Collector’s family seeks home for Barnsley designs
13 July 2009
Antiques Trade Gazzette

The 40-piece collection, which covers more than 50 years of Edward Barnsley’s working life and designs, was originally created by a London architect and has been further expanded by his son.
The majority of the pieces were made or designed by Barnsley between the 1930s and the 1960s, with a few pieces designed or made by Peter Waals’ workshop in the 1930s.
The family are now seeking a new home for the collection on permanent loan.
“It is an unusual situation,” said Mr Weller. “The owner is very keen that the collection finds a home where people can appreciate the craftsmanship and supreme skill of those men who produced such wonderful furniture. It is a genuine opportunity for someone who may wish to open their house to the public to have on loan an exceptional collection of Arts and Crafts furniture.”
The collection includes the last pieces to be designed by Edward Barnsley himself before he died in 1987 aged 87: a desk and filing cabinet, together with a matching coffee table.
In 60 years, Barnsley’s workshop made approximately 7000 pieces of furniture, of which at least 1500 were individual designs. He received the CBE in 1945 for his contribution to quality of design and craftsmanship.
The Edward Barnsley Educational Trust was set up in 1980 and the Edward Barnsley Workshop at Froxfield flourishes under James Ryan today.
Contact: 01403 713587.

Herculaneum Pottery held by Liverpool Museums to be put in Permenant Storage

Monday, 29 June 2009

David Fleming Srikes Again, will someone put him out of our misery.
MARITIME DISASTER.
This is no storm in a teacup. It is another peice of our culture at stake.
3000 members of The Northern Ceramics Society are up in arms at the proposals to put the collection of Liverpool Pottery, currently, in the Maritime Museum at the Albert Dock in permanent storage. Yes ....permanent storage we all know what that means. Worse still it is to make way for…. a café, yes a café, this is another misguided attempt to rob us Liverpudlian's of our heritage and blame us for the slave trade by the Fuzzy Felt knob at NML Dr David Fleming.
http://www.northernceramicsociety.org/few people have said that I have been a bit hard on David "Fuzzy Felt" Fleming to which I am of the opinion that I have not been hard enough, he is a walking disaster a nightmare a public relations car crash. I forgot more about Liverepools Culture last week than he will ever know.
http://liverpoolpreservationtrust.blogspot.com/search/label/David%20Fleming This man is single-handedly destroying my culture and turning Liverpool museums into something that resembles the "Wacky Warehouse" where kids run around all over the place with ice cream, screaming and shouting. The sort of place you don’t want to go to anymore. Sudley used to be great he ruined that. It is now called Sadly Art Gallery locally.I attended an excellent study day a decade ago about Liverpool pottery and this was linked in to the permanent exhibition in the Walker, which was the history of Liverpool Pottery.This was then moved out of the Walker and watered down to all those pots with ships on, and was sent to the Maritime Museum, that was bad enough but now to ditch this, is a absolute outrageous act of uneducated nonsense by someone who it has been said should not be running my museums because he is a dimwit. Yes a dimwit without education in the finer things in life, this little tin pot dictator understands is bums on seats.Cant someone put him out of our misery he is a carpet-bagging networker, a disaster wanting to make us all pay for the slave trade when it was nothing to do with me.The NCS were instrumental in bringing to the fore our heritage. Volunteers who have a passion for what they do, educated collectors, whose advise has been sought in building up the collections.Painstaking attention to detail, out on digs in all weathers, in their own time finding the original sites where kilns were, showing us our own heritage, our Georgian heritage, working with the museums under the previous director. And now the tin-pot Fleming does them in with a stroke of his pen, just like he did with the Friends of Liverpool Museums. How can you do this how can a stupid act of getting rid of something as important as our local pottery be replaced by chairs for a café. He hasn’t got a clue.The public bequeathed this whole collection and the public servants need to understand that they work for us not for themselves.“We can’t trust this guy” one elderly gentleman said talking about Fleming.A client of mine, a avid Liverpool collector said to me “He is a b*st*rd” such is the depth of ill feeling towards him.
Someone need to carry the coffe can for this, there is already five times the amount of Liverpool Pottery in storage as is on display at present.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herculaneum_Pottery Huge collections are on display in some of the top American museums and we wont have any.Along with Herculaneum whose factory was at Herculaneum Dock there was Gilbody, Pennington, Richard Chaffers and Co, Philip Christian and more. I want to know about this stuff it’s my history…. this nutter running my museums has to go he is a disaster.

