Asheville Ex Post Facto

It was a heck of a show; crowded, enthusiastic-I feel it was the best in the past three years. The interest in our lace was fantastic; I was so busy speaking with potential clients that I never got a chance to eat lunch in three days, and if a wonderful customer of mine hadn't brought me a few candy bars at a critical moment, I would have face-planted from hunger. Aside from the frequent comments about how distinctive and beautiful our lace is, I was also heartened to know that folks appreciated that we addressed both the English and American Arts and Crafts movements. William Morris' Cherwell was a hit and visitors also loved the Bradbury & Bradbury Art Deco panels-indicating that tastes are running further into the 20th century. My next post will be about my friend Bo Sullivan of Arcalus, who joined me in the booth, and displayed a collection of historic trade catalogs, so watch this space!

Arts & Crafts Mecca

The Arts and Crafts Conference in Asheville,
North Carolina, February 18-20, 2011

Cottage Lace exhibits at roughly half a dozen trade shows a year. Most of them are regional, meaning that their intended audience is from Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis and perhaps Pasadena, although the latter has become the center for the West Coast faction of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

And then there's Asheville: this show is the grand dame of all of them, and folks travel from around the world to attend the antique show, the lectures and to visit the contemporary crafts-firms, amongst which is your favorite lace company.

This is our third year exhibiting at the 23 year old show, and the event is held at the legendary Grove Park Inn, a magnificent stone edifice with a breathtaking lobby. Most folks try and stay there, and if you're informed that it's sold out, keep checking; rooms often become available as the show nears. The hotel also has an amazing spa, that's certainly worth a visit.

Asheville, NC itself is a great college town, there are many lovely restaurants, including my favorite, The Laughing Seed. There are also good clubs for dancing or listening to music as well. For those of us who live in the North, the temperature seems balmy, even though it's the dead of winter. All in all, it's the perfect break for those of you passionate about the Arts and Crafts Movement, and it's always worth the trip.

Lace Around The World

Potential customers often ask if we can ship our lace curtains to foreign countries, to which we respond "gladly!" We have many customers in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, as well as Eastern Europe. We'll also ship to the Middle East and Asia. Typically, we'll use Global Priority Mail; it takes less than two weeks and is very affordable. Using this method also saves the recipient processing fees that may be assessed by other shipping methods. We can and will use these other carriers if desired. For more information please email us at info@cottagelace.com or ring 413-549-1063

Hangin' Out

"How do I determine the correct width and length for my curtains?"

I spend a lot of time with our customers who are asking just this question. They're on speaker phone, standing on a step ladder, and I can hear the tape-measure clattering in the background.There's no exact formula for determining the appropriate measurement of length and width is when buying lace curtains, but one can usually divide their selection into one of two eras: the 19th century or the 20th century.

In the 19th century (Federal, Greek Revival, Early-Mid Victorian and some Colonial Revival), window treatments were "fuller" with more gathering. Typically, the ratio of lace was 1½ to 2 times the width of the window opening. Lace curtain patterns of ours that work best with this amount of fullness are the Grecian Panel, The Eastlake Panel, Cherwell and even the Hunter Rose lace curtain in some instances. 19th century lace panels often hung well below the window sill, sometimes even pooling onto the floor, but usually they terminated near or on the baseboard.

20th century (Mission, Craftsman, Arts & Crafts, Colonial Revival, Bungalow, Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern) window treatments were hung much "flatter" with less gathering; the lace ratio in this instance was no more that 1½ times, and preferably 1 to 1¼ times lace to glass. Our panels that look best in this treatment are Hunter Rose, Glen's Edge, Gingko Leaf, Pine Cone, Prairie Sumac, Art Deco, Old Colony and Good Hare Day. The preferred length for this era is just touching the window sill, which lends a much crisper, modern appearance to the window treatment. Our seamstress will custom shorten any curtains (from the top, so as not to cut into the decorative border) for only $7.50/panel. She will keep the rod pocket and header, or just the rod pocket, if you wish. Please specify which you would prefer.

If you are undecided which pattern and its respective length and width look best in your home, please request a loaner or two, and we'll send them out straight away.

The simplest and cheapest way to hang your lace curtains is with a spring-compression rod, available at most hardware stores. Choose a white one, and it will visually disappear when tucked inside the lace. If you're looking for something fancier, especially if you want to mount the curtains on the face of the woodwork, we suggest Rejuvenation, who makes a great set of inside and outside mount café rods in a variety of finishes.

We're #1!

"True Grit" topped the US Box Office this week, undoubtedly due in part to the cameo appearance of Cooper's Cottage Lace's Eastlake and Grecian panels. Featured in many scenes set in the Monarch Boarding house, these panels impart a matchless historic influence on the lush interiors.

With Gratitude

Yep, 'tis the season when the presidents of companies inundate the unwilling with their tedious traditional end-of-year letter that sums up the past 365 days.

I'll try to make mine short and sweet.

2010 was a vast improvement over the challenges of 2009. Cooper's Cottage Lace added great new patterns, appeared in what will be one of the leading films of the holiday season (True Grit, if you've missed my incessant plugging) and surpassed our competition to become the preeminent resource for historically-inspired lace curtains.

Not bad for a lil' ole start-up that crept onto the scene in early 2007.

But most importantly, we've built up a fanatical clientele that continually writes to inform us how much they love our product and amazing customer service. Folks, I'm humbled and flattered by your approval. I had no idea we would be this popular. Of the hundreds of comments we've received , the one that comes to mind was from a woman in the Mid-west who said: "I've been looking online forever; everyone else's lace is so boring!"

So, in closing (cue sigh of relief from readers), Thank You, to all of you for making this such a great year! May the next be even better, and a safe and peaceful holiday season to all.

Yours warmly,

Dan Cooper, President
Cooper's Cottage Lace, LLC

Rod Pockets and Headers

One of the most frequent questions we receive is "how are your curtains finished at the top?"

When our lace panels leave the mill, they are cut from the top to the appropriate length and finished with a rod pocket and header combination. The pocket is about 1 1/2" high, while the header above it is about 1 1/8". You can use either for a curtain rod, as it allows some adjustment. We will custom-cut a curtain to length for you for only $7.50 a panel, and when we do this, we will give you a choice of replicating the original rod pocket/header combination, just a rod pocket, or a simple hem that you can use to attach clip-rings. We can also add a rod pocket at the bottom for door panels, and this is a frequent request as well. Please call or email if you have any questions about measuring or what size is best for your door or window!