The Orchid Tables were on display as part of the Ten Years of Dowel Jones exhibition at the National Wool Museum in 2024. The exhibition label reads: Sitting just outside this exhibition in the National Wool Museum is a 1910 Axminster Jacquard Carpet Loom. This loom was operating at Brintons factory in Geelong from 1960 to 1975, and then at the Melbourne College of Textiles, until it was donated to the museum. In the 1990's the museum commissioned an exclusive pattern called the Manor House Rug. Based on earlier designs from Brintons UK Persian Rug Archive Library, the museum continues to make this rug through the expertise of Loom Technician Michael Farquhar. The Manor House Rug features a central medallion with floral pattern. Working with illustrator Beci Orpin, and referencing Margaret MacDonald & Angair's book 'Orchids of the Anglesea District', we identified regional orchids. By a process of removal and addition, the original floral medallion was replaced with local species as decorative motif. Ten Year of Dowel Jones presents three altered Manor House Rugs, each with different orchids tufted in wool and placed in the centre of each rug. The rugs have been attached by cotton thread to three table frames at different heights to create the Orchid Tables.Three tables consisting of powder coated steel frames, with a woven carpet top. The table tops are made from wool with a jute backing, and feature a red, green, blue, black and cream floral design with an orchid in the centre. Each table is a different height.dowel jones, ten years of dowel jones, national wool museum, axminster loom, carpet, manor house rug, orchids, anglesea, design, art, furniture, beci orpin, brintons, geelong, melbourne college of textiles

This bookmark was found in a book called 'The English Lakes' owned by Elizabeth Chatham-Holmes. The bookmark is a Stevenograph. In 1854 Thomas Stevens began with weaving plain and fancy ribbons, but was soon experimenting with a development of jacquard weaving to produce pictures. For this, the picture was plotted on squared paper, in the fashion of a cross-stitch embroidery design, and a large card then perforated to represent each colour appearing in every "line" of the picture. The cards, arranged in an endless chain and attached to the loom, controlled the manipulation of the warp threads. Each time the shuttle crossed the loom a different card came into use, changing the arrangement of the warp threads and, consequently, the pattern woven..When the industry collapsed in 1860, Stevens determined to make use of his experiments by producing pictures in such variety as to appeal to all tastes. The earliest productions seem to have been bookmarkers... The pictures included portraits of celebrities and local scenes, scriptural texts, hymns and psalms, and verses from the poets. Stevens also introduced to the Admiralty a hat ribbon with the name of the ship woven in gold wire. This he patented; it was adopted and for many years the firm was the sole supplier to the Admiralty Contracts Department. https://stevengraphs.com/thomstevandh.html Also found in the book was a small card with dried flowers glued with the words 'Flowers from the Holy Land' and a WW2 photograph of the bust of a man in uniform with a cap..1) Red hard covered book called 'The English Lakes' by W.T. Palmer. .2) Woven silk bookmark with white (now cream) and yellow background and red, purple, green and yellow detail and the start of Psalm 23 woven into the bookmark. Possibly made in the late nineteenth century. .3) Small card with dried flowers glued with the words Flowers from the Holy Land .4) WW2 photograph of the bust of a man in uniform with a cap. .1) Inside front cover "E.S. Holmes Ascot" .2) Woven into the bookmark - The Lord is my Shepard I shall not want, & T. Stevens, Coventry .3) Printed on the front - Flowers from the Holy Land, Placed on the Holy Sepulchreholmes, ec holmes, ascot, religious, religion, bookmark, english lakes, w.t. palmer, chatham-holmes collection, flowers from the the holy land, stevengraph

BHS CollectionBlack silk lined with black polished cotton- seven gored skirt. A woven floral design through the fabric. Hemline is finished with a two cm braid hand stitched on the inside of the skirt, and finished with a one cm fringe edging the hemline. Plackett at centre back waistline fastens with seven metal hooks, and hand stitched loops. Cotton tape two cm wide waistband. Small soft gathers at centre front waistline.costume, female, black jaquard skirt