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.
Denne historien er fra May 15, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra May 15, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
