Lazy Girl in Orient, New York: July 2023

Meeting Melita

As in summers past, I am renting a cottage in Orient, New York on the north fork of Long Island. This tiny village, with only a post office and a couple of stores, is home to the Oysterponds Historical Society. OHS is an outsized presence in the village. Its multiple museum exhibits and active programs bring a rich, cultural texture to life in Orient. 

Built in 1798, Village House is one of the OHS museum sites. It started out as a boarding house for summer visitors who would arrive via steamboat from New York City. It has been beautifully restored with period rooms on its first floor, and six exhibition spaces on the second floor.

On view this summer at Village House is the work of Melita Hofmann, an author, illustrator and naturalist and the first curator of the Oysterponds Historical Society. The exhibit was curated by Alison Ventura, the Executive Director of OHS. 

Village House on Village Lane, Orient, NY

Alison Ventura with an illustration by Melita Hofmann: Evening gown, Lace Over Chartreuse Silk, 1959.

Melita was born in 1907 in Toledo, Ohio. She moved to New York City and studied at the Parsons School of Design and New York University. She held various positions over her career. She taught art and was an art director at the publishing company, Grosset & Dunlap, where she designed books and book jackets. An accomplished illustrator, she did fashion sketching for magazines such as Harper's Bazaar. At its founding in 1944, Melita and her sister, Tabea, became "custodians" of OHS. Melita eventually was named curator and held that position until 1963.

Melita Hofmann in front of Village House. 

Self-portrait by Melita.

"People said she was wonderful," Alison told me. Melita brought her vibrant personality and creative talents to OHS, staging exhibits, handicraft shows, theatrical evenings and history lectures. 

Charming examples of Melita's art and writing are displayed in the exhibition. I particularly love her delicate drawings of women in period costumes done in watercolor and colored pencil. They are pretty in the best sense of the word. She seems to have been a true romantic with the ability to express herself through beautiful art work and writing.

I can imagine a moonlit summer evening at Village House some time in the 50s. Perhaps Melita has staged a tableau vivant against a backdrop of painted scenery with local residents playing the parts of sailors in Orient Harbor or square dancers in Poquatuck Park.

Melita's Lady in a Blue Evening Gown with a Tea Cup.

Pearls of Ferrara, published in 1943, by Melita Hofmann.

In its review of Pearls of Ferrara, The New York Times said, "She dreamed herself back so thoroughly into the days of the Italian Renaissance at the height of its splendor that her story of the two sisters reads like the account of an eye witness."

Original drawing for the book jacket of Pearls of Ferrara.

In the 60s, Melita also wrote and illustrated two books about nature: The Big Book of Birds and A Trip to the Pond.

Melita's bicycle built for two illustration.

The OHS holds a collection of over 60,000 items from Native American times through the 20th Century. The collection is managed by Willam McNaught, Curator and Amy Folk. Collections Manager. I was thrilled to take a peak into this trove when Alison offered to show me the archives, especially for the costume collection. Everything is neatly labeled and accounted for in archival boxes. What fun!

Thank you OHS and Alison Ventura!

Also on view in The Old Point Schoolhouse: Folk Art

Through the lens of visual appeal, artistic merit and

local interest.

Please visit the OHS museums when on the North Fork of Long Island. Here is their website:

https://oysterpondshistoricalsociety.org/

A Bientôt!

Paris - Les Merceries: June 2023

The Ribbons of Paris with Rebecca

Rebecca Devaney is a textile artist, researcher and educator. She moved to Paris from Ireland to study the art of embroidery, and in 2018, graduated from the École Lesage, the legendary school of embroidery. She became a professional haute couture embroiderer for the fashion houses of Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Dior, Valentino, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton.

We were fortunate to meet Rebecca as part of our Paris with Dressed: The History of Fashion Tour led by the fashion historians, Cassidy Zachary and April Calahan. Gathering at Au Ver à Soie, a 200-year-old emporium and producer of silk threads for sewing, embroidery and tapestries, we listened to Rebecca's lilting Irish voice as she described her journey in embroidery and her current endeavor, Textile Tours of Paris.

Au Ver à Soie was created in 1820 when French silk

and haute couture led the world in fashion.

There are hundreds of colors

available for their various types of silk threads.

Rebecca created this beautiful embroidery

kit in a hand-made box. We each received one.

Housed within is A Brief Dictionary of Stitches, an 

embroidery pattern drawn on Italian linen, a hoop,

gold-plated scissors in the traditional stork design, a needle book

and silk embroidery threads from Au Ver à Soie.

I gifted my kit to a talented teenager named Sienna

Hornberger. Sienna is the daughter of good friends, Andy and Julie

Hornberger. Andy studied with my husband, Richard, at

Tyler School of Art and Architecture.

This is Sienna's finished sampler. It was a serendipitous gift

because Sienna had been thinking about learning to embroider.

She is in the 11th grade in high school and has spent her summer

attending the precollege program, Designing a Fashion Mini-Collection,

at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. 

Sienna models one of her creations, an outfit

made of knotted yarn.

The word "mercerie" is French for notions. It includes fun things to shop for like ribbons, buttons, feathers, artificial flowers, yarns and beads. So off we hiked with Rebecca to discover the notion shops of Paris.

Here are some of the shops that we visited.

Rebecca displays yellow netting which might 

adorn a hat at Ultramod, since 1832 providing

millinery supplies and trims to fashionable Parisiens.

"Dressed" tour members exploring the

wonders of Ultramod.

Rebecca talks about the artificial flower process

while Wendy and April inspect les fleurs.

One of the joys of our Paris sojourn was meeting

our fellow tour members. Here are (L-R) Bobbi, Bethany and Gemma.

We represented 7 countries: USA, Canada, England,

Costa Rica, Norway, Mexico and Australia.

Annie Bouquet's beautiful sign.

We met her at her shop which sells designs for embroidery.

À Bientôt!