I find it hard to put into words how deeply connected it feels to the landscape, human stories and of course, cloth.
The documentary explores the intersection of nature, art, and sustainability that delves into the journey of transforming nettles into a wearable masterpiece.
I went to see the film at Falmouth Poly in November of 2023, watching alongside a packed auditorium of people of all ages, drawn together perhaps from their own interest in textiles, weaving, spinning and connection to landscape, or just from the tantalising trailer. The film has gained somewhat of a cult following, and I for one am in love!
Shot over a period of 7 years by filmmaker Dylan Howett, the story is that of one man, textile artist Allan Brown, his family, the landscape in which they live, and personal loss.
There is sadness, but ultimately the film is joyously uplifting, funny in parts even, human and of course full of those lovely green plants ubiquitous in UK woodlands and verges - nettles.
In the verdant forests, railway sidings and gardens of England, the humble nettle is ubiquitous. This unassuming plant, often dismissed as a weed, has a rich history deeply rooted in the ecosystems of the UK. They are easily accessible, free (always forage responsibly) and even make a great herbal tea!
Nettles play a vital role in the delicate balance of the UK's ecosystems. As hardy perennials, they thrive in a variety of environments, providing crucial habitat and sustenance for insects and wildlife. Despite their prickly reputation, nettles contribute to the biodiversity of these ecosystems, offering shelter for butterflies and serving as a valuable food source for caterpillars.
Beyond their ecological significance, nettles boast impressive fiber qualities. Historically, nettles were cultivated for their fibers, which were used to create durable textiles. As we delve into the intertwined relationship between humans and nettles, we discover the traditional methods of extracting fibers from these plants and the sustainable practices that underscore their use in textile production.
The UK spinning industry has a rich tapestry woven with various fibers, including flax, hemp, and, of course, nettles. In this section, we trace the evolution of the spinning industry, emphasizing the integral role played by nettles in creating textiles that are not only environmentally friendly but also possess a unique charm. The resurgence of interest in these traditional fibers speaks to a growing awareness of the need for sustainable alternatives in the modern world.
Nettles have left an indelible mark on various cultures, not only as a source of sustainable fashion but also as a potent herbal remedy. In traditional Scandinavian and Nepalese cultures, nettle fibers were historically woven into clothing, creating garments known for their durability and breathability. The resilient nature of nettles made them a practical choice in regions with diverse climates. The use of nettle textiles reflected a deep connection between communities and the natural resources available to them. Moreover, nettles have transcended their role in fashion to become revered in herbal medicine. Renowned for their rich nutritional content and potential health benefits, nettle leaves have been employed for centuries to address ailments ranging from arthritis to allergies. The dual significance of nettles in both fashion and holistic wellness underscores their versatility and enduring presence in the tapestry of global traditions.
As with every story, human and plant, the story of nettles unfolds as a testament to the symbiotic relationship between nature, sustainability and artistry. Nettles, once dismissed as mere weeds, emerge as a source of inspiration, weaving together a narrative that spans centuries, continents, and the boundless creativity of the human spirit.
The Nettle Dress https://www.nettledress.org/
Dylan Howlett http://www.dylanhowitt.com/
Allan Brown https://www.instagram.com/hedgerow.couture/?hl=en
]]>
Daffodil (nariccus - wild daffodil)
I always think of daffodils as being a harbinger of hope and spring - a little ray of sunshine to brighten the dullest of days. Introduced by the Romans, who believed in their healing powers, daffodils have been seen in English gardens for over 300 years, although commercial farming wasn't started in earnest until much later. They are first referenced in Greek botanical works dating back to 300 BC, so certainly have an extensive heritage!
Nowadays, Cornwall is a major grower of narcissi, harvesting 80% of the cut flowers that are sold globally (source: https://cornwall.uk/ )
For a week or so in this late UK winter time, I have been using some Cornwall grown daffodils from my local newsagent to start a plant dye experiment on silk and string.
Daffodil blooms themselves are short-lived, but as a thought prolong the enjoyment of the beautiful colour, use fresh or dried flower heads to make a dye bath.
