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Grace Helen Mowat and Cottage Craft

Beacon (f9823)
July 21/1917
History of Cottage Craft and Miss Mowatt’s philosophy
By F. W. [prob. Frederick Worrell]
On the St. John Road, half a mile from St. Andrews, lies Beech Hill, the cradle of Cottage Craft. There four years ago a modest beginning in the home industries was made by Miss Helen Mowat.
            Firmly implanted in her mind was the idea that there must be certain amount of natural artistic talent tin the country where the surroundings were so beautiful. From her childhood she had admired the texture of the hooked rugs done by the farmers’ wives, and she thought how much the rug industry could be developed, if only more artistic designs were chosen. With this idea in view she went around the country side teaching the people new patterns and the artistic combination of colors. Then she bought the finished product which she placed with the Handicraft people in Montreal. The work found such a ready sale that she increased her business. In a room in her own home she opened the Cottage Craft Shop, where she sold rugs and homespun.
            From their attics and store rooms the people got down their grandmothers’ looms and began to weave, first, homespuns and then rugs.
Miss Mowat now began to enlarge her original plan. She thought if people would use native art on native materials that it would open up a new field in handwork. She told the women to embroider pictures of their every day life.
Nature is the teacher. She shows grace of design and harmony of coloring. There are no stamped pattern for the work. The farmer’s wife looks at the thing she is most familiar with and reproduces it on her rag mat or homespun bag. “The exalted ides of city life,” says Miss Mowat, “accounts for the bad taste attributed to the country.” When the country woman follows her own natural instincts when she creates a work that the city woman appreciates and takes back to her home in the ugly, sordid city as a reminder of the fresh, clean country.
            From a small start M is Mowat now has more than seventy workers. She has branches, each under the supervision of a competent woman, all over the county. Lately she has established a branch in Calais as a centre for Washington County. In the autumn she hopes to increase her radius of activities still further.
The other day I visited the Cottage Craft Shop at Beech Hill and examined the work for the year.
            The first thing I noticed was the pile of rugs, both hooked and woven. There were many designs, roosters, bunches of flowers, ducks, fruit , winter scenes. The two that I admired most were a yachting scene, and a typical farm scene—a little house and a big barn.    The bags, the idea for which originated with Miss Edith Townshend, are rainbow-hued, some are woven with bright wools; others have crocheted flowers and berries applied; while most fascinating are the cones with the embroidered pictures; one with a flock of chicken, another with a country village; a third an old fisherman rowing out to his weir. The most attractive was a farmhouse interior where an old couple sat winding wool, on the floor was a braided rug, a bird hung in a cage, geraniums were on the window sill, and on the wall was the motto, “Bless Our Home.”
On one table I saw two bed spreads that were really lovely. One was knit, the other crocheted. Beside them were the toys. Of these I shall mention only the block villages. In each box are ten pieces, houses, barns, a church and a school house. These were made by the country children during the long winter evenings on the farm. There was also a quaint pincushion, a potato basket of grey country wool with a bunch of woollen flowers on the side. The corsage bouquets of colored wool were also very pretty.
On account of the display or originality and character the work of Miss Helen Gillman stands out among the rest. The worker its a true artist. Space will not permit me to describe all her work, I shall take only two things—a set of luncheon serviettes and a tea cloth. Each serviette is embroidered with a different country scene. In one a farmer drives sheep down the lane. Another shows a sunset, a third is a farm in winter. No two are alike but they all depict scenes familiar to every native of Charlotte County. The tea cloth is so unique that it is almost beyond description. It is the Charlotte County Fair! Two sides represent he road leading to the Fair, the other side it the Fair grounds. We see the balky cow, the prize pigs, the crated fowl. As we turn the cloth we find the ice cream stall, the soft drinks stands, where two people are sucking pink lemonade through a straw. As we pass the man selling balloons to the children, we come to the fancy work and preserve, while near by the are the prize vegetables. Among the admiring spectators we can pick out the pastor of one of our rural parishes. The whole cloth is “a miracle of design.
            On the financial side of Cottage Craft I have said nothing, but it is not because it is small. It is only that the onlooker loses sight of it in admiration of the work accomplished.
            The value of Miss Mowat’s efforts for the countryside cannot be estimated. She has opened a new life to the country women. She is training them to use their own ideas and to develop originality. She has put Charlotte County under a heavy debt of gratitude.

