Richmond Antiques at the AAADA antiques show, Melbourne!

For the third year running, the Australian Antiques and Art Dealer's Association is holding its annual Melbourne antiques show at the Royal Exhibition Building.  I once again will be assisting Richmond Antiques of Tasmania with their stand.  I find so much fun and excitement in setting up!  So much so that I can admit I didn't mind being roped along yet again.  Well, someone has to do it, right?

If you live in Melbourne or are planning to visit, here are the dates and times for the show;

Wednesday 24th April, 6pm - 9pm (Gala Preview)

Thursday 25th April, 1pm – 7pm (Anzac Day)

Friday 26th April, 11am - 7pm

Saturday 27th April, 11am - 7pm

Sunday 28th April, 11am - 5pm

You can find more information here.

I will be taking some pictures of my favourite stands and objects during the fair and will report back!

Until next time,

new in store...a French 19th century clothes rail!

Image from here

We have a piece I believe to be worthy of the most chic Parisian clothing boutique, (a gorgeous Chanel store, comes to mind), now on the floor at The Drill Hall Emporium! 

 

It is a French late 19th century ebonised wood and brass clothes rail, complete with wheel castors.  We acquired this piece a few years ago from an ex French chateau clearing sale.  At the time I found it, it was in pieces in an attic, and I think no one else quite recognised what it was.  Luckily for us!

 

It then sat in our store room awaiting reassembly which has only just happened over the last week.  Why did we wait so long to put it together, you are probably thinking.  Well, if you are at all familiar with our store, you would know that we are always overflowing with goodies and it has taken until now to have enough room to say yes, it will fit! 

 



 

Look at the turned brass detail on this finial.  So very classic.  I believe that it could have once been used by a Parisian couturier, where their latest designs were hung awaiting stylish clients.  Perhaps it was owned by Coco Chanel herself at some point in time?  My imagination is running a little wild, I must confess! 

 



Image from here

 

This is an example of another such rail I have seen before in an antiques store on my travels, it is in golden oak and also with a brass rail. 

 

 Image from here

 



This example above is more art deco in style, it would date to around the 1920s, and is cast iron with brass rails.  Of the three, I think ours is perhaps the nicest?   

 

 Image from here

 

Now, what to do with such a piece in todays world?  As well as the obvious ideas of a clothing or wedding dress boutique, it could actually fit well into a spacious bedroom or a dressing room if you are so lucky to have such a thing!  A girl can sure dream...

 





In the mean time, until our rail finds its new home, it is quite happy at The Drill Hall Emporium being used to display our French linen aprons.  Or is it begging for some couture?

Until next time,

 

Happy Easter! and look what the Easter bunny left...

 

A collection of Tasmanian bird's eggs! 

 

The old labels suggest they were collected in the early 20th century.

The collection includes an albatross egg! 

Happy Easter to all my readers, I hope the Easter bunny brought you something special and some time to reflect on new beginnings. 

Until next time,

 

look out for our antiques on TV! Tourism Tasmania's "go behind the scenery"



 

We are very proud that quite a few of the antiques in the background of this catchy Tourism Tasmania's ad are from our store!  The latest tourism campaign begins today and will run until the end of May.  The concept is to encourage potential visitors to "look behind the scenery" to discover everything else that Tasmania has to offer apart from its beautiful landscape.  



Have a watch and see if you can spot the following...

One of a pair of leather wing back arm chairs...



Jar with shells and apothecary bottles...

Large glass bell dome which is used to house a model of the Oatlands Callington Mill in the ad...



Our French reticulated artist's hand and amber apothecary jars.  Many other pieces from our store were used as props including leather trunks, a drum and a top hat in leather box.  These items really helped set the quirky theatre scene.  I like also the way that the ad ends at the Theatre Royal, of which I recently featured.

I for one love the ad, I think that it is part creative genius but mostly just fun.  I adore Tasmania, we have so much to offer all travellers.  My most enjoyable holidays have been spent right here exploring the 3 million acres that I call home.

Until next time,

 

new in store! French linen aprons handmade by ourselves...

