I’ve been trying not to buy more vintage fabrics recently.
I already have not one, but two cabinets full of it. And that’s not all…
It spills out in piles and bags and boxes and baskets and heaps. On the floor, under the table, in my bedroom, in the spare room.
I can’t find – or even remember – some of it.
Although I love vintage fabrics and use them all the time, I really don’t need. Any. More. Not right now, anyway.
So of late, I have been restricting my fabric fondling to the virtual kind.
For those of you similarly afflicted, I thought I’d share with you the website where I’ve been getting some of my kicks recently.
Forssa Museum is located in a former spinning mill in Finland. It is obviously an area of Finnish textile heritage.
And it’s website is an absolute feast of Scandi vintage fabric gorgeousness…
I think (although with Google’s usual strange translations I cannot be absolutely sure) that this is because the museum is hosting an exhibition called “Kirjavan Kankaan Kaupunki”, or “Town of Tinted Textiles”.
Anyway, I have been busy ogling – and loving – these textile design treasures online.
You can search through the photographs of fabric designs by date.
Every year from 1953 to 1982 is covered, including the golden age of the 1960s and 70s.
Do check them out. But don’t blame me if you lose an afternoon – or two…
It’s not really a substitute for buying fabric. After all, ogling is not the same as fondling.
But it is cheaper.
And it certainly takes up less cupboard space. ♥
Ooo! You tease!! I. WANT. IT. ALL!
Me too! Would love to organise a vintage fabric buying trip to Finland! 🙂
I’ll be headed to the website when I’m on the laptop and then I can pin to my heart’s content . . . . just had a quick look and my heart skipped a beat or two . . . heavenly for a 60s/70s junkie like me . . . thanks for sharing :0)
Couldn’t keep such beauty to myself Riva! I had no idea that Finland was such a hotbed of vintage fabric beauty – I tend to think of Denmark or Sweden as the source of all Scandi loveliness, so it was a revelation to me!
You make me want to go and stroke my two original Marimekko shirts…. Two garments which will never, ever be thrown out even when they’re rags.
Yes, the designs are very Marimekko, aren’t they?
I remember when I first saw Marimekko’s designs online. You could only buy them in a few places, mostly in London, but Selfridges in Birmingham (about 50 miles from me) was a stockist. I remember feeling very affronted when I went there and asked a snooty shop assistant whether they stocked Marimekko fabrics, and they had never heard of them!
I’ve had to resist buying more fabric lately as well! It is just so tempting