Scarfing Down some Art

Last summer I was doing some research in Salem, Massachusetts, and after climbing up the skinny secret staircase in the House of the Seven Gables, after admiring Hawthorne’s Custom House, and after dodging the kitschy witchy haunts to locate the more serious, sober monument to the trials, I treated myself to the Peabody Essex Museum.

After spending some time in the exhibits I wandered through the gift shop, and, to my surprise and delight, found a scarf by Margo Selby, who had been known to me only through the wonderfully curated advertising pages of Selvedge magazine. (I buy Selvedge as much for the fabulous advertisers as for the gorgeous photographs of textiles.)

Selby is a London-based fabric designer who makes textured, *bubble* fabric in sturdy silk. She crafts throws, pillows, small bags, and scarves, to name but a few items. My scarf is in the *parrot* colorway (see color scheme of the sachet on the left in first photo) and I love how it is both tough and elegant with a jacket or coat.

As the cold, snowy weather comes, I’m drawn more and more to scarves and winter wear, so you may be seeing more of that on my blog. Or maybe not. For as soon as I proclaim something, I usually do the opposite. It’s that contrary nature.

Perhaps it’s frightfully cliché to buy a piece from an art museum gift shop. Perhaps it screams *deliberately arty* in the way that long, boxy clothing with precise architectural cuts does.

Que sera sera. Whatever Selby, Selby.