Did you know that in the early 1700’s, tea was as precious as gold? Its journey from China to England, Europe and America was arduous and long, and because it was quickly becoming the most popular fashion to drink tea, it was extremely valuable.
Meg Fielding
Meg Fielding writes the local interior design and lifestyle blog Pigtown Design. She enjoys dual citizenship with the US and the UK.
Art for Land’s Sake: An Art Exhibit and Sale to Benefit the Valleys Planning Council, October 20-22
The Valleys Planning Council (VPC) will hold its seventh biennial art exhibit and sale from Friday, October 20 through Sunday, October 22, 2017. This year’s event will be staged at the historic Worthington Valley equestrian center, Caves Farm, in northern Baltimore County. Works from more than 50 artists and craftsmen from the region will be featured.
Jolly Good: Inaugural BritFest Comes to Baltimore June 10
It seems everyone in Baltimore has a festival – Polish, Ukrainian, Irish, Greek – but never one for the Brits! And yet, Americans have a love affair with the British, from Monty Python and Prince Harry to Bangers & Mash and Downton Abbey.
Rare Book Sale to Benefit the Baltimore Architecture Foundation
In an effort to consolidate its collection of books, the Baltimore Architecture Foundation will auction off a selection of rare antique architecture books at Alex Cooper Auctioneers. The BAF’s collection will go under the hammer beginning at approximately 12:30 on Friday, January 27, 2016.
Pigtown Design Brings London’s Portobello Road to Halcyon House
For many years, I’ve been collecting English antiques, both here in the States, and on my annual trips back to the UK. In March, I took a driving trip through England and Wales, and picked up many treasures along the way. I generally sell things on-line as PigtownDesign, but for the next two weeks, I am going to have a live pop-up shop which mimics the hustle, bustle, and variety of antiques and oddities found on London’s famous Portobello Road.
Portobello: A Pigtown Pop-Up
One of my favourite things to do in the UK is to poke around small antique sales, places like Portobello Road and Spitalfields Market, and of course, car-boot sales. In the spirit of Portobello Road, I am having a pop-up sale in September, hosted by my great friends at Halcyon House Antiques.
Pigtown Design: Flying the Flag
I might be slightly biased, but I think that Maryland has the best flag of all of the 50 states. It is the only one of the state flags to be based on English heraldry. The design comes from the Calvert and Crossland families who settled Maryland in the early 1600s. It is only one of four state flags not to include the color blue. The black and gold represent the Calvert family and the red and white, the Crosslands.
We love our flag and use it everywhere including the UnderArmour-designed lacrosse and football uniforms for the University of Maryland’s teams. However, I think that many of the pieces are completely hideous.
But there are some not-so-hideous renditions of the flag, although its use in clothing is still dubious, fashion-wise.
Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Deaths Lecture July 13
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The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death are one of Baltimore’s many hidden treasures. These tiny crime scenes, created in the 1940s at a scale of 1:12, are studied by detectives and investigators from around the world who come to Baltimore for training on forensic and crime scene studies.
On Wednesday, July 13, MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, will present a lecture on the Nutshells with Bruce Goldfarb, caretaker of the Nutshells, from the Medical Examiner’s office.
Secret Admirer No More: Write Your Love Letter to a Baltimore Building
Is there a building in Baltimore that just makes your heart sing? Do you drive slowly by, observing all the details? Do you go out of your way just to see it? Do you spend time thinking about what you’d do if you owned it? About how fabulous it would be to have a party there? Then write a Love Letter to it!
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation, the non-profit for people who love architecture, is celebrating the first anniversary of “Love Letters to Baltimore Buildings.” The Love Letters were launched last year around Valentine’s Day to give fellow citizens the chance to share their thoughts and words about their favorite buildings in Baltimore. They are published every other week in our on-line newsletter, Keystone.
The building of your dreams might be a small carriage house like this one…
Or a place that’s an icon in Baltimore like the Patterson Park Pagoda…
Pigtown Design: 10 Years of Blogging and British Embassy Finds
Hard to believe that this marks the beginning of my 10th year of blogging! And as I say every year, blogging has literally been life-changing. The people I’ve met, the experiences I’ve had, the things that I’ve learned and shared are all such a part of my life now. Although I’ve slowed down a bit, and after more than 2,337 posts, I think I am entitled! This is my philosophy for the coming year!
One of the first local posts I wrote was about my friends at Housewerks Salvage. All these years later, it continues to be a treasure trove of amazing pieces. I got a call the other afternoon, telling me that through a series of events, Housewerks had just acquired some pieces from the British Embassy, just 40 miles down the road in Washington, DC. I couldn’t wait to see these exceptional pieces, so met up with two of my besties and went down to check them out.
