The Winner

Connor's a little slow these days and not interested in much besides sleeping. He's sick of being tormented by his new puppy friend and so is doing a lot of hiding out.I finally cajoled him into picking a 2nd Anniversary winner. And the winner is... Athenaeus Banquet from somewhere in the Southern US. Pop me an e-mail and let me know your address. Thanks so much to everyone who left a comment to help celebrate my 2nd Anniversary in Blogland.

David's House

My friend David Weisand of McLain-Wiesand, had his house featured in the local paper's Dream Home section today. I've written about David here, here and here. David's an incredible artist and custom designs and builds furniture. He lives above the store in a huge two-story space. The balcony, which overlooks the store's office, leads into David's living space.

Here are some images of his house, courtesy of the Baltimore Sun.

Possibly a Sherle Wagner sink.

The living room of David's house with some of his gorgeous klismos-style chairs. The kitchen which David designed and then built. A Morrocan-style lamp that David designed. David's bedroom under the eaves with some of his sculptures watching over him.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Wedgwood Editorial in the NYT

There was an excellent editorial in the New York Times today about the Wedgwood bankrputcy. One of the main points was something I said the other day: If the current company used the sales and other innovative techniques that Josiah Wedgwood developed, they wouldn't be in trouble today. They simply have not kept up with the times.

Here's the article in full:

They Broke It
By Judith Flanders
London
THE crystal and ceramics company Waterford Wedgwood, whose roots go back 250 years, has been placed in administration, or what is called bankruptcy protection in the United States. While high manufacturing costs, declining demand for luxury goods and a weak dollar may have precipitated matters, this is not a credit-crunch story — it is a history lesson.

The company is in trouble because it has long forgotten the lessons of one of its founders: Josiah Wedgwood, among the greatest and most innovative retailers the world has ever seen. If the modern operators of Wedgwood, which was merged with Waterford Glass in 1986, had shown a tenth of Josiah’s intuitive grasp, his flair, his zest for selling, it would not now be dying.

Today when most people think of Wedgwood, they think of bridal registries and those dusty-looking blue-and-white jasperware plates that no one knows what to do with. But things were once very different.

Josiah was an unlikely hero. He was the 13th child of an impoverished potter; a childhood case of smallpox left Josiah with a bad leg that was later amputated, making it impossible for him to turn a potter’s wheel. But if he could not physically throw a pot, he could — and did — find new ways to get goods to market. He threw himself into various schemes to improve roads and canals. And, more fundamentally, he developed new ways of selling. Most, if not all, of the common techniques in 20th-century sales — direct mail, money-back guarantees, traveling salesmen, self-service, free delivery, buy one get one free, illustrated catalogues — came from Josiah Wedgwood.

First, of course, came the product. In 1759, Josiah set up a small company in Stoke-on-Trent, in west-central England, to produce earthenware, a cheap, everyday material that was dull, porous and broke easily. But by the 1760s, he made a technical breakthrough and produced “creamware,” a rich, creamy-looking glazed pottery that looked like porcelain but was able to withstand temperature changes. Soon Josiah had even worked out how to print designs on it — all this, at a relatively inexpensive price.

Its worth was quickly recognized: in 1765, Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, ordered a creamware tea set. For most people, that would be the pinnacle; for Josiah, it was the start. He now called himself “Potter to Her Majesty” and renamed creamware “Queen’s Ware.” In a letter to his business partner, he marveled at “how rapidly the use of it has spread” and “how universally it is liked,” and tried to balance how much this had to do with its royal “introduction” versus “its utility and beauty.”

That is the true Wedgwood. It wasn’t pleasure at past achievement, but instead determination to understand why success had come about, so he could build on it. Selling was an intellectual pleasure, an art form.

No fad was too small. In 1772, when women started bleaching their hands with arsenic to make their skin a fashionable porcelain tone, Wedgwood immediately advertised black teapots: against this background, hands looked even whiter. No cause was too great, either: the company produced emancipation medallions asking, “Am I not a man and a brother?” that were worn as buttons and bracelets.

Until Wedgwood came along, most companies had seen royal commissions as nothing but grief: they were one-offs and, therefore, profits were negligible. When Catherine the Great ordered a 925-piece dinner service in 1773, Wedgwood made perhaps £200 on an outlay of nearly £3,000. But as a marketing tool, the set was beyond price. Each piece had an image of a stately home, and before the order was dispatched, Josiah exhibited it in his showroom so that visitors could see whose houses were immortalized. Naturally, duplicate pieces were available for purchase.

Today, in the Waterford Wedgwood showroom here on Piccadilly the various lines of china are piled up bargain-basement style. While the product is still good, the marketing is dreadful. The company has been both profligate and miserly — it has hired hot designers, but then has scrimped by not spending money to change the molds; as a result, contemporary design is crudely imposed on 100-year-old shapes. Indeed, the company has returned to Josiah’s “diffusion” principle — offering cheaper lines for different segments of the population — but has failed to advertise this fact.

As the news of the company’s travails broke this week, it was clear from Web chatter that most people think Wedgwood is a “luxury” and a “traditional” brand, with no inexpensive lines or innovative designers. Neither is true, but perception, as Josiah knew, is the ultimate truth. Twenty-first century Wedgwood has been more old-fashioned than 18th-century Wedgwood, and that has been its undoing.

Judith Flanders is the author of “Inside the Victorian Home.”

