Arts and Crafts Company Top Ten Christmas Shopping List Ideas...

Arts and Crafts Company have listed below just some of the unique quality Christmas gift ideas available from our inventory this year...


1. Dress the Christmas table with a unique pair of hand carved Yorkshire Oak Candlesticks for the festive season by Malcolm "Foxman" Pipes - £195.

2. Christmas cheer delivered in style on a hand carved Yorkshire Oak tray by Robert "Mouseman" Thompson - £SOLD.

3. Set the mood and light up the Christmas decorations with a hand carved Yorkshire Oak Table Lamp by Derek "Lizardman" Slater - £129.

4. Christmas magazines can be kept in order this festive season and many more to come in a hand carved Yorkshire Oak Magazine Rack by Alan "Acornman" Grainger - £295.

5. For a Christmas to remember why not indulge in a rare and special unique Elephant carving by one of the Master Carvers from the workshop of Robert "Mouseman" Thompson - £980.

6. From our selection of Fine Art an exhibition Arts and Crafts masterpiece signed gravure etching by the world renown furniture designer John Makepeace "Knot Chair" - £145 (available unframed so we can post it special delivery in time for Christmas - also available in a quality bespoke ash frame @ £225).

7. Festive Cheer - Toast the festive season with an Arts and Crafts silver goblet (2 available) by a Cheltenham Silversmith designed for the Tewkesbury Festival complete with fitted red velvet lined case - £145.

8. Pass the long winter evenings browsing through Scottish History (2 Volumes) bound in antique leather from Arts and Crafts Company's selection of fine bindings - £195.

9. Original Art to brighten up the walls on the dark winter evenings this Christmas would make a perfect gift, Edmond Eugène DUC (French 1856 - 1949) "Le Bain" Watercolour, Pen & Ink - £285.

10. The perfect Christmas stocking filler for all Mouseman aficionados - give the gift of knowledge with "The Legacy of Robert (Mouseman) Thompson of Kilburn" - £15.99.

All the items listed above may be reserved as seasonal gifts (subject to availability) via contact@arts-and-crafts-company.com or telephone 07917 111141 or visit the website at http://www.arts-and-crafts-company.com/.


Merry Christmas 2009 from
Arts and Crafts Company
http://www.arts-and-crafts-company.com/

'Twas the night before Christmas...

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… except in Chipping Norton that is!

Station Mill Antique Centre in Chipping Norton Oxfordshire is not the sort of place you would expect to encounter small “Critters” hidden amongst the antiques and furniture. However, on much closer inspection of Arts and Crafts Company stock of Yorkshire Oak furniture, young and old alike are surprised to find a Mouse, a Lizard, a Fox and even a Squirrel hiding amongst the Oak chair legs, cupboards and dressers, all drawing sounds of delight upon discovery.

Arts and Crafts Company specialise in vintage craftsman Yorkshire Oak furniture, each piece is hand crafted from English Oak and signed with the craftsmen’s own individual carved “Yorkshire Critter”.

The grandfather of the “Critters” was of course Robert “Mouseman” Thompson (1876 - 1955) of Kilburn in North Yorkshire. His trademark carved mouse adorns fine English Oak furniture all over the world and in some of the finest ecclesiastical buildings in the country, including Westminster Abbey and York Minster. Much has been written about the “Mouseman” and his famous mouse has travelled far and wide, however, he also left behind a far reaching legacy of apprentices all of which served five years at the Kilburn workshops, some remaining for many more years with Mr Thompson before setting up independent workshops across North Yorkshire in England.

Arts and Crafts Company specialise in the hard to find limited output of the “Mouseman” apprentices and other independent Yorkshire craftsmen, such as Malcolm “Foxman” Pipes, Peter “Rabbitman” Heap and Martin “Lizardman” Dutton, all former “Mouseman” apprentices and employees at the Kilburn workshops in North Yorkshire.

Also on show at Station Mill Antiques Centre are examples of Tom “Gnomeman” Whittaker’s Yorkshire oak furniture, each piece carved with a small bearded Gnome. Legend has it that a Gnome is born every time an acorn sprouts, following which that gnome will then guard the Oak tree throughout its life, adding a further touch of magic to this wonderful English Oak furniture.

Experience the magic of this bygone age for yourself, visit Station Mill Antiques Centre, Station Road, Chipping Norton, Oxon OX7 5HX. Telephone 01608 644563. Open 7 Days a week with ample parking and a Tearoom.