Wedgewood Museum rescue

For a few desperate months earlier this year, it looked as if the revamped £10 million Wedgwood Museum in Stoke-on-Trent was destined to become Britain’s most expensive memorial plaque.
The collapse of Waterford Wedgwood, the pottery manufacturer whose 250-year history it chronicles, hit visitor numbers hard and turned what should have been a thriving industrial site around the museum into a ghost factory. But now the business has been given a lifeline and the spirit of hope was boosted last night when the museum won the Art Fund Prize for museums and galleries — at £100,000, the most lucrative prize in the business.
Wedgewood Museum rescued amid a reccession.
read on
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article6530916.ece

Lillies BBC production.

This is a picture taken from the set of Lillies, the acclaimed BBC production.

I was asked to do some room sets by the BBC and this is the Artemis house in the series. I originaly had a brilliant mirror for the fireplace but it picked up a reflect.

This was a house in Falkner Square in Liverpool 8.

A letter to the Times from Henry Sandon

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/letters/article6031353.ece

From The Times
April 4, 2009
Preserve antiquarians
Chancellor not doing enough to help British antique and fine art dealers maximise their global appeal

Sir, Last year many antique and fine art dealers were forced to close their premises as a direct result of high rent and business rate increases, at a faster rate than in previous recessions. While the Chancellor’s rethink on the previously tabled increase in business rates shows some sensitivity to the needs of businesses, it does not do enough to help this often overlooked sector.
In 2007 the UK’s antiques and art industry generated revenue of £4 billion. Global revenue from the art and antiques market was £40 billion in 2007, the UK’s contribution therefore represented 10 per cent of the global market share. In 2008, however, there was a significant fall to £2.75 billion. While other sectors are receiving help from the Government, the antiques industry — which is partly reliant on the housing market — does not. Even the recent VAT reduction does not help us.
The antiques industry creates jobs in tourism, shipping, transport and conservation. At a local level, antique shops provide an important draw to country towns, helping other local shops and businesses. Every closure leaves a gap in provincial streetscapes. On an ecological level, the antiques industry encourages the re-use of old and beautiful things, reducing landfill and new-goods consumption.
With sterling at its lowest for some considerable time, UK products are once again attractive to overseas buyers. With some marketing support from the Government, we could be using this opportunity to reach the world market for antiques.
Iain Michael Brunt
Ledsham, Leeds
Henry Sandon
Worcester

Della Robbia Pottery Charger by Cassandra Annie Walker-Piece of the Week.

One of the reasons for me to go to the Williamson Art Gallery on the Wirral to look at the Della Robbia was to see how one of my acquisitions fares.
I think it may be correct to say that I think this is the best example of Della Robbia I have seen.
Designed by Cassandra Annie Walker it is of a design I have not seen before. Purchased in France it is of two Sirens luring a ship of sailors onto the rocky outcrop. An Art Nouveau take on the mythical tale. The colours are fantastic. I felt as if it was coming home when it was found in France the lady asked me if I knew what it was as she hadn't been able to sell it as it is unknown in France.
 Oh yes I said as I clutched it when paid for.

Williamson Art Gallery-Della Robbia Collection

Williamson Art Gallery Birkenhead.
Went to see a textile exhibition Sunday last of Lee fabric and textile manufacturers who were based in Birkenhead. They sold Fortuny clth and clothes in thier New York and London showrooms and there was the most wonderful Fortuny dress on display as part of the exhibition.

Of course we had to have a look at the wonderful permenant Della Robbia exhibition.
It is well worth a visit.