News

July 2010

Agatha Christie collected many things. One of those things being Stevengraphs; silk bookmarks or pictures made by Thomas Stevens, a Coventry silk ribbon manufacturer.

That collection can now be seen at Greenway, Agatha Christie’s holiday home which is just across the River Dart from Papilionaceous here in South Devon.

The house is now owned and managed by the National Trust and more information can be found on the National Trust website.

The Fax Room with the collection of Stevengraphs

Given our close proximity to the house and collection we are delighted to be both continuing the tradition of the Stevengraph here at Papilionaceous and also supplying our own take on these collectable bookmarks to the National Trust shop at Greenway.

The Trust have a second property close by which is well worth a visit.

Coleton Fishacre was the holiday home of the D’Oyly Carte family and is an Arts & Crafts style house set in magical gardens.

[And yes, you will find our bookmarks there as well!]

The fax room at Greenway with a selection of Stevengraphs on display.
©NTPL/Nick Guttridge

June 2010

camel in the wind silk braces

sitting duck silk braces

putting on my top hat silk braces

fairy hat penguin silk braces

gentlemen prefer ponds silk braces

Papilionaceous have been weaving fine silk jacquards for gent’s braces since the very start and have been working with Devon artist Simon Drew for almost as long.

We are now able to offer Limited Edition Simon Drew silk braces to you direct.

The braces are made in Leicester, England by Albert Thurston Ltd and the designs are officially licensed from Simon Drew.

Designs shown are:
“camel in the wind”
“sitting duck”
“putting on my top hat”
“fairy hat/hairy fat penguin”
and “gentlemen prefer ponds”

And they are all available from the Papilionaceous shop here:
Simon Drew Braces at Amazon

May 2010

Between 31st May and 14th June Papilionaceous is featured at the Devonshire Collection of Period Costume – Totnes Costume Museum, Totnes, Devon.

Alongside bags, braces and bookmarks we are delighted to be showing very fine silk trimmed Fair Trade Panama hats from Pachacuti.

blue silk panama

red silk pamama

For more information on these lovely hats visit Pachacuti here.

April 2010

bookdart tin

We came across Bookdarts a while ago now. Similar to a bookmark in as much as they are place keepers, but also very different in that they keep a specific place, a specific line on a page – without the need to resort to the (sharp intake of breath) underlining in pencil that you may just let yourself use in your ‘working’ copy.

bookdart page

This is what their makers in Oregon, USA have to say:

Book Darts are precision-cut, paper-thin metal line markers that attach easily to any page.

To use, place Book Dart at desired line, close book and press in. Sliding a Dart onto a passage assures you can recall it easily even in a closed book.

Often judged indispensable by students, educators, and other readers of what has lasting value.

Answers the question: “How can we mark our exact passages, find them again, quickly and surely, and never harm the page?”

A good idea we thought, so slightly odd that they have yet to be really taken up here – as far as we know that is. To address this issue we have ordered some stock and they are now available in the UK from Papilionaceous at Amazon.

We are currently sending out free samples with all silk bookmark orders but if there is nothing else that you need at present just send us a stamped, self-addressed envelope and we will send you some Book Darts by return. Our address is here.

Book Darts are available from us in three colours: brass, bronze and stainless steel and quantities of 12, 18 and the tins of 50 pictured above.

Book Darts from Papilionaceous at Amazon

March 2010

trust me I'm a ducktor silk tietall duck and handsome silk tie

One of the questions I get asked most often is: how did I get into weaving silk ribbons in the first place?

Part of the answer to that is that my first job on leaving college was selling silk ties in the tie hall of Liberty in Regent St.
At the time (1989) the dominance of printed silks for men’s ties was starting to give way to wovens and this resurgence of woven silks resulted in a steady stream of rather interesting pieces of silk weaving turning up in front of me on a regular basis; pieces of silk that provided me with a great deal of inspiration and encouragement that this might be an interesting path to follow.

Second on the list of questions most often asked is: do we weave silk ties?

No we don’t; for the simple reason that we only weave at 40mm wide. Even if it were to be a very narrow tie it would still need to be cut diagonally across the cloth (ties are cut on the bias so that they have a certain amount of stretch and are able to be tied in a nice knot) and what we weave is just not wide enough.

Having said all that, twenty years after first selling ties I am now selling them again!

Designs are by Simon Drew, with whom we have a long association, and though we neither weave the silk nor make the ties they are still a ‘Made in England’ product and complement our range of Simon Drew bookmarks rather well we think.

