Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
It’s late and Lettice is still sitting at her Hepplewhite desk next to the fire in her drawing room. Her desk is covered with three interior designs she has created using her watercolours and pencils. Whilst she works away, her old childhood chum, Gerald, also a member of the aristocracy who has tried to gain some independence from his family by designing gowns from a shop in Grosvenor Street, is draped languidly across one of her Art Deco tub arm chairs with a half drunk glass of champagne in his hand.
“Aren’t you done yet Lettuce Leaf?” Gerald asks with a huff, adjusting positions so his head hangs over the back of the tub armchair and appears in Lettice’s periphery.
“Don’t call me that Gerald!” Lettice snaps at her friend. “You know I don’t like it.”
“You didn’t mind it when we were four.”
“But I’m not four any more Gerald, and nor are you.” She gives him a doubtful look.
“Who are your interior designs for anyway?”
“You know perfectly well, Gerald. They are for Mrs. Hatchett.”
“Oh! Not that ghastly woman again!” Gerald’s eyes almost roll back through his head as he gazes towards the ceiling.
“Yes that woman again, Gerald,” Lettice corrects her friend with a little irritation. “And anyway, she isn’t ghastly at all. That’s a beastly think to say.”
“You said that of her yourself not so long ago.”
“Yes, well that was before I actually spent a little time with her.” Lettice puts down her black pencil and looks up at the photos on the top of her desk, although she isn’t really seeing them. “Do you know Gerald; she and her husband are trying to help raise funds to re-house returned soldiers who don’t have a decent place to live.”
“Boring!” replies Gerald.
“I don’t think so. I think it sounds inspirational!”
“Inspirational! I hope you aren’t becoming a communist. I don’t want to share my little studio flat with a former soldier. There’s barely enough room for me as it is.”
“Considering that I have an allowance that comes from the sweat of others, and I’m running a business that is directed towards the upper classes, I hardly think so. Anyway,” she adds playfully. “I thought you’d be glad to share your room with a soldier, former or otherwise.”
“Yes, well,” Gerald blushes, looking towards the dining room, making sure that Lettice’s maid, Edith, isn’t listening at the green baize door. “I didn’t think of it quite like that.” Changing the subject quickly, he adds, “Mrs. Hatchett isn’t exactly top-drawer, more like up-and-coming middle-class mediocrity.”
“Gerald!” Lettice scolds.
“She probably wants her drawing room furniture upholstered in chintz,” he decries.
“I’m trying to talk her out of that.”
“See,” Gerald crows triumphantly. “Up-and-coming middle-class mediocrity. More money than taste.”
“And that’s why she has me, Gerald. I will be the taste for her money. At least she is paying her bills, which is more than can be said for some of our top-drawer set! I still haven’t been paid fully for the work I did to the Duchess’ Fitzroy Square small reception room.”
“Hhhmmm… she hasn’t paid me a penny for that evening dress I made her last month. I’d send her a reminder of her account if I had enough money for paper, an envelope and a stamp.”
“You’d do well to lower your standards from top-drawer, Gerald. Mrs. Hatchett would love your clothes, and with a banker for a husband, she has plenty of up-and-coming middle-class mediocrity money to spend.” She smiles cheekily. “I should introduce you. She has quite a number of friends who would be equally willing to pay to be dressed by an avant garde British couture designer. It could be the making of you.”
“Mrs. Hatchett’s up-and-coming middle-class mediocrity is rubbing off on you Lettuce Leaf: talking about money.”
Lettice wags a watercolour paintbrush at him.
“Well,” she sighs. “I think I’m done!”
She smiles proudly down at her final sketch of the entrance hall of ‘The Gables’, depicting a stripped back space with a mixture of Art Deco and antique oak furnishings.
