A The Little Painted Furniture Company shows us how painted furniture should be done.
B Ace Reclamation in Ryde (another favourite haunt)
C Re-upholster an old retro chair in a splash of modern fabric, this example from Smith & Stephenson looks stunning.
D This lamp looks as though it’s made from tailor’s spools or reels.
E An old fishing boat turned into a wonderfully rustic bench from Oasis.
F Here Bayliss & Booth bring us a blackboard made from an old French window frame.
G A set of Victorian library steps, beautifully restored and painted has become shelving for books: or use them to display interesting objects. From Chic Antique in Ryde.
H Here’s one I made earlier! Two examples of wallpapered furniture by Yours Truly, the large cupboard covered in ‘Regatta’ wrapping paper available at Jolie in Cowes and the other in Cole & Sons ‘Woods’ available at the Paperhouse, Newport.
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I French roof tiles have become candle or plant holders. These would look wonderful with red Geraniums in them. From Bayliss & Booth.
J Own a piece of history. Reclaimed wood from Ryde pier made into tealight holders, available at Made on the IOW
K Miranda Ammapola’s decorated guitars are beautiful, just ask the Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood: he bought one of them. Available at Made on the IOW.
L A watch from Pencil Cottage in Shanklin, the face of which is an old coin.
Striking the right note
Roz Whistance visits Minstrels on the Hill, one of Newport’s most intriguing shops
“I can’t really describe it – it’s just everything that goes together,” smiles Jo Monck. To say Minstrels on the Hill, her eclectic shop in Newport, stocks antiques, beautifully restored furniture and period and vintage clothing is accurate, but the intrigue is in the magical way that everything fits.
It’s not stuffy or snooty or rarefied. It is like being welcomed into your most fascinating friend’s home. “I don’t expect someone to feel they’ve got to buy something,” smiles Jo. Her husband, Rory, is chatting to a customer, or it might be a friend, sitting on a beautiful oak church pew he has lovingly restored.
My eye roves from pleasingly restored furniture to some squishy panelled bags which have been featured in Vogue; from intricately carved box to richly coloured scarf; and then to the most wonderful collection of vintage clothes.
“Everything in the shop we have bought because we like it,” says Jo. “I am fascinated by objects which have a past.”
Jo and Rory have been in the antique trade for 20 years, and doggedly research the provenance of a piece, but it is the personal history Jo feels most deeply. “I’ve got a little purse saying ‘to Ethel from her mother’ – so sweet. And some things come to us because there’s nobody to inherit,” she says, pointing out a 1899 inscribed bible in a carved box. “There’s even a letter with it from somebody who cared for it.”
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It becomes clear that the things in the shop are interchangeable with what she and Rory have at home. Richly coloured rugs adorn the walls, handmade and found in India and Afghanistan by an adventurous 60-something who makes gorgeous squishy floor cushions from them. “The dogs have the sofas in our house so originally I bought these for me. I know my place!”
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If you don’t have any furniture on which to practice then check out my two favourite haunts (but please keep it a secret, I don’t want everybody going there!). The Storeroom is near the floating bridge in Cowes. Don’t be fooled by the tiny frontage, this is an enormous Aladdin’s cave of used furniture, with a handy back entrance where you can load that reasonably priced retro sideboard into your car. Or what about the Earl Mountbatten Hospice warehouse on the industrial estate in Newport? New donations arrive every day. But put a deposit on something you like or it’ll be gone.
Both places deliver so you won’t have to hire a van, or like me, persuade a friend that we can easily walk back up the hill with a dining table and six chairs.
Antiques are the purest form of Upcycling. Something so old which has been beautifully and skilfully restored is always a pleasure to look at. If you happen to be in Burfields Antiques in Ventnor it’s easy to see that antiques fit just as well into a modern setting.
Another favourite of mine is Minstrels on the Hill in Newport. This shop has a fascinating selection of old and new items. It was in this very shop that my better half said three words that even to this day send waves of shock through me: “That table’s nice.” The fact that it was said whilst he was in an interiors shop and looking at the price tag – well, I can only say Minstrels is well worth a visit.
Furniture and clothing are not the only things that can be upcycled: the list is endless. Pencil Cottage in Shanklin has some beautiful watches made out of old coins which would make a unique and special gift for anyone; Bayliss & Booth stock glorious jewellery made by Simone Whitehurst from old boiler wire. Quay Arts is running a jewellery course with Nina Bulley.
Anything can be made better rather than thrown out, as I was reminded by an older lady at a car boot sale recently. “Do you think I could upcycle my husband?’ she asked.
Advertising Call (01983) 861 007
Minstrels on the Hill, 4 Hollyrood Street, Newport PO30 5AV. ––––––– Tel: 01983 556907 –––––––
Then there are the clothes. Jo has designed ball dresses in the past and adores the styles of yesteryear which are so wearable today. “We like to have well-made, well-tailored clothes. We’ve got things by Alexander McQueen – I absolutely love his designs – and by Paul Smith, and Dolce & Gabbana.” Retro fine cotton nightdresses, laced and embroidered, complete the vintage feel, and richly coloured scarves and the ‘Vogue bags’ by Jacqueline Hedlam could provide everything you need.
The name Minstrels on the Hill says everything about the joy and intrigue of Jo and Rory’s lovely home from home.
May / June 2012 75
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