I fear sounding a tad provincial here- but I should share that Tile Envy is often conceived and written beside a roaring fire. Mostly because it can get so dang cold in our tiny village by the water. But I like to think it's a little more than that. Perhaps it's a bit of a commitment to sitting for a duration that could be the length of a blog post or an especially lingering dessert.
Martin recently found a very special story of a most wonderful fireplace created to mimic the facade of Christ Church in Spitalfields. Spitalfields?? I know. I hadn't a clue myself. But after some research I discovered it's quite an arty section near the East End of London which, from photos and description, resembles the meat-packing district in NYC.
Dennis Severs commissioned this sacred artifact for his now famous home in Spitalfields which stands as a monument to the history of that community. The artist was Simon Pettet who was a ceramicist living in the Severs house and who was such a master of creating Delft tiles that aside from the modern and generally naughty subject matter, it would be nearly impossible to tell them from those produced in the 17th century.
Well, enough already. You really need to read the whole story as it's wonderfully told on the lovely blog- Spitalfields Life. The writer spent hours taking the photos and they are as good as the story-
