Collecting does not begin with a large budget or a gallery-sized wall. It begins with a single piece you want to live with. For many people, a hand-stitched heritage work is that first piece: it is original, it carries a story, and it brings a warmth to a room that few other works can.
Start with what moves you. Before thinking about sizes and rooms, look through the collections and notice which works you keep returning to. The Wild Kingdom, the Botanical Collection, Heart and Hearth and Majestic Mane each carry their own themes, from strength and leadership to growth, belonging and endurance. A work that means something to you will hold your attention for years. One chosen only to fill a space rarely does.
Read the record. Each work carries a reference code, a title, the collection it belongs to and its dimensions. Once you acquire a piece, keep those details together with your invoice and a few good photographs. They are the beginning of its provenance, the documented history that tells future owners, insurers and your own family what the work is and where it came from.
Measure the wall, then think about the room. Note the width and height of the wall, the furniture beneath it and the distance from which the work will usually be seen. Larger works need room to breathe and a viewing distance to match. A piece too large for its wall looks crowded, and one too small looks lost. Low-tack masking tape on the wall, marking out the size of the frame, is the simplest way to test a size before you decide.
See it in person. Photographs flatten texture. Thread has a sheen and a depth that change with the light and with the angle you view it from, and the stitched surface is part of the work's character. A private viewing lets you see the scale, the colours and the detail as they really are.
Understand how it is acquired. Heritage works are acquired through a curator rather than bought with a click, which gives you the chance to ask questions and confirm every detail before you commit. When a work is reserved for another client, its page says so, and works that have already found their homes are shown as Private Collection.
Frame and glaze for the long term. Every work in the collection comes professionally framed. If it will hang in a bright room, consider glazing that filters ultraviolet light, which helps protect the thread from fading. If a work is ever reframed, conservation framers recommend acid-free materials and spacers that keep the glass from touching the textile.
Choose a kind environment. Textiles prefer steady conditions: out of direct sunlight, away from cookers, heaters and bathrooms, and in rooms without large swings in humidity. Museum guidance for textiles suggests keeping the air moderate and stable, roughly between 40 and 55 per cent relative humidity, neither very dry nor damp.
Keep the care simple. Dust the frame and glass with a soft, dry cloth. Never spray cleaning products directly onto the glass, where liquid can run behind the frame. Look at the work from time to time for any change, and if you need to move it, carry it upright with both hands on the frame.
Think about the collection you might build. A first piece often suggests the next: another work from the same collection for a different room, or a contrasting theme that tells a second story. There is no need to hurry. The best collections grow slowly, one considered choice at a time.
When you are ready, arrange a private viewing at our Upper Hill showroom, or ask a curator about a specific work.