 

We are introducing a new line at The Drill Hall Emporium, French linen aprons handmade by ourselves!  We wear similar aprons in the store and have over the years had enquiries as to whether we sell them.  As such, we have decided to use some of our lovely French linen that we have stored away to create these oh so chic aprons, or tabliers, as they are called in French. 

Our apron design is different to others, we refer to ours "tension-free" aprons.  Most aprons have a loop around the back of the neck which can cause a lot of neck and shoulder tension if worn regularly, our wide cotton straps go over the shoulder and cross in the middle of the back for more comfort!   And as our own shop aprons are of the same design, we can attest first hand to the comfort factor. 

We have displayed a few on our French dressmaker's mannequins, which model them perfectly.  They are fully adjustable and can be tied around the front as well, if preferred, with the extra long straps. 

The linen used in the body of the apron is soft but durable, and a very fine quality.  It was a real pleasure to sew with!

The pocket is made from a vintage French linen ticking which we had kept until now for a special purpose. 

 

We have only a small number available at this stage, but we will extend the range to include aprons for children, and also more heavy duty aprons for wearing in the potting shed.

I would love to know what you think about our aprons?  Or better yet, come in and inspect for yourself!

Until next time,

new in store...an antique puppet theatre!

 

I have been sorting out in the back store room of The Drill Hall Emporium this week.  Scary job!  But fun, also, as I find all sorts of wonderful items that have not made it into the store until now.  And look what I uncovered yesterday, an early 20th century puppet theatre!   

It is named the Theatre Royal in gilded lettering.  We found this piece in England a few years ago at a trade fair near the Welsh border.  At the time I thought it funny as we have a Theatre Royal here in Hobart...

Image from here

Which is quite regal inside, I think with the red velvet seating and raised galleries.

Image from here

 

The Theatre Royal in Hobart opened in 1837 and was built from convict carved sandstone among the public houses, brothels, factories and tiny workers’ cottages in Campbell Street. The gallery was added in the 1850s and the theatre was redecorated in the 1890s. 

 

Back to our small scale Theatre...look at the lovely painted detail to the wooden sides.  I am wondering perhaps this piece was perhaps made during the wartime where money was scarce for shop bought toys and one was more inclined to make imaginative entertainment?  It comes complete with a red velvet curtain which has faded nicely over time to a soft rose colour. 

 

 

It comes complete with 4 miniature stage lights to light up the stage!  They are all wired in although I am not sure if they still work, they will need miniature bulbs I am sure. 

 



This would still be a fabulous piece today for the child with imagination, but for some reason I feel as if sock puppets would not really be to standard?  I will have to try and hunt down some proper antique puppets. 

Until next time,



some of my favourite Pinterest pins this week...

Image from here

 

As you may already know I happily confess to a healthy addiction to Pinterest.  I am even more so hooked then when I last gushed about it in October and December last year.  There are so many beautiful images such as this picture of a French chair in front of a carved blue grey French cupboard, above. You can check out my ever-growing pin boards here.  I love looking at what other people like, you get an idea of what inspires people.  In fact, of the pinners I follow I can generally guess who has pinned it from the image alone. 

 

Image from here

For example, as soon as I saw this image of pink and cream roses in blue glass bottles, I instantly knew that it was from my good blogging friend Ria.  She pins the most beautiful images, from all aspects of life - animals, interiors and even the humble preserve jar of which she has dedicated an entire board!  Not to mention her "oh dear oh deer" board, just for deers!  How sweet.

Image from here 

Just as I knew that this casual outdoor dining image was from the gorgeous Ria.  It is bang on her style, relaxed yet so beautiful, not to mention inspiring.  You can see Ria's Pinterest boards here.

Image from here. 

And I just knew that the above image was pinned by none other than my mum, aka in the Pinterest world as Bonsai Queen, who has a passion for English cottage gardens.  You can see her pin boards here, they will take you all around the world where you will spend quite a bit of time in Japan studying the art of bonsai!  And admiring bridges, tree houses and gypsy caravans, of course.