MORDANT - from the French verb, modre - to bite, mordants are metal salts that are used in solution to act as a chemical binder between plant pigment and textile.
Check out the photo above, a beautiful demonstration of the difference using a mordant makes in the natural dye process. The pale yellow 🌼 was achieved with daffodils and no mordant, the vibrant sunshine ☀️ yellow using silk pre-treated with a mordant - commonly called 'alum' - potassium aluminium sulfate (PAS). This is the most common of mineral (metal) salts used in mordanting, and used for protein fibres. What are those? Well, they are fibres from animals - which include silk and wool.
Method
You can use deadheaded dafoddils which still have some colour, but may have gone past their best in your garden. Alternatively grab a bunch of daffodils and await their blooms whilst in a jug of water.
Equipment and materials
Plastic, stainless steel or glass pots to soak the fabric in
Utensils (spoons or stirrer) for stirring dye bath and removing dyed items
Health and Safety NoteHealth and safety is a very important part of your dye kitchen set up. Most of the plants we use to dye are not edible in their own right (tea is an exception to this rule). Therefore PLEASE FOLLOW the guideliens set out below.
If you are working with old fabrics that have been washed previously, simply soak in cold water and wring out before dying.
If you are using a new textile, wash in a pH neutral detergent /soda ash (use gloves) to remove any dirt, waxes or coatings.
Mordanting (for silk/wool)
Weigh your dry fibre (e.g. the scarf, piece of cloth, ribbon etc)
WOF (Weight Of Fibre):
e.g. 100g
Weight of mordant required
e.g. for silk, using alum at 15% WOF, so 15% of 100 = 15 grams of alum
Method - mordanting
Dissolve alum (potassium aluminium sulfate) in very hot water in a non-reactive container
Add the dissolved chemical to the dye pot with warm water to cover (around 30:1 ratio water to fibre)
Stir well and add the scoured wet fibre. bring temperature up to 90 deg C, rotate so alum is evenly distributed for an hour
Cool for 20 minutes
Remove fibre from the mordant bath and hang to dry over non-reactive rod/line
Once dry, mordanted yarns and fibres can be stored for a long time
Method - Dyeing
Add hot tap water to the dye pot (enough so that the fibres can move freely)
Add dyestuff - daffodil blooms
Wet the fibres to be added, and add the cloth (already scoured and mordanted), to the dye pot
Bring to heat slowly (don't boil)
Leave for usually around 1 hour
Turn off heat, allow dye bath to cool slowly
(Alternative quick method -
The more dafoddil heads you add, you add, the stronger the final colour will be. Leave for up to a day.
Add your fabric as per following instructions, or even with the dafoddil heads if you don't mind an uneven result.)
Remove item from dyebath and rinse gently in cold water
Hang out to dry in sunlight if possible
Put a handful of dafoddil flower heads (or more) into a non-reactive vessel and pour over hot water to cover. Just leave for the colour to develop.
The more dafoddil heads you add, you add, the stronger the final colour will be. Leave for up to a day.
Add your fabric as per following instructions, or even with the dafoddil heads if you don't mind an uneven result.
Making Notes
Don’t forget to make notes, take samples, perhaps press a dafoddil bloom as part of your experiments.
Experimental dyeing on pre-mordanted silk ribbons in the winter has yielded some rather beautiful results.
After creating an immersion bath (think steeping tea bags, but use buddliea seeds/seed pods instead), I went on to try some bundle dyeing, again using pre-treated silks.
NB: Health & Safety - always use separate non-reactive bowls and utensils for your plant dyeing. Work in a clean well-venitlated space, and keep dye baths away from children and animals. We also advise to wear gloves and other protective equipment in case of allergic reactions.
Buddleia seeds are tiny (only mm in length), encased in a sturdy seedpod to protect them. Imported by Victorian plant hunters to the UK, this non-native plant produces a profusion of pink to purple flowers on pendulous heads during summer months, and a rather less appealing mass of brown seed heads in winter.
The top silk ribbon in the image above shows the results of the immersion dyeing - a beautiful golden cream colour, one I am sure that brides and florists might rather desire!
