Country and Eastern really is a magical place. Jeannie and Philip Millward’s temples of treasures are filled to the rafters with fascinating objects from Turkey through the Indian subcontinent to East of Java. Antique furniture rubs shoulders with ceramics, oriental rugs, textiles, and wood carvings, all directly imported from far-flung places.
Tending to buy from smaller family-run business, the company is keen to keep traditional crafts alive. Passed down from generation to generation for centuries, these techniques have long-formed the basis of decorative furnishings from the countries with which Country and Eastern trade.
And so it was on Saturday afternoon, in the unlikeliest of places, we found some dining room furniture that may hold the answer to the almost unsolvable storage dilemmas at the house. Stumbling through the stone-flagged aisles, dodging the ornately carved Far Eastern temple seats, columns, and arches, Nik found exactly what he was looking for.
So, sometime over the next couple of weeks, two traditionally carved and latticed sideboards will be the finishing touches to the back room that has already swallowed up a reclaimed teak timber dining table and chairs.
Poor boy - I don’t think he could quite take it in that after seemingly endless months of looking, he’d finally found two pieces of furniture that would not only fit in the room itself, but also fit in with (as much as he would want them to) and complement the recycled timbers bought sometime ago.
Even the building that houses the fascinating wares is fascinating. Built over a century ago, the Old Skating Rink Gallery in Bethel Street saw its last pair of roller skates cross the then open floor decades ago, but the balconies from which spectators mingled and gazed in wonder at this new-fangled craze remain. The only difference in 2007 is that rugs now hang over the rails where well-to-do ladies and gentleman socialised in 1877, while adults and children alike whizzed around the floor beneath them.
Just as 130 years ago, the magical building still inspires visitors to gaze in wonder. These days though, it’s not exciting new pastimes but majestic displays of old crafts and traditions that encourage people through the doors, with some, like the objects inside, from far-flung places themselves.