Category: The Henry Moore Foundation

Just saying...

11/9/2017

Got to say this Henry Moore 'Heads' Bucket Bag is my all time favourite so far, apparently it flew off the shelf at the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens shop!
Sadly the 'Safety Pins and Treble Clefs' bag is the last one I shall be making this season...until next year.

Images of Henry Moore textiles reproduced by permission of the Henry Moore Foundation.

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Red Heads...

5/8/2017

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The red barkcloth 'Beaujangle' bag sold very quickly so I've been asked to produce a limited edition. This is no. 2 of 5! (Images of 'Heads' fabric by permission of the Henry Moore Foundation)

Of the more recently acquired vintage fabrics, this cauldron effect flat cotton also sets off the stark design of the 'Heads' fabric very satisfactorily.

Thirdly the giant fingerprints of the David Whitehead fabric coupled with a matt black top results in quite a awesome threesome, wouldn't you say?

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Team Work Works Well!

17/7/2017

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Offering a bespoke service to the Henry Moore Foundation means a visit to the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens at Perry Green, every so often for an exciting 'design by committee' session. I spend hours sourcing the fabrics and haberdashery, then take them along for the team to mix and match the options until they reach a consensus on what works well.

Everyone loved this moore-esque fabric with a wooden button just for decoration.

The bag top was extended to accommodate the larger 'mobiles' design. A lovely contrasting blue was chosen for the handles and matching button.

Contributors to the process come from all over the organisation: from marketing, the archive, finance, the CEO' spares his PA, and the Events Co-ordinator and Wedding and Events Manager among others. It seems that whoever has an interest and is free that morning is welcome to contribute their opinion. And it works very well! Fabric is folded and unfolded, wrapped and draped to ensure the Henry Moore designs are enhanced, handle colour is matched or contrasted and buttons added and subtracted, until everyone is satisfied!

The creamy white button just set it all off to perfection and it had to be red handles for this one!

A bold fabric choice for this 'Bucket' bag with brown adjustable contrasting handle.

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'Moore-esque'

27/6/2017

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Image of 'Heads' design by permission of the Henry Moore Foundation.

Suffice it to say the vintage fabrics were received very favourably. Here's the first Bucket bag made from the (unattributed) barkcloth, which the design team thought very 'Moore-esque'. It complements Henry Moore's 'Heads' to perfection!

Image of 'Safety Pins and Treble Clefs' by permission of the Henry Moore Foundation.

This Beaujangle bag features a 50's Marian Mahler design called 'Mobiles' which has recently been re-printed by Sanderson.
Both bags are now available at the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens shop.

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A marmite moment...

19/5/2017

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I met Jacqueline online when I spotted a David Whitehead fabric design in red and black she was selling. We began to correspond and I discovered that she has an amazing textile collection. She took the trouble to view my website, found the HMF project most interesting and offered to look through her collection to help me find some vintage abstract designs to marry up with the Henry Moore fabrics. Several emails later and I am now the excited owner of these lovely 1950s /1960s pieces. Not sure if any will be acceptable to the Team at the Henry Moore Foundation, it's going to be one of those Marmite moments, but it will make for an interesting design session and some unusual vintage style bags will definitely result either way! Looking back at my initial very safe fabric choices I'm amazed at how far I've come...

1950s (no attribution) mid weight barkcloth

1960s Francis Price flat cotton

1960s French Marignan flat cotton

1950s Grafton Homecraft - mid weight barkcloth

1960s (no attribution) flat cotton

1950s Sunlover sturdy barkcloth

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Check out the vintage vibes.

15/4/2017

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Images of 'Heads' and 'Safety Pins' reproduced by permission of the Henry Moore Foundation.

Remember how I had been trying to find some contemporaneous fabrics to complement the exclusive Moore designed fabrics I am fortunate to be currently sewing? I wanted to give more of a vintage vibe to the bags to appeal to those who enjoy vintage style. Well this is the result. As you can see I have used the red barkcloth which is a genuine vintage (but unused) piece dating from the 50's/60's. The lime green was sold to me as vintage but is more difficult to date, however the abstract design works really well with Moore's quirky household objects!
And yes, we settled on some safer checks too!