The ribbon at the bottom was bundle dyed using seeds (and seed casings - they were just too difficult to remove), on pre-treated super wide silk ribbons. I love the energy in these, like an explosion of nature dotted across the ribbon.
]]>
Images: Thanks to The Garden Gate Flower Company, and 3 Acre Blooms (centre image)
There is nothing more pleasing to my eye than cascading streams of silk ribbons blowing in the breeze. Whilst I do adore them adorning my studio, they work far better on your bouquet, adding a sense of movement, a call of the wild if you will.
HOW LONG IS A PIECE OF RIBBON?
Who is going to need ribbon? The bride is, of course, deserving of the longest and wildest of silk streams (if she so desires!). I love to mix colours and widths, even fabrics, to create a stunning effect. Bridesmaids, Maids of Honour, Flower Girls, delicate silks for buttonholes, something for the cake even?
Idea: For warm tones, choose soft Gold Taupe
WILD RIVER
For the full on, no holds barred ribbon streamer, go for 12 metres of ribbon, split into 3 lengths of different colours and/or widths. A duo of wide silk habotai teamed with a more modest width bamboo silk works wonders.
SILK STREAM
More knee length than floor sweeping, you will need 3-6 metres as a minimum, effective as one colour or split into two, either contrasting or tonal.
ROMANTIC RIVULET
An elegant understated look will need between 1 and 3 metres (you can always use any remaining from the spool for other styling). Ivory Quartz, Ballet Blush and Pink Blush are always popular choices.
SEASONAL COLOURS
For a soft and romantic look, work with seasonal, natural tones in the ribbons. I love Winter Green paired with Bright Ivory, pale apricot Ballet Blush bamboo silks and warm Gold Taupe or even softest Silver Moon grey and Ivory Quartz.
COLOUR POP
Where gentle is just not the order of the day, you can really go to town with a riot of colours. Our coral toned Tulip Tree bamboo is a firm favourite teamed with Gold Taupe, and our Indian Collection including spicy Jaipur Sunset and Rajasthan Pink are hot favourites for the summer.
Ribbons will be with you well after the beautiful flowers they adorned have faded, a treasured memory of your wonderful day, maybe even an heirloom for the next generation.
Tie up your wedding photos and special memories with soft silks, a special gift to yourself of your wedding day. Let our ribbons be part of your special story
Image and Flowers: The Garden Gate Flower Company
From our Seasonal Limited Collections 2021
All images: John Hersey Studio
]]>
A glimmer
Of gorse
And golden Sun
Panic rise
Hope spins
Earth turns
Moon Rise
Dream swim
April 2020, Sian Cornish
]]>
The story of the Indigo River is the story of Cornwall, cascading from the rugged granite outcrops of Bodmin Moor along its meandering path out to the coast. Told in this collection through a series of marks, made using my own adaptation of an ancient Japanese shibori technique called Arashi, the story unfolds in markings, representing movement and pattern, tidal ebb and flow, made with intention to communicate both landscape and soul.
Indigo (Indigofera tinctoria)
This is a tidal river, ever changing, inviting me for a swim on occasions, too wild and free on others, just observed from the banks.
As part II to the collection, I also channeled a deeper river, more pigmented and with hidden depths.
Used here as a wonderful hair band and tie, simply knotted for an elegant finish.
]]>
Our first Limited edition ribbon, we used gorgeous organic British made silk, with soft edges and a lightweight fnish allowing the markings to be clearly seen.
Wonderful to watch the ribbon waft in the breeze - we can really imagine this tied around a loose ponytail, or as a wonderful finishing touch to a special gift.
My work always starts with a story, and this one was firmly rooted in the Cornish landscape. Soft rain, the gentle ebb and flow of the sea, and colours of Cornwall - a gentle green found at Menabilly, home to Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca, hints of pink from seaweed and shells, and the shadows from the tall trees on the path down to the beach.
Warmth radiates from these destination wedding images from Davy Achten of Alle Gebeure Wedding Planning and Stying, caputred by Wim Van Hengel photographer.