 

Image from here

And finally, back to Ria who pinned this quote, so simple and true.  I have a friend who is going through a very hard time at the moment, and I think about how important it is to enjoy the here and now and the love around us.  To not take for granted a smile from a stranger or a daily goodbye kiss.  I saw another quote that went along the lines of "never let the things you want make you forget the things you have".  Again a reminder to appreciate the things that are good in our lives just that little bit more. 

Until next time,

a day at The Agrarian Kitchen making ice cream!

 

For Christmas I was the lucky recipient of a "I scream for ice cream" cooking class gift voucher at The Agrarian Kitchen.  And just this last Sunday I arrived at the Lachlan based cooking school with some fibre in the belly (fairly certain the rest of the day would be a bit of a health write-off) ready for a day of fun. Oh, and some cooking!  

 



Firstly, I must say I love The Agrarian Kitchen, this is my fourth class in their cooking school and I always feel immediately at home.  Not only do I find familiar pieces such as this antique French wire egg basket in use around the kitchen, Rodney and Séverine are very welcoming.  Guests are greeted with a cup of something hot and a little cake, this day being no exception. 

Then it was straight down to business.  The ice cream class was led by Alistair Wise, ex Gordan Ramsay chef and now the mastermind of Sweet Envy in North Hobart, along with partner Teena.  The blackboard was full of all the wonderful ice creams that we were going to make throughout the day.  It was only 9.30 in the morning and we were straight into the kitchen with an undeniable sense of purpose.  Alistair's enthusiasm and commitment to the sweeter side of life is contagious, I must say. 

 

The philosophy behind the Agrarian Kitchen is that most ingredients used for the classes comes from its own land.  And as such Rodney went straight out to the garden and within minutes we had fresh fruit to use for the ice cream, parfait, sorbet and granite that we were to make.  We also used eggs from the chickens and goats milk for some of the ice cream. 

 

  

At one point during the day a little bit of science came into play to make the cherry sorbet, liquid nitrogen and a whisk was used to speed up the freezing time.  I am not sure if this was showing off by Mr Wise or whether it was a procedure of necessity.  I did perhaps notice all the ice cream churners were full of other types of ice cream?  Do not try this at home, I think I should say at this point (legal obligations, yawn) as Alistair and Rodney donned protective masks and gloves for safety.  It certainly made for a spectacular scene with the vapours spreading out over the work bench!

 



 

We made sesame praline and a yummy honeycomb, too.  The honey was from The Agrarian Kitchen's very own bees.

 

 

Whilst we were busy making ice cream in the kitchen, Rodney was cooking the lunch for the class.  Once again it was a matter of gathering and preparing vegetables from the garden for our feast, along with grilled eye fillet beef and Alistair's own bread straight out of the wood fired oven.  I would have been happy with just the bread, it was so delicious! 

 



 

The dining room was set with French napkins and antique cutlery and the chunky sycamore farmhouse table (ex the Drill Hall Emporium, I must proclaim) was perfect for a large gathering. 



 

After lunch Alistair had a treat for the class.  We were officially introduced to Big Bessie, a 1963 Commer original Mr Whippy.  Like, seriously!  Of which Alistair's pride is quite evident.  You may have seen Big Bessie at the Taste of Tasmania serving soft serve ice cream and sundaes to the masses?  Well, we had her all to ourselves this day and she didn't let us down. 

 

We then took a tour of the farm and gardens to help work off Big Bessie's "Joy's Prickly Box" featuring toffee baked corn flakes and caramel sauce.  I was lucky enough to know The Agrarian Kitchen three years ago upon opening and it truly amazes me how much can be achieved in such a short amount of time.  Not that I wasn't amazed back then, but the gardens and orchard are flourishing at every turn and the farm is home to 2 litters of piglets (with the grownups), several goats, guinea fowls, chickens...oh, and the bees. 

 

 

Finally, it was back to the kitchen for the final stages of ice cream and condiment preparations.  Alistair brought along his fairy floss machine which was so much fun to watch in action, before we were handed large scoops to help prepare the 2.4 metre ice cream sundae which graced the length of the table.  Amongst the chaos I could hear Alistair shouting orders as if a commander going to battle, as timing was oh so critical, apparently.  It was then a simple matter of digging in, and at 2.4 metres this was one ice cream sundae I didn't mind sharing.

 

Until next time,