YOU may associate horsehair with the stuffing inside old mattresses and padded chairs, but a more visible and prestigious use lies in the woven upholstery of antique furniture. Today, this hardwearing textile with its pearlescent sheen attracts contemporary designers, who order it in zesty hues and patterns for a variety of projects, from large acoustic wall panels and minibar coverings to smaller fire fenders, lampshades, handbags and even Nike footwear.
Indigestible to moths, as well as pet proof (cats tend to leave it alone), sustainable and inherently flame-retardant, horsehair fabric has a good deal to recommend it. It is subtly textured and striated, the weaving of it is a heritage craft requiring specialist skills and it is rare: only two horsehair-fabric manufacturers remain in operation today: John Boyd Textiles in Castle Cary, Somerset and Le Crin in Challes, north-western France. This durable textile (it can last a century) is made by machinery that is also antique: original 19th-century looms, warping drums, lathes and hackles still whirr and clatter on these companies' factory floors.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 15, 2024-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 15, 2024-Ausgabe von Country Life UK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