Set at a beautiful traditional Spanish casa, Casa Benagalip, with rows of olive trees and more than a spot of romance in the air, this beautiful styled shoot showcases a stunning venue and how simple but beautiful table settings can work wonders.
Venue: Casa Benigalip |Photographer: In Love Photography |Concept, planning, styling & stationery: Alle Gebeure wedding planning & styling|Make-up & hair: Dee Wilkes– Beautiful Brides in Spain | Bridal dress: JB Couture Hasselt | Kimono bride, jewellery, hairpiece bride: Wedding Deco | Flowers: La Maison de Roses | Rentals: Alquileres Kava | Silk ribbons bridal bouquet, silk tablerunner & silk napkins: Lancaster & Cornish
Sent out to cast and crew across the nation, we love imagining the joy on people's faces as they open the delights inside, including dried flower headpieces and boutonnieres for the launch of Bridgerton, all lovingly made in studio by the talented team at Jam Jar.
]]>
Wild swimming is my sanctuary, my solace, somewhere to escape the world and just be in nature. I’ve been doing it for a two years now, after a friend invited me to go wild swimming with her in a beautiful swim spot close to where I live in Cornwall.
Before long, there was a small group of us – women swimming together, stripping down to our swimwear in secluded beauty spots and taking to the open water. And I’ve not really looked back. I can honestly say that wild swimming changed my outlook and has been the greatest tonic for my mental health.
(Edit: During the various lockdowns and restrictions of 2020 and 2021, I have continued my wild swimming journal when it has been safe and within the guideliens to do so - Wild river swimming in my home town has become an alternative to the sea!).
Our limited collection of plant dyed silk scrunchies was popular in 2020, which was, lets face it, the year of staying in and putting up our hair!
From time to time will launch new Limited Edition silk accessory collections, including hair and fashion accessories, as well as glorious silk ribbons inspired by the landscape.
Sumptuous, elegant, vibrant and versatile, these vegan hair accessories are created from wood silk, dyed using natural plant dyes by artisan partners in India, using Jaggery, Madder, Indigo and Pomegranate.
Hand-crafted, these scrunchies are oversized and blousy, a real statement, handmade using organic cotton threads and UK manfactured elastic. Perfect for top knots, messy buns or perfect plaits – wear your scrunchie to add a pop of colour to a casual outfit, dressed up or down, worn for everyday chic or evening glamour.
Timeless, tactile and super-luxe, why not get one in every colour! Presented in a a bespoke Lancaster & Cornish linen bag for safe keeping.
All images by Holes In The World Studio
This glorious shoot took place on a very cold March day several years ago, in and around my home in Cornwall and the studio and growing garden of The Garden Gate Flower Company. In a true artisan collaboration, the beautiful team followed the making of a wedding gown right from the dyeing of the organic silks (with matching silk ribbons, of course!), through the creation of a bespoke dress and a final styled shoot on an iconic Cornish beach, with stellar photogapher Taylor & Porter with glorious wedding bouquet by The Garden Gate Flower Company.
The desire to take forward my family heritage in the textile industry with an ethical heart is what drives me at Lancaster & Cornish. Textiles are in my blood. Starting with my Great-Grandparents cotton weaving in the Lancashire Mills of north-west England, the story continues into the 1900’s with my Grandad, David Lancaster, selling textiles from around the globe.
Location and Flowers: The Garden Gate Flower Company
Dress: Claire L Headdon Bridal Design
I work with natural dyes, foraged and gathered where possible from the beautiful Cornish countryside that surrounds me. Our palette of colours, developed in my Cornwall Studio, evolves with and responds to the seasons. However I am also a pragmatist, keen to see natural dyes embraced more in to the mainstream fashion world, so I also use of extracts and ground plant matter in our commercial work, mindful of our clients desire for repeatable colours.
Making and dyeing by hand allows us to forge a connection to nature and to the client, creating meaningful pieces that may be passed from generation to generation.
