Country Crafts in London
Rural handicrafts, which continue to flourish in many • districts, begin to enjoy a vogue in the town. The Rural Industries Bureau, being a governmental, or semi-govern- mental body, may not directly concern itself with sales, though its exhibits all about the country at various shows have proved a fruitful advertisement for some craftsmen in wood, iron and stuffs. Happily, this work of direct sale was taken up some years ago by a body known as Country Indus- tries Limited, who give their service without taking profit at their shop and display rooms at 26 Eccleston Street, S.W. There you may see samples of work from iron gates to em- broidered quilts ; and the place is well worth a visit from all who prefer handiwork before the factory product. The "quilt wives," who derive their art directly from Tudor days, continue to add a quota to the livelihood of the unemployed among the western miners. The west is very strong in crafts, especially among the women. How good, for example, are some of the stuffs made of the natural wool of various breeds of sheep, without the intervention of any dye ! But crafts are of all sorts often using local material, as Kentish hazel, Essex willows and Monmouth sycamores. The illus- trated leaflets issued by Rural Industries (as those of the Oxfordshire Community Council) are particularly persuasive on the subject of the blacksmith's art. There are a few rural craftsmen—notably Wiltshire weavers who now sell directly to the best of the London shops. One of the most attractive stuffs I ever saw in Regent Street proved to have been made and designed in a small Wiltshire village ; but 26 Eceleston Street is where the country craftsman chiefly makes direct contact with the town.
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