The first two designs are available now via our shop at Amazon:

trust me I’m a ducktor silk tie, tall duck & handsome silk tie

And also from the Papilionaceous Silk Emporium

trust me I’m a ducktor silk tie, tall duck and handsome silk tie

February 2010

salmon flies bookmark thumbnaillilith bookmark thumbnail

For some, myself included, the topic of Fly Fishing will forever be associated with the name of J.R. Hartley; he may have started out as a fiction but the book he was looking for eventually became reality.
There is no need to scour Cecil Court to find our Fly Fishing bookmark though!

Also, from the original by John Collier: ‘Lilith’
A woman with a chequered past who may, or may not, be suitable for your Valentine.

Both are available now from Amazon:
Lilith, Salmon Flies

and the Papilionaceous Silk Emporium:
Lilith, Salmon Flies

January 2010 (II)

tulip bookmark thumbnailklimt bookmark thumbnail

The snow and frost has gone for now so our thoughts turn towards Spring (perhaps).

We have some tulips anyway!

Tulips at Amazon and

the Papilionaceous Silk Emporium

Also, from the original by Gustav Klimt:

‘Water Serpents II’, a new double sided bookmark.

Water Serpents II at Amazon and

the Papilionaceous Silk Emporium

January 2010 (I)

Wakana bookmark thumbnailesquire bookmark thumbnailesquire bookmark thumbnail

To keep that New Year’s Eve feeling going just a little longer we present a new, double sided, his and hers ‘Cocktail’ bookmark.

Cocktail bookmark at Amazon and

the Papilionaceous Silk Emporium

Also, a second mark inspired by the art of Japan. To give it it’s full title:

‘The Courtesans Wakana and Wakanoura of the Wakana House’, by Utamaro Kitagawa

Utamaro Kitagawa bookmark at Amazon and

the Papilionaceous Silk Emporium

December 2009

Vargas bookmark thumbnail

With Christmas on the way we thought stockings would be in order.

Our silk stockings are courtesy of Alberto Vargas.

Available here: Vargas Silk Stocking bookmark at Amazon and

the Papilionaceous Silk Emporium

Red Carp bookmark thumbnail

Also seasonal in parts of Europe, carp.

We present ‘Red Carp under Wisteria’ by Kuniyoshi Utagawa

Available here: ‘Red Carp under Wisteria’ silk bookmark at Amazon and

the Papilionaceous Silk Emporium

Beardsley green lily bookmark thumbnail

Completing the three wise bookmarks is a new colouring of our very popular Aubrey Beardsley Lily.

Available here: Green Lily bookmark at Amazon and

the Papilionaceous Silk Emporium

November 2009

Two new book marks this month. Both feature small details from much larger works.

Margarito of Arezzo bookmark thumbnailCarlo Crivelli bookmark thumbnail

The details are taken from:

The Virgin and Child Enthroned by Margarito of Arezzo

and

The Annunciation by Carlo Crivelli

for further information see the Bookmarks ~ Fine Art section

also available to buy from the Papilionaceous Silk Emporium and Papilionaceous at Amazon

October 2009

Thank you to everyone who stopped by at Alexandra Palace.

knitting & stitching show

If you have now arrived here to find out more, you could try:

Silk panels

Ribbon archive

Bookmark archive

Papilionaceous bookmark store

Papilionaceous bookmarks on Amazon

September 2009

New bookmarks this month:

Ave Maria bookmark thumbnail rectoAve Maria bookmark thumbnail versoseurat bookmark thumbnailcezanne bookmark thumbnailGalen-Kallela bookmark thumbnail

Featuring artwork by: Follower of Hugo van der Goes, Georges Seurat, Paul Cézanne and Akseli Gallen-Kallela

Further details in the Bookmarks ~ Fine Art section

August 2009

Your favourite bookmarks are now available alongside your favourite books!

The link below will take you to a selection of Papilionaceous silk bookmarks on the Amazon website.

Papilionaceous at Amazon

and for the books:

July 2009

For anyone in the South Devon Area – especially with the weather the way it is today – The Annual Stokenham Arts and Crafts Exhibition is on from 24th July – 1st August and is well worth a visit.

Next month sees the second Celebrate Start Bay event in Slapton:

“The annual free celebration of ‘all that is good’ about the Start Bay area showcasing local arts & crafts, food and drink, and the great outdoors! All-weather event: Stalls in the village hall full of information and shopping opportunities; Plus a full programme of outdoor and indoor activities & entertainment, talks and workshops.”

Celebrate Start Bay 2009

For older news, see:
News 08/09
News 07/08