Another year, another online auction!

Last year was the Maple Leaf Trust's first attempt at running a online auction. It was a big success, but this year, we have even more items to bid for! The auction itself won't kick off until the 6th of May but here's a taster of what's to come.

If you're already a CWC member, you will be sent the website address with your next e-newsletter - but if you're not a member, please register to receive an update by emailing me (see the image!).

By the way, we'll be taking bids from Canadians wherever they may be so please start telling your friends and family about this fun (and very worthwhile) online auction.

Visit to William Morris Gallery

Last week, a group of us had an excellent introduction to the William Morris Gallery in north London by one of its curators, and otherwise had the house to ourselves for the visit.

Morris' Evenlode Chintz (1883)

William Morris was amazingly prolific and accomplished as a designer of wallpaper and textiles (for Sanderson), embroidered and woven wallhangings and carpets, furniture, lovely ceramic tiles and bowls and vessels of varying shapes, not to speak of his beautiful illustrations, calligraphy and type-settings for books and other printed materials. And, of course, he was also an author and poet ... and the first to translate the Icelandic Sagas. At one point in his life, he was quite involved in politics - with the Socialist movement.

The collection is very suitably placed in Water House in Walthamstow, the Morris' family home from 1848 to 1856. It offers a number of examples of all the many areas of his interests throughout his life, and items later produced by William Morris' firm.

The top floor of Water House displays some beautiful examples of similar items by one of his friends, and one room on the main floor is currently set aside for an exhibit called 'Quiet Hands'. This is of commissioned furniture made by present day furniture designer Nicholas Hobbs. He, as so many who came after William Morris, is inspired by the simple and clean lines of the Arts and Crafts movement that William Morris inspired and was so much part of.

All in all, the trip to Water House at Walthamstow was indeed well worth it!

Submitted by Unni Claridge

April Hospitality: Diamonds!

“A kiss on the hand may be quite continental…”

Our April Hospitality speaker, Arabel Lebrusan, the creative director and designer of Leblas Jewellery near Sloane Square, discussed the ethical approach she takes when sourcing and making jewellery and explained why Canadian diamonds truly are a girl’s best friend.

We learned how jewellers assess the value of diamonds using the 4 Cs: carat, colour, cut, and clarity. A diamond with more carats, a clear or lighter color, a cut reflecting the most light, and no inclusions or blemishes are more valuable.

Arabel uses a 5th C however: “certificate”, to judge the value of a diamond. She uses only certified-Canadian diamonds for her jewellery because of the ethical problems that can surround many diamonds from Africa, especially Sierra Leone. By using Canadian diamonds, Arabel is able to trace the mine a diamond comes from and therefore takes a stand against conflict diamonds or those mined by children.

She spoke particularly about the Ekati Diamond Mine, 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories and how the mine works with local Aboriginal groups to ensure the mine meets agreed environmental standards.

Nina Tukaj, Patty Bell, Arabel Lebrusan and Teresa Howe

Taking inspiration from her home country of Spain, Arabel designs many of her pieces, especially those incorporating filigree, to be handcrafted by specially chosen artisans in Spain. Pictures of Arabel's designs can be found on the Leblas website (click here).

We were all impressed by the Arabel’s beautiful jewellery and inspired by her efforts to improve the ethical standards of the jewellery industry. We'd like to thank her, and Nina Tukaj (a Vancouverite who is working with Arabel at Leblas) for a wonderful talk that left us all sparkling like Canadian diamonds!

Submitted by Laurel Steuernagel

Unfortunately this is the last blog posting that we'll have from Laurel, who has worked with us on an internship basis for the last few months. We took a few moments at the Hospitality to thank her - presenting her with a few fun momentos of London. Laurel was a real asset to the CWC and we'll miss her enthusiasm, great write-ups of events and assistance on so many office tasks and events. Thanks again to Laurel! We hope she'll come and visit on her next trip to London.

Visit to the Dulwich Picture Gallery

Dulwich Picture Gallery is a wonderful place to visit any time of year, and even better on a gorgeous spring day. When a very exclusive tour is arranged for members of the Canadian Women’s Club and is given by the Director of the Gallery himself, it turns into an exceptionally special occasion!

Ian Dejardin, Director of Dulwich Picture Gallery

We were thrilled when Lily Harriss (our Canadian connection at the Gallery – see our earlier entry about Lily) arranged a visit for our members to the Paul Nash exhibit at the Gallery. She was able to spare some time to join us for tea and coffee (and delicious biscuits) before Ian Dejardin gave us a personal introduction to the exhibit and a tour of the Gallery’s buildings.

With his background as a curator, Ian gave a fascinating introduction to Paul Nash’s life and art. As well as giving us a greater understanding of how Nash came to be one of England’s greatest 20th century painters, Ian advised us to ‘look for the snakes’ – a sign or symbol that Nash added to certain pieces. No one knows why Nash did this. Ian also talked to us about the some of similarities found in Nash’s work with that of some Group of Seven artists, presumably gained around the same time, or through sharing similar experiences when Group of Seven artists spent time in Europe.

Given the sunshine and blossoming trees and shrubs, it made sense to then move outside do a tour of the Gallery’s buildings and for Ian to tell us a bit more about the Gallery’s history. Here’s a tip from Ian: When you have the chance to visit, walk right around the main building itself so that you can see the façade that Sir John Soane’s architectural design intended as the ‘front’ of the Gallery. As Ian told us, if you’ve ever visited any of the western world’s grandest art galleries, their design is undoubtedly based on that of the Dulwich Picture Gallery - the 'original' grand public art gallery.

Our huge thanks to Ian and Lily for making it such a wonderful event for us. The Paul Nash exhibit runs until May 9th and is highly recommended.

You will be interested in knowing that Ian and Lily are both involved in planning the Tom Thomson and Group of Seven exhibition that will open in 2011. You can read Ian Dejardin's blog entry about his visit to Toronto by clicking here. Another CWC special event to be planned! In the meantime, Canadians in the UK will be pleased to know that there are some Group of Seven postcards and notecards available at the Gallery’s shop…no need to return to Canada to stock up!

Submitted by Barbara Richards