“Thank god! Let me see.” Gerald suddenly loses his languidness as he leaps up from his seat and stands at her elbow. He looks down upon her cluttered desk, the contents usually neatly concealed behind its drop front. Amongst her silver ink wells, seals and letter rack are propped three beautifully conceived images. “And not a piece of chintz in site.”
“Yes,” Lettice says with satisfaction. “I’m very pleased with these.”
“And so you should be!”
“So now we can go out. Fancy going to ‘The 43’*?”
“To the wicked Mrs. Meyrick’s**? How delicious! Of course! But only if Mrs. Hatchett’s money buys me a drink. Thanks to the Duchess, I haven’t a bean.”
“Don’t worry Gerald, soon you’ll be rolling in up-and-coming middle-class mediocrity money if I have anything to do with it!”
*‘The 43’ was a London nightclub at 43 Gerrard Street in Soho, not too far from Lettice’s Mayfair flat and even closer to Gerald’s Carnaby studio flat. ‘The 43’ was notorious during the 1920s for outrageous parties frequented by the rich and famous. The proprietor was **Kate Meyrick a beautiful Irish nighclub owner who catered for both the nobility of Britain and the underworld of London in her luxurious establishments. She was sentenced to prison five times and received innumerable fines for selling alcohol outside of hours set out by the liquor licencing laws of the time. She was also sentenced to prison once for bribing a Metropolitan Police Sergeant, making her as notorious as her nightclubs!
This year the FFF+ Group have decided to have a weekly challenge called “Snap Happy”. A different theme chosen by a member of the group each week, and the image is to be posted on the Monday of the week.
This week the theme, which incidentally will be the final weekly “Snap Happy” theme before reverting to monthly on the 5th of December, is “anything at all… as long as it is small” which was chosen by me.
For anyone who follows my photostream, you will know that I collect and photograph 1:12 size miniatures, so I thought that Lettice’s desk, cluttered with tiny artisan miniatures was just the thing, as there are some very tiny pieces here, which can be challenging for me to place, even with my adept fingers and fine motor skills!
Fun things to look for in this tableaux include:
Lettice’s Hepplewhite drop-drawer bureau and chair are beautifully and artfully made by J.B.M. miniatures. Both the bureau and chair are made of black japanned wood which have been hand painted with chinoiserie designs, even down the arms of the chair and inside the bureau. The chair set has a rattan seat, which has also been hand woven.
On the top of the Hepplewhite bureau stand three real miniature photos in frames including an Edwardian silver frame, a Victorian brass frame and an Art Deco blue Bakelite and glass frame. The latter comes from Doreen Jenkins’ Small Wonders Miniatures in England, whilst the other two come from Melody Jane Dolls’ House, also in England. The photos themselves are all real photos, produced to high standards in 1:12 size on photographic paper by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire.
The watercolour paint set, brushes, and Limoges style jug (one of a set of three) also come from Melody Jane Dolls’ House. So too do the pencils, which are one millimetre wide and two centimetres long.
Also on the desk, are some 1:12 artisan miniature ink bottles, stamps, a blotter and letter rack, all made by the Little Green Workshop in England who specialise in high end, high quality miniatures. The ink bottles are made from tiny faceted crystal beads and have sterling silver bottoms and lids. The ink blotter, sitting behind the paint box and next to the jug’s handle is sterling silver too and has a blotter made of real black felt, cut meticulously to size to fit snugly inside the frame. The stamp is made of brass and so is the letter rack which contains some 1:12 size correspondence, also made by the Little Green Workshop.
Lettice’s three interior design paintings are 1920s designs. They are sourced from reference material particular to Art Deco interior design in Britain in the 1920s.
The fireplace appearing just to the right of the photograph is a 1:12 miniature resin Art Deco fireplace on which stands an Art Deco metal clock hand painted with wonderful detail by British miniature artisan Victoria Fasken.
The geometric Art Deco wallpaper is beautiful hand impressed paper given to me by a friend, which inspired the whole “Cavendish Mews – Lettice Chetwynd” series.
