The Village Pottery Store.......from a By-Gone Era.
Nestled in the heart of the Caboolture Historical Village in Queensland, Australia sits the quaint, Village Pottery Store.
The exterior to this building is adorned with attractive plants displayed in old, aluminium watering cans and wheel barrows, pots of various shapes and sizes and even a concrete washing basin.......painted green of course.
The Village Pottery Store is just one of many interesting buildings which have either been placed at this amazing museum for the public to visit and enjoy, or (in this instance) purposefully built for the convenience of pottery makers and their clientele.
Clay is available to purchase and classes are also held on a regular basis for those wanting to extend their experience or learn a new but old craft.
Visitors need to dedicate at least two hours to explore the wonders of a By-Gone Era at the Caboolture Historic Village which encompasses a 12 acre (4 hectare) area of land, fairly close to the centre of town. From the very first display to the last one, it is easy to understand why this venue is one of the top tourist destinations in the region.
This weathered, wooden building features green and rust coloured stained glass windows which were once common in houses of this vintage. A succulent thrives at the base of a white macrame hanger.
I've been known to make a macrame hanger or two ......back in the day and was interested to learn a little about the history of macrame. In simple terms, macrame is a type of braiding, and has been around since the beginning of time. It dates back to the 13th century in Arabia and actually means 'fringe' in Arabic. Originally, it was used as a decorative finish to fabrics.
Macrame was brought to Spain around 711 AD when the Moors conquered, and then to Europe, primarily around Italy, France and England. Due to the many hours spent out at sea with little or nothing to do, sailors often sought out new activities. Macrame became a favorite leisure time activity because it was a simple technique and could easily be done on board a boat.
The sailors traveling to North America took up this fine craft (macrame) as well because it was no problem to get the materials (there's no shortage of rope and cordage on a ship, and the lack of needles, hooks, hoops or frames augments the ease of use) and spent many of their leisure hours creating ornamental and useful macrame crafts for the ship. Apart from the somewhat decorative knife handles, bottle holders, bell covers and fringes that the sailors crafted, more practical projects consisted of durable netting and strong shields or screens. These helped with myriad tasks at sea, such as catching fish and securing items during storms. And so, sailors, who would trade or sell their macrame projects in the various port cities they visited, carried off this art form to all corners of the world.
I admired the black and white leaf pattern featuring detailed veins on this round vase.
Set amongst the plants and paving stones at the entrance to this building was a brown, wooden seat with black wrought iron features. It was the perfect addition to the mini garden as anyone taking advantage of it could have a rest, whilst enjoying a mixture of dappled sun and shade.
I've included the China Shop in this blog as another point of interest.
China shoes (some miniature, others life sized) were on display behind glass cabinets.
These Victorian styled boots took my eye and certainly did conjour up images (way before I was born, of course).....to a very fascinating, 'By-Gone Era.'