I chose to dye with Camellias as they are, for me, all about Cornwall. Victorian plant hunters brought seeds of new species over from the Far East in the early 20th century to Caerhays Castle near where I live and, aided by the mild climate, these beautiful plants thrive in Cornish gardens today. The camellia blooms for this project were picked on a cold March morning from a large private garden at the top of a wooded lane above our house. It was a wonderful moment to return to the studio with a huge trug of deep pink flowers, anticipation growing for the final result.
Dyeing 20 metres of beautiful organic silk from Claire L. Headdon was nerve-wracking. Working with the largest vat of camellias I have ever used, I was so excited to see the beautiful soft colours emerge, before finding somewhere to dry the fabric naturally (a challenge in the English climate at the best of times). The fabric is then ironed before preparing to pass on to Claire.
The sea and the remote ancient settled moorlands give the landscape a special quality that isn’t found elsewhere in the UK. Cornwall is full of creative individuals, inspired by the land we live in and the need to create our own path. We are less tied to the high pressure unsustainable fashion industry down here in the south west, and that gives us a certain freedom of expression.
Often when I have finished a piece, whether a ribbon or a table runner, and in particular with this project, I find it hard to let the piece go. Through working with natural materials, you develops an affinity with the fabric, a sense of ownership, a piece of invisible thread that runs from nature to artisan to the final client. Somehow the fabric becomes imbued with meaning, and sense of place. There is a joy of working with creative, like-minded individuals, businesses and clients that cannot be replicated on the high street.
Natural dyes seem to change with the light and are not harsh colours like commercial dyes. Buying from artisans is ultimately more satisfying – you are getting an heirloom piece and something to treasure long after the wedding or event is over. Many of my clients report back that they keep their silk ribbons after the wedding as a special keepsake, where perhaps if they were mass produced they wouldn’t feel so special.
Abigail Lucy Weddings and Events invited us to be part of this glorious shoot celebrating a blend of cultures and wedding traditions, at Hawkstone Hall in Shropshire. Abigail specialises in luxury weddings, parties and events with an amazing attention to detail, and in her own words ‘making the impossible, possible’. The setting is stunning, recently renovated to provide the perfect backdrop to a luxury wedding banquet and intimate ceremony.
Amongst the green plants and foliage in the setting, the colour palette retained an understated elegance whilst adding show stopping pops of wonderful ivory, pink and orange flowers, with our Lancaster & Cornish tulip tree peach. With my passion for colour, I was delighted to use our bamboo silk runners in both Ivory Quartz and Tulip Tree peach to adorn the stunning table and wedding cake table. Peach Bamboo silk delicately frayed silk ribbons were tied around the menu cards, and added another pop of colour to the scheme. With our ribbons and runners offering a beautiful alternative for a vegan wedding, these were a wonderful choice.
Wedding photographer Zehra Jagani produced an incredible series of images showcasing both the venue and set up, and also the beautiful wedding dresses , accessories and shows.
Lancaster & Cornish
Featured on Brides Up North and Bridal Musings
Photographer Anna Laero produced stunning imagery capturing the pair as they prepared for their big day in style. Featuring our naturally dyed silk table napkins in Madder Rose, and a gorgeous ivory bamboo silk table runner, the tablescape was paired back and beautiful.
Soft Old Rose and Madder Rose silk ribbons adorned the flowing bouquet, and pale Ivory silks on spools were used in the monochrome flatlay styling.
Venue: The Mansion / Styling, calligraphy and stationery: Victoria Fiaretti (Wood & Grace) / Photographer: Anna Laero Photography / Dress Designer: Lindee Daniel / Cake: Tasty Bakery
]]>Ribbons have always been used to signify beauty, fashion and celebration, they are among the oldest decorative materials in the world. Some evidence suggests that ribbons would have been used for dancing, waved in joy during the Middle Bronze Age. And yet ribbons are as relevant and cherished for celebrations today as they have been through history, connecting cultures across the world.
The novel Emma would have originally been set in the Georgian era and so a modern remake of this classic meant a need for authentic artisan ribbons that would suit the style of the film, providing a colour palette that had continuity and could be repeatedly returned to throughout different scenes.
