Privacy Made Perfect

Happy Thanksgiving! Here’s a sneak preview of Cooper Lace's newest pattern, Brownstone, and it will be available January 1^st, 2013.  

I spend a good amount of my time in Brooklyn’s charming Park Slope neighborhood, (as well as Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco) and as I studied all of your beautiful front doors, I realized that they were crying out for a lace pattern that was harmonious with the architectural styles dating from 1850-1900. 

Old house dwellers in urban areas need privacy and light, and Brownstone provides both without sacrificing either! Designed by Steve Bauer of Bradbury &Bradbury wallpapers, it emulates the etched or frosted glass patterns that were found in so many entries during the mid-to-late 19^th century.

Brownstone will be sold as a running yardage with side borders that we will custom-cut to your requested length at the time of order.  We will add rod pockets at the top and bottom, if you request them, and then all you need do it slide them onto to your curtain rods.  If desired, we can also make pairs of curtains for your windows.  Brownstone is not only a “city” pattern, it’s perfect for suburban and rural settings as well!

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.

That's Showbiz

photo credit: HBO

Cooper Lace appears frequently on the sets of films and television shows; aside from having the most distinctive lace curtains available, we also keep extra large sizes in stock just in case a film company needs a rush delivery. Last week, we were very proud to ship our Eastlake Panels to the set of HBO's Boardwalk Empire. As the new season unfolds, I'll be able to tell you where and when to watch for them.

I'm Here To Help!

Photo by Petr Kratochvil

A lot of Cooper Lace's customers ask for assistance in measuring and selecting the appropriate width, length and even pattern of lace curtains for their homes; often, they seem reticent to do so, as if they were bothering me.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  I am always delighted to speak with our clients, and it's a pleasure to put someone's mind at ease, especially when they have a challenging question such as adding bottom rod pockets to a lace panel for a French door or figuring out how to cover a huge arched fanlight with lace sheers.
  
On countless occasions, frequently during the evening or on weekend mornings, I have listened to clacking of tape measures and the dragging of a kitchen chair towards a bank of windows. So please, if you've got questions or concerns, call me anytime at 888-433-7801 (413-549-1063 for international callers) and I'll speak with you personally. The office phone forwards to my cell in the off hours, but I shut it off when sleeping, so there's no need to worry about disturbing if you're calling from Australia in the middle of your day (it's happened).  Email works as well; I'll respond as quickly as I can, usually within the hour: my address is ceo "at" cooperlace "dot" com.

Photo by Huong Phan

Yours,

Dan Cooper

President and CEO, Cooper Lace

In Situ

Here at Cooper Lace, one of the things that flatters us the most is when a satisfied customer takes the time to send us a photograph of their new lace curtains in place. Without further ado, here are several examples...

Eastlake

Glen's Edge in Prairie Green

Art Deco 

Prairie Sumac

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.

From Lace to Carpet

As previously mentioned, I also consult on historic carpeting for museums, capitols and private parties. A project that I've been working on for quite a while, the T. R. R. Cobb House in Athens, Georgia, has just installed two more carpets. Pictured here is Marion's Sitting room, and we used an archival point paper from the 1850s, recreating it in exact detail. The photograph is courtesy Sam Thomas.