Beacon
Oct 20, 1917
Charlotte, County Cottage Craft
#[Miss Mowat gives lecture on current progress of Cottage Craft]

Beacon
July 27/1918
Let St. Andrews Flourish!
As we pointed out lat week, the need of industries in St. Andrews is very great. While the country is at war and so many of our men are engaged either as combatants or in collateral war work, the time is not propitious for undertaking new enterprises of any great magnitude; yet even while the war is in progress plans can be formulated and preparations can be made for beginning work at the earliest moment when men are available for carrying it on. The town at the present time is practically without industries, if we except the fishing industry (of which St. Andrews secures only small portion of benefit) and the summer hotels. And without any exception, there is not a single industry of any kind in the place that gives all the year round employment to a dozen men or women.
            . . . If a number of handicraft industries, employing mainly skilled work people, were started here in a small way they would soon expand; because they would receive the most effective kind of advertising by means of the large number of wealthy people who come here every summer and who would be customers for all articles of superior quality made in the place. This is being verified in an impressive way by the enterprise of Miss G. Helen Mowatt, who has inaugurated the Cottage Craft industry within the County, and by means of the patronage of the summer visitors to the Town is enabled to dispose of a very large quantity of useful and artistic fabrics and articles made by the women folk in cottages throughout the County in time that might otherwise be wasted, or less profitably employed.

St. Croix Courier
March 23/1922
Back to the Days of Cottage Craft. The Story of Helen G. Mowatt and How She Succeeded in Expanding a Small Sum into a Great Undertaking. Photos. Pretty young woman. Gertrude E. E. Pringle in MacLean’s Magazine for March. Original family farm 80 acres “has diminished in size, for insistent summer residents have acquired bits of it.”

St. Croix Courier
June 8/1922
Cottage Crafts of Charlotte County. Miss Helen Mowatt Addresses Women’s Canadian Club in Saint John and Exhibits Samples of Art.

St. Croix Courier
July 5/1928
Niger Reef Tea Room Opens for summer. Lawford’s Gift Shop. Cottage Craft has moved to David Clarke’s store on water Street. Mr. and Mrs. Josephs at Algonquin Cottage 3. Tait’s at Algonquin

St. Croix Courier
Nov 3/1938
Shire town Items—Pottery Being Revived. Many years ago there was a pottery doing business in St. Andrews. It was situated on the road leading to Joe’s Point and the little bridge on that road is still known as the “pottery” bridge. In more recent years, (about fifteen years ago), a pottery was established here by Miss Helen Mowatt, well known as the originator of the still prospering Cottage Craft. The business flourished for a few years but owing to the pressure of other interests, was eventually closed down. (Apparently Mowatt attempting a revival)

St. Croix Courier
Feb 27/1941
Shiretown Items—Unusual War. The February number of the “Junior Red Cross News” contains a story of the Aroostook War, one of the few wars won without bloodshed, written by “Grace Helen Mowatt, of Sa, with illustrations by the author. The story, though written for young children in simple language, is told in Miss Mowatt’s usual breezy style and makes interesting reading for grown-ups as well.

St. Croix Courier
June 5/1941
Shiretown Items—At Montreal Exhibit. A high compliment has recently been paid to Charlotte County Cottage Crafts. At the third annual Arts and Crafts Fair to be held in Montreal this month of display work done by the women of the Gaspe peninsula, it is planned to have a replica of a French Canadian village and Mrs. P. W. Birks who is one of the promoters, has sent to Miss Mowatt to have all the figures done there, having seen some of this work on exhibition at the Handicrafts Guild in Montreal. (Now on display at cottage crafts) These miniature men, women and children are now on display in Cottage Crafts windows and are well worth looking over. The skeleton is of flexible wire, wound with cotton to make the proper figure and the dress is of various gaily colored homespuns, all made in Charlotte County. The heads are made from rayon silk, sized and stuffed with cotton and the faces daintily painted with characteristic expressions. there are twenty-four figures in all including Monsieur and Madame, the Cure, a Nun, a Grocer, a Habitant with “Wife and child-in-arms, a Doctor, a School-marm, a Snow-man, children and so forth. The figures were designed and faces painted by Miss Helen Mowatt and most of the costumes were made by Mrs. Cecil Lowery.
           