It was so incredible to be asked to create the ribbons for Emma. Working to very tight timescales I found myself dying hundreds of metres or ribbons in a very short space of time, even running out of time to create Emma’s actual wedding ribbon – at one point I considered rushing to Chavenage House in Tetbury to hand deliver it myself to the set.
But aside from the timescales, it was a complete honour to create something for such a timeless much-told tale. For those who don’t know, Emma is a story by Jane Austen about a socialite (Emma Woodhouse) who entertains herself by playing matchmaker. The theme of marriage and matchmaking runs throughout, leading to many romantic misadventures.
As someone with a family history in textiles and fabrics, my Grandfather and Great Grandfather owned D. M Lancaster, a three-floor fabric emporium in central Manchester in the twenties and thirties, sourcing incredible fabrics from all over the world. My Great Grandfather was a cotton weaver and to be creating ribbons for a historic production such as this 100 years later is amazing for me, after all, textiles are in my blood.
My family history working with fabrics is the perfect placement for me to have created these ribbons, each hand-dyed, just as they would have been 100 years ago. I was able to create new colours using traditional dye plants Weld and Madder with everything created and coloured personally by hand from my studio in Cornwall
Working closely with florist Tamsin Scott, the handheld posy for Miss Woodhouse at the start of the film was beautifully tied with my lilac silk ribbons. The banquet scene which was something else entirely contained hundreds of metres of burgundy silk, it looked sensational and featured ribbons cascading from the wall garlands – it took three florists setting up the room from 5am to get it perfect with the fireplace prop assistants testing them so that they also had billowing clouds of smoke to contend with (movie sets are not all about glamour, darling). If you have seen the film, you may also have seen that there was also burgundy silk around the neck of the unfortunate goose given as a gift to Mr Martin by Emma.
Months of research went into devising the flowers for Emma, with Tamsin and her team working out what would be growing in each season (as Emma was filmed with every season in just the one in reality). The colour continuity throughout the film was amazing – a striking scheme of lilac, yellow and amber/burnt orange, even detailed in the earrings that worn.
But I think what I love most of all – more than the colour and the novelty of being a part of such an iconic British novel and brilliant screenplay, is that I love the history that runs through everything, quite literally. Creating these ribbons I felt connected to my ancestors and our sense of story, and to the makers across all of the centuries who would have been dying ribbons all of those years ago, that sense of creativity and story that is woven into all that we do as makers in the wedding and fashion industries. Working with ribbons connects me to my roots and that is what I have always loved.
A celebration of modern craftspeople from the South West of England, this gorgeous book from Anya Rice and Katherine Sorrell is a visual feast. And yes, I do feature. What page I hear you ask? Pages 138 -143 dedicated to Lancaster & Cornish - what an honour!
I loved spending time with photographer Anya Rice and writer Kathrine Sorrel showing them some of my craft, doing some seasonal gorse dyeing and opening up the studio to share the love.
Featuring the work of 25 other makers, Make: Cornwall is a book about the joy of the hand made, the passion and integrity of makers, and the power of a very special place. This sumptuously photographed and elegantly designed hardback book demonstrates the incredible diversity and quality of contemporary craft in the Far West.
Make: Cornwall offers a secret peek into 25 makers' work spaces, their tools and techniques and their making processes, with glorious photos of their finished products and lists of where to see and buy, as well as beautiful portraits of the makers themselves and the landscapes that surround them.
]]>
The 2018 bouquet was presented on the night of the performance to HRH Duchess of Sussex (Meghan Markle) and the beautiful autumnal tones were complimented with gold and soft ivory shades of silk ribbons.
]]>
We were delighted to be featured on the wonderful UK Wedding Blog LOVE MY DRESS with the launch of our naturally dyed bamboo silk hair ties. The blog post also tells you a little bit more about founder Sian Cornish, her inspiration and process and a sneak at what is is to be a working Mum!
It was a pleasure to work with Annabel of Love My Dress in telling a little bit about my story, what makes Lancaster & Cornish a special destination for brides and clients, and of course to show off our wonderful and ethical wares.
Annabel Beeforth, stylist and owner of Love My Dress, used the ribbons in the models hair and also tied around hangers - creating a romantic finish, and an inspirational idea for re-use of the ribbons.