Each bag has a complementary cotton or silk lining with two open pockets and a zipped pocket with a beaded zip pull. The Bucket bags and Beaujangle bags have leather handles and the Clutch bags have detachable silver coloured cross-body chain handles.
Available from the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens shop now!
A new exhibition starts this weekend, called 'Becoming Henry Moore' and promises to be a fascinating insight into his early work and inspiration. Follow this link to find out more: https://www.henry-moore.org/whats-on/2017/04/14/becoming-henry-moore

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Juxtaposition

30/3/2017

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I'm not a dedicated follower of fashion, but when I heard that Burberry were promoting their latest collection in collaboration with the Henry Moore Foundation I was most intrigued to know how that would look...
Burberry have an exhibition space in one of the old Foyle Bookshops in Soho, now called 'Makers House', so we went along to find out one Sunday afternoon in Feb. The queue went down the road, round the corner and back again! Difficult to say from looking at the clientele, who was the pull-had they mostly come to see the fashion or the sculpture or maybe like us they wanted to see how one played against the other? Two very slim fashion conscious japanese guys with poker straight precision cut hair, were ahead of us in their Burberry - it gave me the chance to appreciate the attention to detail in the trench coat one of them wore. He had the collar up to show a contrasting Burberry plaid, set off with a leather strap complete with buckle, non functioning, as far as I could tell, but very smart. This didn't prepare me for what was to come.

It didn't take too long for us to reach the front of the queue and then the journey of discovery began!
I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

I was excited to see that Burberry had taken some of Moore's sketches to create some most unusual printed fabrics.

There was a mezzanine level from which you could look down at the exhibition, and was also filled with images and maquettes made by Henry Moore which gave an insight into his inspiration and his work.

For more info about Henry Moore follow this link: www.henry-moore.org/

A totally fascinating experience - a little peep into the world of haute couture, but most importantly how one great artist had inspired another.

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A little Moore..? A lot Moore!

18/2/2017

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Well I haven't been sitting on my backside ALL week! I've been over to Perry Green once more to present some further options for bespoke bags for the coming season, which starts on April 14th.
Please go to https://www.henry-moore.org to find out more about the studios and gardens.

You may remember that I was gathering some fabrics and haberdashery together for the visit. I had also worked up a couple of new bag designs to show.
The meeting was to gauge whether the new shapes were suitable (they were!) and then to decide which fabrics would complement the exclusive Henry Moore textile designs.
Great fun was had by all (five of us) in collaborating to come up with the best combinations - down to the last button.
My attempt at introducing some vintage fabrics had some success-we will be using the red barkcloth and one of the green fabrics (look back at my previous blog). This was turned to the lighter reverse, which made a better match than the front view, but still showed some of the abstract print, which had caught my eye in choosing it originally.
So I won’t be sitting idle – I have so many Moore to do now – another six to be exact!

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Very Moore-ish...

27/1/2017

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My Moore stash!

Love these - but not sure that any of these greens are right!

Barkcloth has a coarse texture and is very 1950's!

Some safer bets-you can't go too wrong with a check!

Forgive the pun! Just wanting to show that I am also getting ready for some 'Moore' work! The exclusive textiles are quite difficult to find bedfellows for, if you get my drift, and at times I'm buying fabrics not knowing if the risk will pay off! I think I am developing quite an oblique way of looking at textile colour and design and certainly enjoying the search. I have now started to consider vintage (but unused) fabrics, some of which appear quite wacky in comparison to the modern safe stuff! And I'm hoping I this will give the bags a more authentic look - for those that like that sort of thing - we'll see!

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The Henry Moore Foundation - a grand day out.

18/8/2016

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Having completed a further five bags using fabulous Henry Moore designed fabrics, I needed to deliver them to The Henry Moore Foundation at Perry Green. As I was on holiday from my day job, Fred and I decided to make a day of it. The new Visitors Centre is a wonderful welcome as you arrive, spacious and airy with, of course, a lovely new shop and coffee shop overlooking the green, so you can view some of the sculptures as you sip your cappuchino!
I handed over the bags which were well received as the first five had sold out two weeks previously!
Images of 'Zig-zag, treble clef and safety pins' and 'Heads' fabrics reproduced by permission of the Henry Moore Foundation'

We signed up for the tour of Moore's home, which was fascinating, slipping carpet protectors over our shoes, we tiptoed round, whispering in awe of all the amazing treasures filling the main reception room, enjoying the cosy feel of the family sitting room and admiring the grand dining room. The kitchen was classic fifties style and a real step back in time.

We spent the rest of the day discovering Moore's studios in the grounds of his home and learning about the processes used in designing and creating the incredible sculptures we were able to view within the perfect backdrop of the grounds surrounding the house. There is so much to see with lovely walks through a wooded area, around the grounds and across fields of sheep.

By the time we were ready to go home (five hours later!) the bags were in situ lit up behind glass in prime position. It was a most enjoyable and memorable day.
I would encourage you to go if you ever have the chance! Click here for a link to the
Henry Moore Foundation website.

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Just saying...

Red Heads...

Team Work Works Well!

'Moore-esque'

A marmite moment...

Check out the vintage vibes.

Juxtaposition

A little Moore..? A lot Moore!

Very Moore-ish...

The Henry Moore Foundation - a grand day out.

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