St. Croix Courier
Feb 1/1945
Shiretown Items
Poem on Cottage Craft

St. Croix Courier
May 13/1948
Kent Ross General Manager of Cottage Craft

St. Croix Courier
May 4/1950
Shiretown Items: Men’s Club
The building in which the Men’s Club has been located for several years has been purchased by Ross Brothers, Charlotte County Cottage Craft, and extensive repairs are being made. The ground floor has been rented to Mr. Taylor who will live in the rear and dispense antiques in the front. The large room upstairs formerly occupied by Rose McKay, public stenographer, has been re-decorated and will become the new home for the Men’s Club. One of the smaller rooms has been fitted up for Miss McKay, and the third room upstairs will also be for rent. In some ways the club members find the new quarters superior to the old. The room is larger and has more windows and more light with a fine view of the harbor and an excellent outlook on the doings of the street. its disadvantages are more pronounced, however. In addition to a raise of 50 percent in the rent there will be the expense of installing and operating a lift to provide accommodation for the members whose “legs is all gone.”  We have the design for this contraption but it will not be built until Mr. Pillow arrives to supervise operations. His own model, being the first machine of its kind in the world, is a clumsy affair and requires too much gasoline to run it. it is hoped that after a long winter spent in serious and profound thought he will have developed some improvements which will afford greater facility of operation, and reduction in costs. The greatest disadvantage of all however is that our summer friends passing along the street may not drop in for a game or a chat as formerly. At any rate we are thankful that we still have a place to meet and we are grateful to our landlords for fixing the room up so nicely for us.

St. Croix Courier
May 24/1951
Cottage Craft Founder Honored by UNew Brunswick. History of achievements.
News Notes: History of Cockburn’s drugstore.

St. Croix Courier
June 22/1983
“He Joked with us,” ladies exclaim.
Tana Moon, 13; Tammy Small, 13; Jennifer Lively, 16; and Alison Scarratt, 14 spent Sunday as young ladies-in-waiting to the Princess of Wales. Dressed in long, flowered dresses and starched white caps, the girls carried baskets filled with flowers and gifts from admirers of Princess Diana. The primary role of the girls was to help Princess Diana’s real lady-in-waiting to carry all of the flowers, gifts and stuffed toys for Prince William accumulated during the walkabout outside the All Saints Anglican Church and the Algonquin Hotel. Without a doubt the envy of scores of young girls, the St. Andrews foursome will have many fond memories of the royal visit. After the prince and Princess left the Algonquin Hotel on Sunday, the four were elated, almost incredulous they had actually talked and joked with Prince Charles. “Oh, it’s so exciting,” exclaimed Moon, “It’s just great, it’s spectacular. he’s really Prince charming.” “Oh yes,” agreed Small. “He’s gorgeous and he was making jokes with us.” According to the girls, among the gifts for prince William were a stuffed frog made by Cottage Craft Ltd., in St. Andrews from the children of the town and a stuffed dog. “He asked us if we made it,” related Moon, “and then said he said that he was sure prince William would love the frog. He’ll chew on it,” he said. But, said Small, Prince Charles said he was so fond of the stuffed dog, “he said he’d keep it for himself.” The girls said they didn’t get the chance to chat with princess Diana but the unanimous opinion was they she was “beautiful.” “She’s so pretty, even prettier than all the pictures,” said Moon. And, she added, when the Prince and Princess left the Algonquin for the wharf on their way out of town, “she waved to us and said Thank You.”

St. Croix Courier
Feb 27/1964
Grace Helen Mowatt dies, Aged 90.