Tapestry Art Designs

Chenille wallhangings

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:08:00 +0000

Chenille wallhangings are one element, albeit a small one, of our tapestry wall-hangings store. Woven in Belgium, they have four main characteristics.

Firstly, they are versatile for your use in the home. Not just as wall-hangings chenille wallhangings can be used as a throw, tablecloth or even as a low-traffic area rug (such as under a coffee table). I have also known one to be used as a bed cover.

Most often though they are used just like a tapestry wallhanging. They have a rod pocket at the top for easy hanging - see our blog post of a couple of months ago for hanging instructions. They are unlined but the edges are finished. Do note that they will have slight undulations when hung: this is part of their character.

Thirdly, they are woven slightly differently, as a thick chenille composed of cotton, polyester and viscose. This blend provides both decorative detail and durability for its varying applications.

Last, and by no means least, they are good value-for money.

We have just launched the chenille wallhangings in the tapestry sale section in the online store so do look at the selection. All are on special offer while stocks last.

William Morris tapestries

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:30:00 +0000

William Morris tapestries are probably our favourite designs so it seems strange not to have written about them before.

William Morris was remarkably diverse in his talents, greatly aiding the effective growth of the Arts and Crafts Movement and providing a rich inheritance for us today. Soon after the centenary of his death (1896) I read a marvellous bigraphy I simply must commend to you: "William Morris" by Fiona MacCarthy published by Faber and Faber.

The most recognizable William Morris tapestry design is probably The Woodpecker (see here) of 1885. To appreciate it one must realise several points:
- that it was based on a poem by Morris himself about a fabled Italian king "I once a king and chief, now am the tree-barks thief; ever twixt trunk and leaf, chasing the prey". He was a very prolific poet and was nominated to be Poet Laureate.
- he created his own engraved typefaces and woodcuts.
- Morris created his own natural dyes to emulate those of medieval times.
- finally, he found an old French crafts manual with the design for a high-warp loom which he had built in his bedroom. All these elements combine to make The Woodpecker tapestry and others distinctively "William Morris".

You will find a full selection of all the William Morris tapestries today in the Arts and Crafts section of our website. They are woven in either France or Belgium and all are lined, with a rod pocket for easy hanging. Do let us know if you have any questions about them.

Tapestry finishing

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:26:00 +0000

Tapestry finishing refers to the important task of making a woven tapestry into a wall-hanging. Our European weavers produce tapestries on their tapestry looms, these being the all-important design which you admire. However, at this stage they have no backing: they are simply a raw piece of fabric with rough edges (the selvedge), beautiful but not functional.

To be enjoyed as a tapestry wall-hanging this fabric needs a backing added to it by seamstresses. The backing has two elements, the rod pocket and the material which covers the rest of the tapestry. I will not describe this task in detail but this hand-finishing, such as we do in our own workroom, is a lengthy, skilled task. Done incorrectly your tapestry will not hang properly (we once bought 65 designs from a non-European weaver and 64 had to be re-finished because they hung badly).

First we need to ensure that the tapestry is perfectly square with right angled corners and straight top, bottom and sides so feint lines are drawn on the unseen back of the tapestry. These indicate the lines along which the backing will be attached. The lining fabric is cut to size and the rod pocket is attached, it being about an inch shorter at each end than the backing fabric so that you can hide the ends of your rod if desired. This combined lining and rod pocket is then sewn to the tapestry (the seamstress has to carefully follow the previously drawn edge lines). A one foot section at the bottom is left unsewn. Then the tapestry and lining are pulled through this aperture so that the design on the front of the tapestry is now visible on the outside. The tapestry is then pressed, taking care to press sharp corners and edges. The foot long section is handsewn and, after a few critical additional touches, there it is, finished. Alas, it is not as easy as it sounds!

Tapestry hanging

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:41:00 +0000

Hanging your tapestry and caring for it are important, yet simple.

When we ship a tapestry we always include instructions to make this easy. You can see these practical tapestry care suggestions on our website. Here are our thoughts about hanging tapestries:

There may be transit creases on your tapestry when you receive it. These can be removed easily by careful pressing with a steam iron on the rear side. Use the heat of the iron rather than sideways pressing to accomplish this thus preventing some stretching of the yarns.

Tapestries are woven individually on a loom and part of their individuality is that there may be irregularities in the weave or there may be hanging undulations. Do not expect them to be precisely square and flat like a framed print: this is not their character.

There are two ways to hang tapestries with rod pockets (our standard finishing always has a rod pocket on the lining):
- cut a length of round wooden dowel slightly longer than the rod pocket. Insert small closed cup-hooks into each end and simply place them over small picture hook nails. This is quick, easy and inexpensive.
- purchase a metal or wooden decorator rod with finials (decorative ends) from a local drapery, hardware or interiors store. Use the provided brackets to hang the tapestry ‘off’ the wall, or hang the rod over two nails hammered down at a 45 degree angle for flush mounting. Add a pair of cords with tassels to either side if you wish to match the tapestry to the existing décor.

