The Lyn Le Grice chair
Over ten years ago, before we moved to our current home and created our work spaces here, we rented a studio at Trereife Business Park - previously an agricultural building once owned by the Le Grice family, now owned by the Bolitho Estate - on the outskirts of Penzance. It was a lovely location; it felt rural whilst still being walkable from town and just over the road from our studio, the original cafe in the stable block of Trereife House was open for the occasional lunchtime treat. We were still working there, when our building was used as the base for the film crew for ‘Summer in February’. It was an interesting time but I have never quite forgiven the crew for stealing our beers from the fridge in the communal kitchen.
I have met various members of the Le Grice family over the years for a variety of different reasons and I had the pleasure of spending some (albeit brief) time in Trereife House but in terms of Lyn’s work and her home at The Flower Loft, my knowledge was restricted to books, magazines and stories from those who had worked with her.
More recently, my friend, Phil, moved to The Old Custom House. The house was formerly Lyn Le Grice’s ‘The Stencilled House’ - a showcase for her stencilling work - and amazingly the house still has a few stencilled fragments, as well as glorious chequered floors.
Lyn no longer lives at Trereife and in July 2025, I attended the viewing of ‘Life & Art at The Flower Loft, Trereife: The Exquisite Home of Jeremy & Lyn Le Grice’, an auction by Lay’s Auctioneers. I had the most wonderful time there and it was a real privilege to visit Lyn’s home and view her collections (you can see my photographs from my time at the auction here). One of my favourite ensembles was an armchair, covered in a random assortment of cushions and textiles. To me, it was perfect.
Phil and I spent an exciting couple of days at our respective desks absorbed in the online auction proceedings. Then came the time for the bidding to start on ‘the’ chair. When bidding stalled at a surprisingly low amount, I was so tempted to place a bid. However, I really only wanted the textiles, I had no need for yet another chair (even though I did think it was rather lovely) and I wasn’t even sure that the textiles would be included in the lot. The bidding ended at what felt like pennies in comparison to many of the other lots. I felt a twinge of regret that I hadn’t placed a bid but as fate would have it, it could have been disastrous if I had…as I would have been bidding against Phil! Phil had won the chair.
Sadly, I didn’t manage to purchase anything at the auction; everything that I had my eye on went for more than my budget but to have had the pleasure of viewing and photographing Lyn’s home felt enough for me. Phil knew that I only really wanted the textiles from her lot and when she picked up the chair, the textiles were indeed included, so she gifted them to me. This made me incredibly happy and it feels like a fitting full circle to my Lyn Le Grice connection.
Appliqué cushion…
I love the aged, faded look of this cushion. It needed only some small, sympathetic repairs to the appliqué to ensure no pieces of fabric are lost or damaged. I now use this cushion every day as it sits on my chair at the kitchen table.
Crewel work cushion…
The only repair I made to this cushion, was to sew up a small hole which had appeared at the seam. The crewel work has definitely seen better days but as I intend to love it and use it daily, I am happy for it to continue to develop its character and charm.
Block print throw…
I had a very similar throw on my bed as a teenager. This piece is definitely well-used and has a very large rip and some smaller holes. I have started, but not yet finished, the repairs. It will be a long-term project between other work. I purchased some block print fabric from Cloth House which matches the weight of the fabric very well. The pattern is also reminiscent of the painted checkerboard floor in The Flower Loft, so it felt perfectly fitting. I am doing a combination of hexagon patchwork on the reverse and diamond patchwork to the front. I’m not sure when this will be finished but rest assured, it will be used and loved just like the cushions are.
