We're on the hunt for the perfect British-style haberdashery...but on this side of the Atlantic. It all started when my dear friend (who blogs at Holiness in the Ordinary) sent Clare the book Clara Button and the Wedding Day Surprise by Amy de la Haye for Clare's birthday. I was excited that the book arrived from Hay-on-Wye (the Welsh town of books that is the subject of one of my favorite memoirs, Sixpence House by Paul Collins). Clare, who didn't really understand the Hay-on-Wye significance, immediately fell in love with the book itself. It is the story of a girl who spends her days creating clothes for her stuffed animals and making messes into beautiful creations. Clara Button could in fact be Clare.
For months, Clare would take this book to bed each night and look at the amazing pictures. The book is illustrated by Emily Sutton, who is splendid. It is no surprise that this gorgeous book is published by none other than London's Victoria & Albert museum. Through Clare's careful study of the book, she fell in love with one page--the illustration of Clara's visit to the Haberdashery. The stunning picture shows bins of yarns; rolls upon rolls of fabric; baskets of flowers, ribbons and feathers; and a fantastic selection of beads.
For months, Clare would take this book to bed each night and look at the amazing pictures. The book is illustrated by Emily Sutton, who is splendid. It is no surprise that this gorgeous book is published by none other than London's Victoria & Albert museum. Through Clare's careful study of the book, she fell in love with one page--the illustration of Clara's visit to the Haberdashery. The stunning picture shows bins of yarns; rolls upon rolls of fabric; baskets of flowers, ribbons and feathers; and a fantastic selection of beads.
In America, "haberdashery" refers to a shop specializing in men's clothing. In Britain, the term refers to those embellishing odds and ends used in sewing. Clare wants to find a British haberdashery. She wants to find a store where she can look through bins of buttons, ribbons, tassels and various sparkles. While chain craft and fabric stores might have these items, what Clare wants is a quirky old store with piles of random odd and ends everywhere.
While my mom was still in town, we visited Quilt Patch in Fairfax, Virginia, hoping that it would satisfy Clare's longings. It is a fabulous quilt store with beautiful fabrics and is housed in a quirky old Victorian house. The girls picked out some of their favorite fabrics and my mom bought them a few fat quarters and started them on their first nine patch quilt. All of this is very special, but Clare has made clear that the store was not a real haberdashery.
Today I received an email from my mom announcing that she has found Clare's store: M&J Trimming. One slight problem--it is in New York City. But, that's closer than London. And closer than Madrid, where this awesome haberdashery is located.
While my mom was still in town, we visited Quilt Patch in Fairfax, Virginia, hoping that it would satisfy Clare's longings. It is a fabulous quilt store with beautiful fabrics and is housed in a quirky old Victorian house. The girls picked out some of their favorite fabrics and my mom bought them a few fat quarters and started them on their first nine patch quilt. All of this is very special, but Clare has made clear that the store was not a real haberdashery.
Today I received an email from my mom announcing that she has found Clare's store: M&J Trimming. One slight problem--it is in New York City. But, that's closer than London. And closer than Madrid, where this awesome haberdashery is located.
"Mercerie au centre de Madrid" by Schnäggli - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mercerie_au_centre_de_Madrid.JPG#mediaviewer/File:Mercerie_au_centre_de_Madrid.JPG
Still, we probably won't get to New York very soon, so if anyone knows of a haberdashery-type store in the D.C. area, let me know. In the meantime, I've ordered Clara Button and the Magical Hat Day, which will probably begin a search for hat stores or some similarly British-only type shop.
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