Recreating the Carpet at the North Carolina Capitol

As mentioned previously, one of my jobs is as a historic floorcovering consultant for museums, state capitols, governor's mansions and private homes. I was contacted by the curatorial staff of the North Carolina State Capitol; the existing carpet in both the House and Senate chambers was in tatters and a trip-hazard, and thus in desperate need of replacement, and so I flew down to Raleigh, inspected the carpets and measured the rooms. It was a massive job, requiring 1,200 lineal yards of goods, and I directed the persons charged with acquiring the carpet to an English mill that specializes in high-grade Axminster carpet. The job was completed recently, and I thought I'd share images of it with you. Thanks to the North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites for the images!

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!

At Your Service

How many times have you been shopping online, found an interesting product, and hit the 'contact' button to ask the sales staff a question about some aspect such as size, delivery, etc?

And how often have you had to wait ages for a response, if you even get one? As a consumer, I am constantly frustrated at the lengthy or non-existent response rate from so many firms. (Are you hearing me, --- Door Company, --- Fabrics and --- Appliances? I went elsewhere, thanks for not returning my email...)

With that frustration in mind, I insisted that Cooper's Cottage Lace have the finest customer service in the lace curtain industry (and we do, just read our testimonials). Just this Monday alone, we received three unsolicited emails thanking us for responding so quickly and informatively.

This post is not intended to be self-congratulatory; it's the way business is supposed to be conducted.

So here's my promise; we will always get back to you as quickly as we can, usually within an hour or two, but always within a day...evenings, weekends and holidays included. If you wish, call 413-549-1063 or toll-free 888-433-7801 whenever you have a question. Chances are, I'll answer it personally in the off-hours.

Yours,
Dan Cooper, President
Cooper's Cottage Lace, LLC
dan@cottagelace.com

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.

Washing Up

On The Care and Cleaning of Madras Lace Curtains...

Many people are under the impression that they need to launder their lace curtains frequently, when in fact the opposite is true. Unless you reside in a very dusty locale, you only need to clean your curtains once or perhaps twice a year. Often, simply shaking or vacuuming any dust off of them is a sufficient interim procedure.

While our mill recommends dry-cleaning Madras lace curtains, we at Cooper’s Cottage Lace have found that washing them either by hand or in cold water with a mild detergent on the delicate cycle works quite well. We have a high-efficiency, front loading washer, and this leaves the curtains barely damp upon finishing the load.

Drying your lace panels is the most important consideration; never put these 100% cotton lace curtains in a tumble dryer! We’ve found that the best method is to simply hang them back up on the rod, while they’re just slightly damp, or hang them over a shower rod. Don’t hang them on a line, as the curved deflection of the sagging line may distort the shape of the lace panel. Once dry, if you find that they are wrinkled, simply touch them up with an iron. Another method is to lightly sprtiz them with water while they are hanging, and to gently tug the wrinkles out; this is what we do at trade shows, rather than iron 20-plus lace curtain samples!

Because they are cotton, Madras lace may shrink slightly after they’ve been washed, but you can often iron them back into shape if they are still damp. You may lose half an inch, but this can be mitigated by lowering the curtain rod or hanging the curtain through the header instead of the lower rod pocket.

Not with a Bang, but a Hammer…

While I do my best to write about lace curtains in this blog, I also touch upon anything historic, including restoration, interiors and the like. This current short piece may well become a prologue or epilogue for my forthcoming book "Houses & Spouses" which is the consolidated writer's versions of my infamous "Butchy Chronicles". The edited versions have been published in serialized form in Old House Interiors.

I am aware of your presence, even before I’ve opened my eyes. I knew that you’d been staring at me as I slept; no matter how I turned in the bed, or drew the covers on top of me, you were there, waiting, with your insatiable desire for my attentions. Clenching my eyelids shut is of no respite; your scent is everywhere, and I can feel you on my skin and in my hair. Though the dawn is barely filtering into our room, you refuse to let me sleep a moment longer, and you nudge me awake, gently at first, and then with a growing impatience.

Of course, you shall have your way; I have yet to shower, and my hands are upon you. Soon, we shall be soaked in sweat. This will continue for hours, well past the point of exhaustion, when I will be sore and unable to continue for another moment. Then, I shall collapse; dripping, sticky and barely able to muster the strength to eat or bathe before I must sleep again.

You have drained me; before we met, my time was my own, and my days were spent in carefree wanderings. Now, you demand my every moment. I give you my all, and yet you insist upon more. Should my eyes wander, you fiercely remind me that I am yours and yours alone. I have no right to protest, for my captivity is of my own volition; I have willingly succumbed to your charms, and spend my waking hours in grateful servitude.

I submit to you without reserve, without resistance, for you reveal your beauty to me in breathtaking flashes, and each glimpse renews my passion for you. I long to see you resplendent in your entirety, but you tease and flirt, allowing me to spy only enough to keep me constantly enchanted and seeking more. Tomorrow morning, our ritual will begin anew; once again, I shall arise, wearily take hammer in hand, and continue to glorify you above all others.