By Louise Irvine The Barlow sisters contributed hugely to the success of Doulton’s art pottery in the early years. Hannah, and Florence were the daughters of a prosperous bank manager but had to work to support the household after their father’s sudden death. Hannah enrolled at the Lambeth School of

By Louise Irvine It has been a labor of love presenting all the spectacular furniture, poufs and pillows from South Africa in our new Ardmore Design Shop. We were delighted to welcome the team from Ngala Trading, Ardmore’s US distributor, to preview our showroom. WMODA stocks dozens of  Ardmore pillows

By Louise Irvine Victorian humorists mocked the Aesthetic Movement of the 1870s and 1880s, which valued ideals of beauty above pragmatic concerns. Critics argued that the prolific output of poets, painters and designers with their slogan “Art for Art’s Sake” was pretentious and self-indulgent. Georges du Maurier, the famous Punch

By Louise Irvine Turkeys have a long and delicious history at Thanksgiving. Apparently, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked for Thanksgiving feasts in America. In Britain, the turkey is more commonly served at Christmas dinner. Poultry is an unlikely subject for pottery but one of our favorite Holiday figures

“The State of the Arts is STRONG in Broward County” was the resounding message at the inaugural address by Phil Dunlap, Director of the Broward County Cultural Division. Local artists, arts administrators, politicians, and city leaders came together on October 26 to hear how valuable the arts are to the

The Festival of Lights, also known as Hanukkah, begins this year on December 7. It is one of the most joyous festivals in the Jewish calendar and signifies the victory of light over darkness. The menorah is lit to symbolize the miracle of Hanukkah and glass is the perfect material

By Louise Irvine The Old Curiosity Shop Charles Dickens has been a huge influence on the way we celebrate the holiday season. With his Christmas stories, he rekindled the joy of the season in Britain and America and revitalized the heart and soul of the holidays. WMODA pays tribute to

By Louise Irvine Shopping has become an on-line experience for many these days but window-shopping, browsing, and buying in specialty stores is still one of the most pleasurable and rewarding social activities, particularly during the holiday season. Shopping became a cultural pursuit in the early 19th century during the rise of

By Louise Irvine In Italian, the Moleria is a workshop for the grinding of glass and we are delighted to present new work by Pietro and Riccardo Ferro who are masters of this technique in Murano. The collection is curated by Sergio Gnesin who is well known at WMODA for

By Louise Irvine Red is the color of love, as well as danger and sin. Red has also been a symbol of wealth and status. In Chinese culture, red represents joy, luck, and happiness. Red-glazed porcelain was created for sacrificial use during the Ming Dynasty when Imperial rituals required a