Or capture the magic of the “Yorkshire Critters” Online @ http://www.arts-and-crafts-company.com/

Arts and Crafts Company

Telephone 07917 111141

contact@arts-and-crafts-company.com

Ballets Russes 1909 - 1929 - The V&A London Exhibition 2010.

In September 2010 the V&A is staging a major exhibition, Serge Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes 1909-1929, looking at the work of the company and its cultural impact on 20th century design, choreography, music and art.

Pictured is one of four watercolours of stage designs for the Ballet Russe c1918 currently held in Arts and Crafts Company's inventory - email: contact@arts-and-crafts-company.com for more details.

The Ballets Russes is recognised as the most exciting dance company of the twentieth century influencing many aspects of theatre, music and fashion. It was established by Serge Diaghilev who had a remarkable ability to inspire original theatrical creations and promote dancers, composers and artists. He drew initially on the fin de siecle renaissance in Russian art – fine art, applied art and theatre arts - and subsequently involved the collaboration of many of the key figures in European music, dance, painting and sculpture. During the twenty-year period of its peripatetic existence, the company changed European sensibilities in music, colour and movement, pushing forward the frontiers of theatre and exerting an influence for the remainder of the century.

Victoria & Albert Museum - Ballet Russes 1909 - 1929

Arts and Crafts Company - Real Art in a Virtual World (c)
http://www.arts-and-crafts-company.com/
Telephone 07917 111141.

Helen Bradley - The Park on May Day

Helen Bradley (1900 - 1979).

Arts and Crafts Company are delighted to announce the arrival of Helen Bradley's "The Park on May Day" complete with the original frame and mount.

Born in Lees near Oldham in 1900, Helen only began to paint her distinctive scenes of an Edwardian girlhood at the age of 65. At first she simply wanted to show her grandchildren how different a place the world used to be when she was a child.

Miss Carter (who wore pink) features in most of Helen Bradley's paintings. Other characters you will find are her mother, grandmother, her three maiden aunts, Mr Taylor (the bank manager) Helen herself with brother George and their dogs Gyp and Barney. Magazine features, appearances on television and radio endeared this Grandma in her sixties to the general public.

Helen Bradley was awarded the M.B.E. for services to the arts but sadly died on the 19th of July 1979, shortly before she was due to receive her M.B.E. from Her Majesty The Queen.

From 1965 until her death in 1979, Helen Bradley achieved international celebrity and is represented in many public and private art collections worldwide.

Artist: Helen Bradley (1900 - 1979)
Title: The Park on May Day
Medium: Lithograph (signed / blindstamp)
Published: 1973
Edition Copies: 850
Image Size: 18" x 23" (46cm x 58cm)
Price: £295

Reference:
And Miss Carter wore Pink
First published 1971 by Jonathan Cape.

Acknowledgement:
www.helenbradley.co.uk

More 20th Century Modern Art @ http://www.arts-and-crafts-company.com/
Email contact@arts-and-crafts-company.com for more information.

Mouseman Elephant Clock set for success in Edinburgh Scotland.

A rare Robert "Mouseman" Thompson adzed Oak Elephant Mantel Clock (pictured left) recently sold in Edinburgh for £1620 plus buyers premium, despite only being estimated by valuers at just £400 - £600.

The market for Robert "Mouseman" Thompson and his apprentices Yorkshire Oak shows no signs of weakness in the current marketplace as the UK emerges from the global recession.

Also pictured below is a rare Mouseman carved Oak sculpture of an Elephant probably by the same master carver in Yorkshire as the Edinburgh clock, available from Arts and Crafts Company priced at £980, which seems "very reasonable in the light of the latest result from Edinburgh" stated Stephen Sheppard MD of Arts and Crafts Company, who specialise in Robert "Mouseman" Thompson and his apprentices vintage Yorkshire Oak Arts and Crafts furniture.

Visit Arts and Crafts Company @ http://www.arts-and-crafts-company.com/ or Telephone 07917 111141 to reserve this magnificent and rare Mouseman item for someone special this Christmas 2009 and invest in the UK's rural artisans craftsmanship and heritage.

Other Mouseman and his apprentice gift ideas online along with 20th Century Art. http://www.arts-and-crafts-company.com/

Merry Christmas from all at Arts and Crafts Company.

National Antiques Week - 23rd November - 30th November 2009.

As supporters of the "Antiques are Green" campaign Arts and Crafts Company are delighted to report that Antiques News has teamed up with a number of antiques media, associations and event organisers to launch the first National Antiques Week (23rd November - 30th November 2009) which replaces the previous National Antiques Day.

