Sailor Woolworks, also commonly known as ‘Woolies’, became popular in the 19th Century as a pastime hobby for men working out at sea. Sailors learnt sewing and needle work skills through routine tasks such as repairing sails and clothing whilst on board. Seamen utilised these skills to make needle work pictures of their ships and the landscapes they sailed upon; passing the long hours and keeping their fingers nimble in the wind and cold.

Originating as a self-taught hobby and forming a tradition of wool work, these folk art pictures were not intended to be sold, therefore they are unsigned. It can, however, be possible to date the Woolworks, as seamen would incorporate significant elements such as patriotic flags and symbols, and quite often the ships name into the embroidery.

‘A great variety of stitches were used, such as the cross stitch, chain stitch, darning and the quilting technique called trapunto. The earliest existing examples of woolies date from the 1830s, and demonstrate the use of a chain stitch – each stitch seems to go into the one before and is less than a quarter of an inch long.  An adaptation of this stitch is the long stitch, used in woolies after 1840; it is a long stitch that leaves little thread on the back, saves wool and makes for much faster sewing. Some sailors even added bits of bone, metal, wood, glass, or some other such embellishment to decorate their woolwork ship portraits.’ (http://www.vandekar.com/sailors-woolies-woolwork-pictures.asp)

Woolworks were popular up until around World War 1. Since this time, retired seamen and fishermen had taken up the hobby rather than working men at sea. More recent works created a ‘great individual expression to produce remarkable personal tributes to the ships on which they sailed and to their own maritime histories’. Working from home also gave the opportunity to introduce finer materials such as cotton and silk when available, to embellish the traditional wool work.

We have a selection of Sailor Woolwork in our showroom for Sale.

Music Room – Northern Design Awards Winner 2014

Horton were employed as the clients Interior Designers to work alongside the architect on the redesign of this 5 bedroom detached house. The client brief was to create a well-designed, functional family home.

The final room to be designed during the two year long project was the Music Room. The client wanted a bold, contemporary colour palette throughout the house, to showcase their fun and eclectic tastes and personalities. In contrast to the contemporary style of the other rooms, they felt this room should have a more traditional feel.

Both husband and wife are passionate about music and needed to accommodate a grand piano and somewhere to play the cello within the space, along with plenty of seating for guests. This resulted in a well-considered furniture layout, encompassing necessary storage, creating a cosy and intimate setting.

The soft furnishing scheme began with the selection of a beautiful pearlescent gold wallpaper with a strie pattern, giving the effect of silk walls. A strong base palette of deep greens and aubergines were added to give a sense of depth to the room. The client’s love of bold colour and pattern was embraced in the cushions and chairs, using a striking mix of fabrics by Etro and Mulberry, off-set by the bright blue velvet – an unexpected pop of colour.

An assorted arrangement of furniture pieces were specified, including an antler chandelier and candlesticks, Julian Chichester consoles and drinks cabinet and William Yeoward lamps. The designers chose artwork in keeping with the musical theme and interesting accessories such as the incandescent butterfly domes, which add a whimsical twist. Each angle of this room has been designed to offer a unique scene that is pleasing to the eye.

Client Testimonial

Horton’s designers have changed our lives
We gave them a pretty tough brief – ‘we want our house to feel well designed, but not so it looks all design-y. Oh, and we have small children; so it has to look wonderful, but be practical enough so we don’t keep yelling “don’t touch that!” ‘

But they nailed it.
 
Every room feels like us – a true extension of what we’re like.
 
Every room looks different – yet they all flow into each other.
 
Every room is a pleasure to be in.  Even better: we’ve yet to shout “don’t touch that!”

 All our family loves our house.  Our friends love coming round here, as do our children’s friends.  We’ve spent more quality time with friends and family as a result.
 
Horton’s designers have changed how it feels to live here.  They have changed our lives.