and discovered that they had posted a bunch of my pieces; you can see them here.