An annual brushing with a soft brush is sufficient to dust your tapestry – or use the drapes vacuum attachment. It may be dry cleaned with care if a stain somehow occurs but we suggest this be a last resort.

Modern woven tapestries can cope with ultra-violet so much better than older tapestry wall-hangings but we suggest they are not placed within direct sunlight. Then they should last longer than you!

If you have any questions do email them to us and we will be glad to advise.

The Quest for the Holy Grail

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:02:00 +0000

The Quest for the Holy Grail by Edward Burne-Jones is this months special offer.

In 1895-6 Sir Edward Burne-Jones designed a series of six panels with the overall name "The Arming and Departure of the Knights". It was commissioned for a baronial dining hall from Morris and Co. Fortunately for us, several copies of each panel were woven. William Morris might have been involved to some extent in the last months of his lefe, along with Henry Dearle who supervised tapestry weaving for the Firm.

Some of the dramatic originals are owned by Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber and were loaned for a Pre-Raphaelite display at the Royal Academy, London. I had the immense pleasure of seeing them.

The European reproduction tapestries are woven by a long-established weaver who has elected to use an acrylic, viscose and rayon to bring out the lustrous details of this fine quality tapestry. Click on this link to order your The Knights of the Round Table at the June special price of US$279 instead of the regular US$420. Ground shipping is free of charge.

Tapestry special offers

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:01:00 +0000

Tapestry special offers are placed on our website every month.

Firstly, if you click on the Tapestry Sale button on the top left of each page you will always find six categories of sale tapestries: over 150 of them!

Secondly, one special offer tapestry is featured at the bottom of the home page every month.
The tapestry sale item for May is FL070 Garden Flowers in Vase. It is a fine French tapestry woven in wool and cotton. The original price is US$520 with a sale price of US$349. Please note that the website shows the regular price but if you click on the Buy button (to use the secure shopping cart) we will then email you to confirm that the price is US$349.

We think this design is from a painting by Raoul Dufy. It is certainly in his style. Please email us if you have any further information about its origin.

Tapestries in the home - display ideas

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:44:00 +0000

Display ideas for tapestries in the home form the basis of an inspiring page on our website. This decor gallery shows both traditional and contemporary designs.

Here you will see tapestries displayed in a wide variety of settings. Their role in making the rooms beautiful is obvious. Do browse the page and click on images of interest since they will open into larger images. Note how they compliment the setting and strengthen it; their colours, texture and style bring the room to life. It is interesting to see that very few have decorator rods; the rods are invisible behind the tapestries. We will discuss this more in the next posting.

If you have a photograph of a tapestry on display in your home you are welcome to email it to us and we can consider adding it to the display ideas page. (Do not worry about the image size, we can re-size it).

More special offers in our Tapestry Sale

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:14:00 +0000

We have just added more special offers to our Tapestry Sale.

The Tapestry Sale has tapestry specials on an ongoing basis but it is rare that we add quantities to the selection. Frankly, this is often due to time constraints - putting them up is on the "to do" list but days turn to weeks etc. But this week saw some discipline and they are up.

We know people wonder why they are there. Are they soiled or faulty, returns or discontinued designs or ...? They are certainly not the first pairing, rather they are discontinued so we have one or two left but can not buy more to keep them permanently in our collection. So these ones and twos become a bit of a nuisance from an inventory perspective. Sometimes, not often, the weaver closes so the same situation occurs.

They are thus a "genuine" sale and at very good prices to0. Further, you can be assured that we have them in stock ready for immediate shipping.

So do browse through the Tapestry Sale: there are landscapes, traditional designs, contemporary ones too, floral tapestry art, and medieval tapestries. Click on appealing designs and then on the Buy button if you wish to order - this takes you into a fully secure shopping cart. We will then confirm the order and the shipping of your tapestry.

Ancient Art Tapestries

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:32:00 +0000

Cave paintings as tapestries? This was an unusual conversation topic for me this morning with my naturopathic doctor. I was having some acupuncture treatment and we talked about the depiction of cave painings in tapestry art as she slowly turned me into a pin cushion.

We were enjoying a conversation about travels in France, a wonderful topic, which side-tracked via the Loire Valley chateaux to the delightful Dordogne Valley. Here was found in 1940 stunning cave paintings at Lascaux: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux. Although you can only view replicas in a recreated cave system I had been privileged to see the real thing at nearby Font de Gaume (you have to book in advance).