Photography - Taylor & Porter | Art Direction, Styling + Concept - Annabel Beeforth & Philip Beeforth, Love My Dress | Films - Lawson Films | Jewellery - Emmy London for H Samuel | Shoes - Emmy London | Venue - JJ Media | Furniture - Velvet Living | Silk Ribbons in hair and on hangers: Lancaster & Cornish | Stationery - EYI Love | Makeup - Kristina Gasperas | Hair - Kasia Fortuna | Florals - Firenza Flowers | Knitwear - Toast + Emmy's Own | Jeans - Topshop | Leather Jacket - Whistles (Stylists own) |Model - Chelsea Rose Hart via Wilhelmina Models
]]>Romance is well and truly alive in this gorgeous editorial from Kim Balasubaranium of The Business of Weddings, and Zoisa Zacharia Photography.
An amazing team of creatives created a timeless feeling of elegance, and we were delighted to have our gorgeous soft pink blush silks, bespoke woad dyed blue bamboo and a special silk runner included in the beauty.
Planning, design and styling: Kim Balasubramaniam, The Business of Weddings
Photography: Zosia Zacharia
Videography: Baxter & Ted
Venue: Somerley Weddings and Events
Floral design: Ricky Paul Flowers
Crockery, cutlery, glassware: Duchess Butler
Linen: Just 4 Linen
Stationery: Rose and Ruby
Silk ribbons and runners: Lancaster & Cornish
Headpieces: Agnes Walker Jewellery
Gown: Naomi Neoh
Shoes: Emmy London
Cakes: The Custom Cake Boutique
Jewellery: Webbs Jewellers
Hair and make-up: Chill House Makeup
Styling assistant: Bride2be Blog
Car: Ultimate Classic Car Hire
I am often asked why I started Lancaster & Cornish....
It is a reasonable question! For someone who studied Geology, and took a Masters in Environmental Science, the path to a career in naturally dyed textiles does not seem an obvious one. The answer is woven into the Lancaster family story and my very own textile heritage.
I never knew I had a family background in textiles. When I first started Lancaster & Cornish, it was simply a passion – that feeling of fabric through the fingers, finding the gorgeous grains hidden in the silks and experimenting, creating depth from the textures.
It was only many years later that I found out that it’s in my blood. It turns out that my Grandfather and Great Grandfather owned D. M. Lancaster, a three-floor fabric emporium in George Street, central Manchester in the twenties and thirties. They sourced incredible fabrics from all over the world. My Great-Grandfather was a cotton weaver and it’s amazing to think that 100 years later I’m experiencing the same beauty and simple satisfaction from my own personal experience with cottons and silks every single day.
The material for my Grandmother Elizabeth's bridesmaids dresses was chosen by Elizabeth from the huge selection at D. M Lancaster Ltd. She chose plain white silk, and her sister Mary chose a pretty white spotted organza which required a lining. A cousin, Mary Griffiths, was a professional milliner (she made hats for Lady Lloyd George) and made a bonnet lined with pale blue silk for little sister Mair. All the wedding clothes were put in a small bedroom at their relatives cottage (no running water, and the bride shared the bed with her 2 sisters!). As always, little wedding hiccups! Mair paraded around getting under everyone’s feet, the wrong flowers were delivered. In spite of being reminded, William forgot to remove his heavy overcoat and scarf at the church and gave away his daughter dressed for the Artic!
D. M Lancaster Ltd was born in the 1920's - 3 floors of fabric at 27 George Street, Manchester providing all manner of fabrics. 1940 and the war years were dark times. The family (with their daughter Eileen and now with my Dad, Glynne, born in 1938) moved away from the bombings of Manchester to the safety of the seaside at Lytham St Anne’s. The buying and selling of cloth was highly regulated and rationed. One night my grandfather received a call about a bombing in George Street. He arrived the next morning to find only the shell of the building left - he could see right through to the basement, and everything was gone. However, the opposite side of the road was intact, and new premises were found at 24 George Street.
And the shop? ................Now part of Manchester’s China Town.
The beat goes on.