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Acanthus
You had to go without a blog post last week as I was on holiday in Cornwall... but while there I came across something interesting. You...
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Toulouse
This last month has been full of great sporting tournaments: the European football title, the Wimbledon tennis tournament, and of course...
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Partners in Battle
You may know that I love a good porcelain figure... not the gaudy figures that you can find in a charity shop, but the true masterpieces...
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Mme de Pompadour and Mme du Barry
I wrote about the colour pink a few weeks ago (you can read it here). Then recently I came across a pink conundrum that puzzled everyone...
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Sea shells, feathers and a lion
A while ago you might have seen a wonderful set of plates similar to these, made by Chamberlains in Worcester in about 1815. That set was...
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Summer Hike
What better to do on a muggy summer day than to go on a hike in the countryside? But if you struggle to get out, I know a way to see the...
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The spirit of invention
This month you can read my latest column in Homes & Antiques: The Spirit of Invention. I am writing about the very beginnings of...
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The Lady and the Seasons
Here in Britain we were just starting to despair about the notion of different seasons as the spring seemed to have been passed over...
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Pink Power
As I’ve shown some bold pink designs lately, I thought to share my ruminations on Pink Power with you… Pink is often thought of as a...
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Early beginnings
Today I will focus on the first major porcelain factory in Britain: the Chelsea factory in London. The Chelsea factory was founded in...