Rare opportunity ….. SOLD

A rare opportunity to acquire one of our older greenhouses which was glazed with lovely reclaimed early glass. Years ago, we had an extensive stock of blown cylinder and drawn sheet glass, reclaimed from some old country greenhouses, and we used some of this in a few of the little mobile frames. This glass has that distorted, wavy surface and a shinier, soft appearance which is much more attractive than modern horticultural glass.

We have a frame recovered from a neglected garden which has been cleaned and repainted, and is for sale at less than the price of a new one. We hardly ever get these back once they are gone, so this is a very unusual opportunity to buy one of the best. The frame comes with a pot tray in the upper level, and whitewashed wooden floor boards. It is completely sound, and in no way inferior to a new one - quite the opposite in fact, because of the glass.

Completely genuine, made in our own works some time ago.

The top photo is of the frame when we got it back. It is still undergoing painting……

Price: £1150. Delivery possible.

SOLD.

‘Old Benches’

Another pair of my benches found on a dealer’s website. These were made as a unique pair in the early 1990s, and will have been stamped underneath the seat: ‘LE VERSHA FECIT’ They are original designs, not copies, and the rights belong to David Le Versha.

Photograph copyright M. Thompson, but the seats were made in Castle Hedingham around thirty years ago, painted and distressed and looking pretty much then as they appear now. Price for new ones, around £1200 a pair.

Another stolen design!.

Yet again, one of David’s original designs has been stolen and is being reproduced and offered for sale by a well known UK Architectural reclaim company. Although this was discovered some time ago, and the culprits warned, they clearly think it’s still ok to profit from the illegal exploitation of a designer’s work. The work was a small bridge, made from a mass of old twisted iron, which was straightened and work up into an entirely original pattern. This was sold at an architectural auction, and re-entered into another, very well known auction in the south of England, where it was bought, and subsequently copied by this company. They even had the cheek to describe it as their own work!.

When this came to light, David informed the company, and asked them to stop making the product. After stating the proof regarding the design’s origins, it was more or less agreed that the bridge would no longer be made or offered for sale. However, we see today that not only is the bridge back on offer, but in a range of sizes!.

They have now been warned officially, and if they don’t comply, then we will be suing for the profits they have illegally made from design piracy.

This has happened so often over the years, but as it has mostly been perpetrated in Asia, very little can be done, but this is a UK company, and should know better.

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Photo taken outside my workshop in 2009.

Photo taken outside my workshop in 2009.

Glass Lantern Cloche.

At this time of year, we start making our glass lantern cloches, as a lot of us will be needing them before too long, to protect the more tender plants through the colder, frosty months.

Christine is going you use the smaller ones this winter on the dahlias, rather than lift them. We have a Melianthus Major in the garden, which suffered a good bit last year, so we will use the big cloche, with two extensions on it, making it over three feet tall. That should keep it snug, and on warmer days, the top section can be twisted round a bit for ventilation.

The small cloches are about 16” in diameter, and the large ones about 22”. Both are solidly made from iron (no flimsy copper foil), and glazed with reclaimed glass from old greenhouses, which we cut to size in the workshop.

Some of this glass is pre-war, and has a lovely uneven appearance. Perfectly serviceable though, and the traditional putty means these will last for decades.

The small one weighs in at about 6kg, and the big one 11kg, so no chance of blowing over or away!.

As always, we have tried hard to make these affordable for practical use, and the large one is £145, the smaller one £95. The price includes the base section, or without, they are £95 and £65 respectively.

We send the cloches with a courier, at cost only, or deliver free within twenty or so miles of finchingfield.

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Le Versha Chairs

We are pleased to announce the long awaited return of the Le Versha chairs, originally designed by David Le Versha for Anthropologie.

 These chairs remain in constant demand, even after the Anthropologie stock has sold out. Production has now resumed here at the original workshops in England, and can be purchased directly from us.

With this comes the advantage of the Le Versha chairs being produced to a higher standard, two of the patterns can be specified with arms, and the range of colours has been extended to include Blackcurant and Lime, as well as the original Tangerine, Strawberry and Plum. There is, of course, also the option of Black or White.

Prices £190 Each