Vintage packaging

Having just spent £100 on brown paper carrier bags for my Christmas sales I am obviously a person who values attractive packaging. I didn't realise however that German farmers from the 19th century would have been similarly interested.

I have been buying heavy duty cotton sacks with lovely stencilled names for some years now. Originally used for grain or flour, they make great cushions and bags although need serious laundering first! Last week for the first time I discovered one with a label on the inside giving details of the company which produced the sacks.

 I'm wondering how best to use this label, on a cushion maybe or bag but it will also be nice as a label for the cushions I made from the sacks.
I particularly like the sacks with the blue stripe down the middle and if they have a date so much the better.

The sacks I bought were from the years immediately before the second world war; I found myself wondering what happened to those farmers in the following years. Indeed the dealer I bought them from showed me a sack with one name crossed out and another pencilled in. "Probably a Jewish farmer's possessions which were confiscated", he said.

I'm pleased to say I'm not the only fan of these robust cushions. The last group I made sold quickly and most of those in the images are now in Julie's lovely shop in Sheffield. See an image of Vintage Home on the left and click on the link for more info.  She is hoping to feature them in her next window display.