Ruins-ca

The Internet's Favorite Source for Authentic Antique & Vintage French Textiles & American Barkcloth!
Member since July 2008 View Profile

Celebrate Colors - AUTUMN SALE - 30% off Items in shoppe

Today's Featured Items

$69 USD
Vintage Cotton Metalllic Jacquard Fabric Featuring ..

$69 USD
Unique Antique French Chinoiserie Chintz Birds Flying ..

$100 USD
SALE Shabby Antique French Barkcloth Creton Fabric ..

$13,500 USD
SALE RARE Antique 19thc Polychrome Gilded Christian ..

$79 USD
Delightful Antique 19thc French Cretonne Fabric ..

$179 USD
Stunning Antique French Brocade Valance Chenille Trim

$69 USD
Sweet Antique French Brocade Mustard with Unusual ..

$69 USD
Rare Vintage French Cotton Fabric Pale Yellow Pink ..

$180 USD
Stunning Antique Vestment Needlepoint Sacred Heart ..

$139 USD
Seductive Antique 19thc Cut Voided Silk Velvet Fabric ..

$72 USD
Rare Vintage Black Pink Cotton Tiger Lily Floral Fabric..

$169 USD
4 yds Antique French Tassel Trim Gorgeous Warm Tones

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View All Shop's Items (205)

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Sale Items (14)

 

About Ruins-ca

Our Service Pledge To You:
We respond to all orders within 24 hours, we guarantee the authenticity of all of our items.

About Us
Ruins-ca has been selling imported, authentic European and American antique and vintage textiles, fabrics and trims for 19 years from our tiny cottage in beautiful Laguna Beach, Ca.

We are into selling fragments of things. We search high and low for our items and have pickers sending us fabrics and trims a few times a month from France. We sell everything from antique appliques and trims from vestments to antique fabrics from Rouen, Provence, Lyon, etc. Ruins-ca aims to please so be sure to check our shop every day as we will be constantly listing. We also sell eclectic curios from time to time as well. You are bound to find something that you must have for your projects or for your own collection! Do check out all of my listings, combine shipping and save!

Testimonials:

"I have been a client of Lisa Genesta's for some years.
Though I have been an actor since the early 80's, I have been a collector since the age of eleven, which is close to four decades ago now. Lisa's wares are as dependable, charming, and reasonable as the lady herself. She is a wonderful source for period textiles and a good source of fun. Warmest recommendation and a pinch on the cheeks is what she elicits from me." - Bronson Pinchot

"Ruins-ca is a must for all textile lovers! If you are looking for that charm of yesteryear you have certainly found the right place. Lisa has quite an eye for exceptional and hard to find vintage and antique textiles. She only carries textiles of the highest quality - fabrics to be cherished for years to come." - Kayte Vaughan

"I love your fabric and I've been collecting antique fabrics for years now."...."The quality is wonderful, shipping is fast and you are great to do business with." - Sue Penn

"I have dealt with Lisa for a few years now, and cannot recommend her
more highly, both for her extensive and accurate knowledge of antique
textiles and her exquisite taste. She has excellent communication
skills, and her stock is always a real pleasure to browse through, she
always sources quality antique and vintage items, and can be relied
upon to make you smile with her unique sense of humour!"
-Lois Davidson

"Textiles can be such a difficult field as the items do not come with labels and their indentification therefore becomes challenging. Discerning and aware buyers recognize this and I feel that Lisa addresses these issues in a knowledgeable manner...earning respect from buyers and other sellers alike." - Diane Cucci

"I have had a number of transactions and am delighted with my purchases. In my experience ruins-ca has demonstrated exquisite taste, great communication and honesty. The feedback for ruins-ca is extremely positive." - Susan Brown

"I have been a customer of ruins-ca on Ebay for several years and have only obtained the highest quality of trims, laces and fabrics for use in producing quilts. In fact, I have purchased some items two and three items again because I was so satisfied with their uniqueness. Ms. Genesta has provided items for her customers found no where else consistently on Ebay, and has gone out of her way to find items she knows her customers like and can use. It has always been a pleasure to peruse her site, knowing some wonderful item eventually will show up to tantalize me. I have found her descriptions of the items I have purchased to be true." - Jeanette Isaac


Recommended Reading:

**"French Textiles: From 1760 to the Present" by Schoeser & Dejardin
**"Textile Designs" by Meller & Elffers
**"Pique de Provence" by Edisud, France
**"Vintage Textured Barkcloth" by Meier



~A Yiddish Girl's Guide to
The French Influence on American Textiles ~

The American shmatte (rag aka textile/clothing) business found its roots during the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, when cotton thread manufacturers on the rivers of Eastern Connecticut began mass production to compete with European fabric factories. Prior, during the 17th and 18thc, women in America and the colonies wore calico, an unglazed cotton fabric, imported from Britain, sometimes with husks still included. Calico was cheap and affordable and the American demand for it was insatiable. American mills, seeing the demand, followed suit and began producing muslin for the population to use in draperies, fabrics and garments. The very wealthy continued to import the finer fabrics from France and Britain during the mid-late 18thc.

The terms Calico and Chintz, from the Hindi word "chints" which means variegated, refers to fine glazed cotton printed with prominent birds, flowers and other representational motifs during the 18th and 19thc. The term Indiennes refers to a similar cotton fabric utilizing the resist and mordant dyeing processes. You will find examples of these aforementioned fabrics used in early, fine American quilts.

