The fruits of the intenstive filming labour of the Monki video, that I talked about when I asked readers to bestow me some questions will soon reveal themselves in weird and wonderful ways. One portion of the filming prompted me to get a bit crafty with needle and thread, part and parcel of the DIY section of the blog that has suffered since I keep forgetting that the day only has 24 hours and not 30. Still, the accumulation process of trimmings, bits, bobs and any raw materials that I take a fancy to, carries on relentlessly. I’m in fear of becoming one of those crazy folk that like to hoard the bits of string or elastic bands that bind poultry together.
How else can I explain why in a blizzarding Stockholm did I choose to trek around town seeking out stores that would further this home haberdashery stash that I’ve got going on? I lost feeling in my hands and feet by the time I was done but hey, that’s ok – I have some ribbondry to keep the limbs warm!
First stop, was Old Touch, a treasure trove that I’ve been meaning to visit on my last few stops in Stockholm but never got round to. It’s like the bigger and better sister to the The Shop on Cheshire Street in London, where I normally get all my fixes of vintage textiles in. Not to say that The Shop is grossly inferior. Old Touch is just THAT much bigger and stuffed to the brim with anything from vintage tea towels to perfume bottles to embroidered hankies in addition to the usual vintage fare of dresses, accessories and shoes. Like The Shop, the prices are also pretty reasonable. None of that attitude where anything over 100 years is automatically up-priced just because it’s an “antique” – I feel like some things, especially textiles can be that old and not necessarily be worth Christie’s/Sotheby’s prices.
Old copy of Escoffier cookbook in Swedish… reminds me, I need to get me an English copy…
Gotta love the ¬£2 pound bin… fingers were too frozen to rummage…
Spending too long a time there would have led to my dropping a collective fortune so I swiftly snatched a collar that has a beautiful frilly four-colour stitched edging. White shirt collars/bibs from COS and Carven have made me hunt for more of the same ilk for adding easily onto outfits.
Next stop was Folckers, a recommendation found via Twitter. To nay sayers of Twitter, I say this is why it’s useful – I put out a plea for recommendations on fabric/haberdashery places in Stockholm and within five minutes, I get some amazing and totally legit answers one of them being Folckers. Better than Google in some respects. I'm now going to be inclined to pump Twitter followers for answers to everything now.
Google failed to provide me with a history of Folckers in English but from what I understand, they are makers and purveyors of trimmings for garments and furniture and are a family run business that has been going since 1939. This all translates to a very lovely gentleman helping me in the way that old fashioned stores are run – by asking you what you would like without any dirty paws mauling the extensive selection of trims (some of which are very old…) that Folckers makes. Cue lots of… RAINBOW shots!
I particularly loved their selection of trims and ribbons from the 30s-40s that look visibly aged, adding to the aesthetic. Beurgh… I don’t normally fall for the “Oh it’s wonderfully distressed/aged/weathered/battered!” line but in this instance, it works, especially for the ones in Folckers’ cabinet which are most delicate.
There was neither rhyme nor reason why I chose these particular ones to buy. The colours are sort of complimenting each other, reminding me of an old Missoni skirt I have. There WILL be some use for this. I just don’t know what it is yet. For now, one of the corded ones looks lush sitting next to the raspberry mousse I was scoffing for afternoon tea…