New White House China

Have you seen the new White House china that was just delivered this week? There are two patterns, one more formal than the other.
The Magnolia pattern is the "casual" china and 75 seven-piece place settings were delivered. In addition to the large magnolia, some of the plates are intricately decorated with bugs (real, not electronic) and other insects that are part of the flora and fauna on the White House grounds. This pattern was made by Pickard China in Illinois and was designed by Hungarian-born Anna Weatherly, who is now an American citizen.

The formal pattern is modelled on Dolley Madison's china, with an American eagle in the center, and a green basketweave pattern around the edges.The eagle motif is taken from an inlay on a Massachusetts sideboard in the White House . This pattern was made by Lenox and consists of 320 14-piece place settings.

Check out the pearl-handled knives in both of the pictures. It looks like the dreaded fish-knife on the far right of the setting.

CV Now and Then

I was just over checking out my pal Joni's blog, Cote de Texas and she's done a magnificent post on Carleton Varney and his new book, In The Pink, Dorothy Draper. Well, for ages, I've been writing about his old Book of Decorating Ideas, circa 1971.What I have been doing is opening his magic book and taking his suggestion from the early 70's and seeing if it holds up today. For the most part, he's done pretty well. After all, he was trained by the master, Dorothy Draper.

Really, how could he go wrong?

China or Cotton

I am celebrating the second anniversary of Pigtown Design later this week, so I thought you might want to join in the fun by sending along a comment. The Connor-pup will be put to work on the actual anniversary, January 8, and pick out a comment. The winner will receive either a set of beautiful cotton napkins or a piece of hand-picked china from my collection.

This blog has been the most interesting experience. I've met so many great people, both in person and on-line. I've given away some great books and presents and I've gotten some in return. I am continually amazed at what I've learned. As always, thank you for taking the time to read Pigtown Design. I appreciate it so much!

Wedgwood in an Ikea World

Another interesting take on the recent news about Waterford/Wedgwood is in this article from the Times of London. Take a look.

The ironic thing is that Josiah Wedgwood was a huge innovator and self-promotor, two things that the current company was lacking.

Waterford/Wedgwood Files for Bankruptcy

It was just announced that the Waterford/Wedgwood group has filed for bankruptcy. Waterford Wedgwood's lenders had repeatedly given the company extra time to arrange new funding and agreed to defer loan payments until 2 January. It has been negotiating with a US private equity firm over the sale of a controlling stake in return for taking on its debts and providing $280m of capital. But the company's board was forced to call in the receivers after its lenders, led by Bank of America, refused to postpone its interest payments for a fourth time.

The firm has posted a loss for the last five financial years, as declining demand for its products pushed sales down. Its future has been uncertain for months, despite attempts to cut costs by closing some sites and moving production to eastern Europe and Indonesia. Thousands of jobs have already been lost in the UK and Ireland.

Here's an interesting article about this.

From: The Guardian

St. Fagan's Castle

Now that the holidays are over and things are settling back to a routine, I thought I would share some more of my UK adventures. I stayed with my ex-housemate and his two children in Cardiff and had the chance to visit the St. Fagans, the Museum of Welsh Life for the first time. (I'd actually been in their carpark about 10 years ago, but never made it inside.)

More than 40 buildings have been moved to the site, which is home to St. Fagan's Castle*, an unlikely melding of a Victorian house attached to a 14th century castle wall. The castle was owned by the Earl of Plymouth and his family, who used it as a summer home.

The castle sits high over the River Ely and the day we were there, the river and streams feeding were running wild after the recent snow and rain. Mostly we toured the gardens, and that's where most of my pictures were taken, since photography was forbidden inside the house... well, maybe I did take one or two inside, but I didn't use a flash.

This reminded me of the front porch at the house where I grew up! Staircase leading from the terrace above down to the weir in the picture below.
The lower garden, where archaeologists think that they used to trap fish in the 1500's.
Knot gardens, which must be gorgeous in the spring and summer.
Talk about Bleak House! Doesn't this look like it came right out of a scary Victorian novel?
I love the angle of this archway carved into the old hedge.
This is a rose bower, which must be stunning when it's in bloom. It was rather scary the day we visited.
Another formal garden. There are two of these on the seven hectare garden section of the Museum.
This is truly a golden gate. It leads to a private garden in the estate.
Another rose bower. This one is on the terraced gardens leading from the castle to the weir.
I love doors, walkways and gates. This is leading from the older part of the castle to the gardens.
To see all of the pictures from our outing to St. Fagan's, click here.

*The person who runs the Castles of Wales website lives just outside of Baltimore. Needless to say, I didn't discover his site until I moved to Wales.

Welcome to 2009

They're shooting off the fireworks that were postponed from last night due to the high winds and danger to the barges moored in the Inner Harbour. Connor's not terribly happy and he just keeps ooching closer and closer to me. Luckily, they'll only last for 20 or so minutes and then all will be quiet.

I have a tradition of calling one of my old friends in London who is Scottish and singing Auld Lang Syne to her answerphone, but knew she was in Scotland. Instead, I called the House of Beauty & Culture and had a lovely laugh with him! Check out his great new header... it is fabulous!

Last night's party was lovely, with a gorgeous beef stew, incredible shrimp and the most amazing Bananas Foster Trifle, courtesy of the Chefs.

I haven't really decided on resolutions for the new year yet, aside from the usual ones: be healthier, be nicer, etc. But I have been thinking about some: take at least one picture every day, post most days, find an outlet for my creative endeavours, be nicer. What are your resolutions?