A few years later one of our supplying weavers, in Belgium, produced several wall tapestries of these cave paintings. View these ancient art tapestries. What is really surprising about these ancient images is that they can be so effective in a contemporary setting (see photo above) in spite of thousands of years difference in time.

In fact, tapestry weaving is itself an ancient craft. In the History of Tapestries article on our website we mention their role in the cultures of the Incas, the ancient Egyptians and the classical Greeks. A tapestry loom is even depicted inside one of the pyramids. So perhaps you should think old when thinking new for your home decor!

Gustav Klimt tapestries

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Gustav Klimt tapestry designs are the most noticeable new trend in tapestry weaving. Several French and Belgian weavers have produced some gorgeous designs.

We will be exhibiting our European tapestries at a trade show in early March and one wall of the booth will consist solely of Klimt tapestries. Of course, these were originally paintings of about a hundred years ago but they render so very well as wall tapestries. Like all our wall hangings they are lined on the back with an attached rod pocket for easy hanging.

A feature of all Klimt designs is the attention to details. There are so many little elements to each that you notice new ones every time you see them. Tapestries lend themselves to this since they are more three-dimensional and tactile than paintings. It is a pleasure to touch and admire them.

Do look at the Fine Art section of our website showing these and other 19th and 20th century tapestries. We hold most in stock ready for immediate shipping to you.

Contemporary Tapestries

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:33:00 +0000

Contemporary tapestries are very much in vogue today. When we started selling tapestries about 15 years ago the selection was definately historical in choice: medieval, Louis XIV, William Morris and the like. However it was inevitable that this would change regardless of decor fashion.

If you think about it, there are only a limited number of old tapestries which are worthy of reproduction by today's weavers. Although there are thousands of old tapestries many will command little commercial interest, others will be damaged or faded almost beyond recognition and others very much part of their time and no other.

So, to continue introducing new designs for the marketplace, the weavers have had to look to recent or contemporary designs. They then need to decide if these will translate into the medium of tapestry wall-hangings. I personally do not think that poster art, like this Belgian design, will survive the test of time but others are more worthy. You will find them in our four Contemporary designs sections. I will make one forecast for the distant future - the classics will remain, like the Lady with the Unicorn series and William Morris's timeless Arts and Crafts designs. We'll have to wait and see.

Creative tapestry uses

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:27:00 +0000

Use tapestries to cover flat-screen TVs, electrical panels and laundry chutes.

These uses all emerged from conversations in Toronto where we recently exhibited at a furniture show. The photo is a quick snap intended mainly to remind us of our layout so there were no people in it. In fact there weren't many people anywhere in the show; a sign of the times.

However we did have some good conversations and the uses of wall tapestries were often talked about. It's pretty obvious that they are great above a sofa, fireplace or the head of a bed but what about using to cover those unsightly spots?

We are experimenting with a system which permits a tapestry to pull down like a roller blind to cover a flat-screen TV when not in use. Easier still, you can hang them in front of the electrical panel, allowing an overlap to fully obscure it. The request for one to cover a laundry chute was a new one to me, dependant I suppose on how often you do your laundry!

If you have a special need for a tapestry please email your needs to us and we'll brainstorm some tapestry display ideas.

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:25:00 +0000

There is just about time to place orders for Christmas. The Christmas / Winter section is a good place to start: http://www.tapestry-art.com/catalogue/christmas. We can ship tapestries by Express service - we make no shipping charge for orders using regular/expedited service and charge just the incremental extra for express service; a few dollars. Email (info@tapestry-art.com) or telephone us (1-877 727-0178) if you want to check on availability - we carry a very large tapestry selection in stock, ready for immediate shipping.

If you are in USA I wonder if you are aware how much the currency conversion has changed in the last couple of months to your advantage, whether for purchases or travel. Some light in the economic gloom!

Linda and I would like to wish all our past customers (and future ones!) a very happy Chriatmas. Martin.

Santa Claus is coming

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:27:00 +0000

Santa Claus is coming, Christmas too. It's December already and we are late posting this great, seasonal tapestry wallhanging.

Santa (Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas - take your pick) really is magnificent, jolly and giving his job 100%. The Belgian weaver has added gold-coloured thread for extra sparkle (but without being at all tacky). He was first woven three years ago and my family have enjoyed him in our home each year. We have plenty in stock so can rush him off to you on an express sleigh: see http://www.tapestry-art.com/detail.html?item_code=MC098.

You will also find a whole section of Christmas and winter tapestries and related products on the website.

Welcome!

stay@gazebo-victoria.com (Martin) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:32:00 +0000

Welcome to the Tapestry Art Designs blog! We have finally launched this for news of new tapestries and ideas to help with your home decor. Updates will be issued about twice a month.
Martin and Linda.