One of the brightest ideas to enter the antiques trade calendar, this first week long event comes at a pivotal time for the antiques trade when public and media interest is heightened by recent campaigns such as "Antiques Are Green" and the petition on antiques.co.uk designed to persuade the government to provide more support to the Fine Art and Antiques industry.

During National Antiques Week, antique dealers will encourage everyone to visit an antiques shop to enjoy various events and benefit from one of the original green recycling businesses which also happens to be a top international money earner for the UK.

Antique dealers want the public to know that buying antiques is not just the preserve of the wealthy - antiques are affordable, desirable, green, practical, durable and adaptable, they work in contemporary interiors and period homes and gardens.

A number of antique dealers have already confirmed events including special exhibitions, talks on antiques by invited guests, competitions, outdoor antiques markets with live music, open weekends, local radio phone-ins and organised antiques trails around a number of shops in one town or region.

All events taking place will be published online by Antiquesnews and BBC Homes & Antiques web sites in the run up to the event. For the first time the event will be themed and for National Antiques Week 2009 the antiques trade will be shouting from the rooftops that “Antiques are Green”!

The “Antiques are Green” campaign was launched in the US a number of years ago by John Fiske, the editor-in-chief of The New England Antiques Journal, who quickly identified that "Behaving green usually involves some self-sacrifice, … antiques call for no self-sacrifice, the opposite in fact self indulgence. Green self-indulgence, what could be more attractive?…”

The UK “Antiques are Green” initiative is being spearheaded by Nigel Worboys of Worboys Antiques in Beaconsfield. The trade and public were invited to choose a logo for the campaign from a selection of five and the clear winner has been chosen by the readers of BBC Homes and Antiques Magazine. For more information see http://www.antiquesaregreen.org/

The BBC, recognising a hot topic, currently has two more prime time antiques shows under review, in addition to the regular series of The Antiques Roadshow, Trust Me I'm a Dealer and other antiques shows.

BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine which will be running a feature in its November 2009 issue under the heading “Save our Antique Shops” to help promote the nation's antiques shops. Inspired in part by National Antiques Week, the recent petition by Iain Brunt and Henry Sandon and tying in with the 'antiques are green' initiative, it will remind people of the importance of antiques shops to the character of our high street and the advantages of shopping for antiques and supporting these businesses.

Natasha Goodfellow deputy editor said “Too many of our high streets are becoming identikit streets with endless bland chain stores. Antiques shops provide a welcome injection of character and difference and of course, the items they sell are truly 'green'. Far better to reuse than to recycle”

Antiques.co.uk will be supporting National Antiques Week and encouraging the trade to take part in this exciting event. Editor Iain Brunt recently joined forces with antiques expert Henry Sandon to write a letter to the Sunday Times following concern in the trade about escalating numbers of closures of independent antique shops.

They wrote: “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.”

The letter and subsequent petition on has galvanized the antiques trade and so far more than 900 readers, trade and public from around the world have responded.

Sign the petition @ http://www.antiques.co.uk/ and support the antiques trade.

ANTIQUES NEWS http://www.news-antiques.com/

ANTIQUES.CO.UK http://www.antiques.co.uk/

ANTIQUES ARE GREEN http://www.antiquesaregreen.org/

ARTS AND CRAFTS COMPANY http://www.arts-and-crafts-company.com/

Arts and Crafts Company - Fine Bindings added to artisan heritage inventory in Oxfordshire.

The famous Swiss scientist Johannes Jacob Scheuchzer (1672-1733) is known as the the founder of paleobotany and European paleontology. He was professor of mathematics at the Carolinum, professor of physics at the Academy, and the director Zurich's Museum of Natural History.

Scheuchzer believed that the Old Testament was a factual account of the history of the world. As a scientist, he embarked on a major project to explain Biblical events in terms of physics, medicine, and natural history. His aim was to prove the existence of God through science, but the Swiss authorities initially refused to grant him a permit to publish it. Eventually a lushly illustrated edition of this extraordinary work was printed between 1731 and 1735 in the great German publishing center Augsburg.

Pictured above is an antique bound Physica Sacra by Johannes Jacob Scheuchzer (1672-1733) in full calf bindings (2 vols) available from Arts and Crafts Company £SOLD.

Arts and Crafts Company will now include amongst our artisan heritage inventory selected fine bindings to compliment our Yorkshire Arts and Crafts Oak furniture and 20th Century Art at Station Mill Antique Centre, Chipping Norton OX7 5HX.

Visit us online @ http://www.arts-and-crafts-company.com/