Over the years I have collected many things. Some of them long gone now due to changing interests or simply because I couldn’t bear the thought of packing and moving them again. Bird Cages would be a glaring example of this. Currently, I only collect one thing — Snow Globes. If we’re friends, heaven forbid you go somewhere and don’t bring me one back, because I will remind you of it. For years to come.

Some collections start out innocently enough, the random purchase of a vintage travel clock or a “nearly” perfect Roseville vase. The next thing you know, you have a dozen…or more.

My Bark Cloth obsession began on E-Bay over a decade ago. My first purchase was a large set of dark green curtains with a geometric pattern, touted to have hung in a New Orleans bedroom. I was born in New Orleans, so it seemed to be a fairly innocuous way of honoring my past. Until things got out of hand, that is.

If you’ve never held a piece of real Bark Cloth in your hands, it’s a shame. Heavy, textural and often smelling of Grandma, it has the power to transport you back to a cozy guest cottage, or a swinging bachelor pad.

You can purchase exceptional reproductions now, so I thought I would post a montage to set the tone on this cold and rainy spring afternoon here at the Studio.

Remember children, we’re all special and unique, but it takes a certain kind of person to be truly ‘eccentric’. Collecting large boxes of bark cloth you’ll never use is just one step on the path to Crazy Town.

All Aboard!
Mrs. Knightly