Although the word cretonne was first being used by the French during the middle of the 18thc, it became wildly popular during the mid-late 19thc. This fabric, similar to unglazed chintz, is often thought to be named after Paul Creton or the village of Cretonne in France. Cretonne is sometimes considered a barkcloth, a plain white, durable cloth that is normally cotton, or nubby cotton with flax, printed with colorful designs and dyes. Toiles, an unglazed chintz, were introduced by the French during the 18thc (ex: toile de Jouy, de Nantes, etc..depending on location of where they were produced.) These fabrics were woodblock printed and very popular during the 19thc as well. They remain a popular fabric and are reproduced to this day.

During the Victorian era, American fabric tended to lose the quality of its European counterparts in lieu of profits. Nothing was being produced as fine as the antique silks of Lyon, France, inspired by imported 17thc Chinese silk fabrics. Cottons as described above and hand-woven linens created in France and Britain were also unsurpassed, with their wood block, copper plate or double roller designs. As far as I am concerned, nothing is prettier and has the same quality as the French cotton from the factories of Alsace, France during the mid to late -19thc, with the influence of Art Nouveau, then William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement evidenced in the designs.

Around the time of WWI, American fabrics became more utilitarian; the rich still dressed in exotic silks and imported fine velvets, while the masses dressed in less colorful American made cotton and wool garments. Likewise, solid colors became popular in France as they cost less to produce. Denim was a durable, popular American textile at this time.

The American Barkcloth Era during the 1930's-40's saw a resurgence of the use of bright, VAT dyed colors in cotton design with a distinctive tropical, Hawaiian floral influence brought back by the troops. During this time, the use of synthetics in fabrics also became popular and you will find many Barkcloth Era fabrics to have a synthetic and cotton blend.

Obviously, the above is a very simplified examination of fabrics from the 17thc - 20thc but it should give you a basic idea of the diverse history of textile manufacture. Immigrant Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, some of the finest tailors in the world, opened textile mills and showrooms on Broadway as well as in Brooklyn during the 19thc. Soon fashion design became a booming part of the growing American economy.

My Great Grandfather Persky made winter coats for the soldiers of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. My Grandfather Schaeffer was known as the King of Slacks in NYC and was an innovator in the Ready To Wear market for women's clothing. My father was one of the first to use Lycra in his designs during the 70's. They both worked out of the same building on Broadway in Times Square right down the block from Macys and the Diamond District. Modern Fashion Shows here in the states find their origin in the French Haute Couture shows of the 19th-20th centuries. The French market is considered the most fashionably viable fashion influence today as we unfortunately see a decline of the American fashion business in lieu of less expensive out sourcing. The quality of newer fabrics have therefore taken a hit and now cost is more than ever a consideration during manufacture. This is why alot of folks buy the authentic antique and vintage textiles available from Ruins-ca, a trusted name for more than 18 years in the modern textile business.


~So, How Do I Tell If A Fabric Is Old?~

The big question is: How do I tell if a piece of fabric is old and the answer is simple, you tell from its width. Since I deal primarily with late 19thc French Fabrics and American Barkcloth era fabrics, I will discuss these but to begin with, earlier 19thc French fabrics have a width of 12"-16". Late 19thc - early 20thc French fabrics run a width of 28"- 33". Vintage 1930-40 Barkcloth Era fabrics have a width of 33"- 36".

Be sure to check the graphics as well. I constantly search out colorful cotton prints with a special affinity for Art Nouveau period fabrics. Although I don't specialize in toiles, early cotton toiles, for example, will have scenes that depict the era of its manufacture such as early 19thc copperplate grecian classical graphics or woodland designs of later manufacture. Also, vintage American barkcloth often has the manufacturer's name along the selvage. Be sure to look for a patina from use. If you are dealing with chintz you will find the older, used pieces have lost much of their lustre while cretonne might appear as teastained or yellowed on the edges due to age. If you are a quilter, weight and thread-count are important tell-tale signs of age. Put it up to the light to check for pin pricks or holes that might compromise your project down the line. Also put your nose to use..see if there are any smells or odors. There might be mold dots or foxing (stay away from these as beneath the foxing is deteriation). Don't be afraid to do a burn test on silk if you aren't sure if it is real or not (silk will smell like burnt hair and turn to ash). Many pieces that Ruins-ca sells are old store or showroom samples that have never been used before and some even have their original showroom tags.

The more you deal with older fabrics for your projects, the greater your appreciation for them will become and your experience in choosing them. It is an addiction and you will become forever hooked. I am a Textileophile and I usually identify a vintage or antique fabric by its design, quality, the weave, the width, etc.. it isn't too difficult to tell whether a fabric is original or a reproduction when you are handling it. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing better than an antique French toile, cretonne or Lyon silk for a pillow or tote project. And don't get me started on antique silk velvet!

There is an advantage to buying new; however, and that advantage is yardage. I am lucky if I find an entire antique or vintage curtain panel or drapery to sell. And the older European fabrics are getting that much more difficult to find.

You will notice as you peruse my site that I am into using PLAIN language to describe my items, so you understand exactly what you will be receiving, unless there is technical information that is of specific interest. Of course, should you ever have any additional question regarding the age or quantity of any fabric of mine, don't hesitate to e-mail me and I will describe it more technically for you. I just figure that you folks are interested in the date, origin, color and design of the fabrics that you choose for your projects. If you want to talk Nap III trims or the origin of the thistle in Arts & Crafts designs, I am happy to oblige. My items and their descriptions normally attest to the distinct quality and origin of each piece. Happy hunting! ~ Lisa Genesta