Handcrafted footstools modelled by Battersea rescue dogs ahead of Christmas auction
Students and community groups from across The King’s Foundation have collaborated for the first time to create eight unique footstools, crafted and upholstered using recycled curtains from Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. The footstools are being auctioned to raise money for The King’s Foundation, following on from last year’s kimonos which were created from the same sets of curtains and in turn successfully auctioned over the Christmas period.
The auction can be accessed here.
This year, pooches from Battersea Dogs and Cats centre took part in a special festive photoshoot in the Orchard Room at Highgrove Gardens, the estate’s dedicated entertaining space. The dogs travelled to Highgrove Gardens from Battersea’s Old Windsor home and Shadow, Darcie, Elspeth, Percy, Harper and Missy are still looking for new homes in time for Christmas.
To create the footstools, The King’s Foundation’s Community Sewing Bee group at Dumfries House in Scotland created individual bespoke patchworks by upcycling the curtain fabrics from Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, combined with Harris Tweed.
Those fabrics were then transported to the specialist education workshops at Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire, where students of the Métiers D’Art Fellowship – a collaborative course offered by The King’s Foundation and CHANEL in partnership with le19M – completed the upholstery and fitted it to handcrafted footstools designed and made by students at the next-door Snowdon School of Furniture, where the CREATE programme specialises in bespoke woodworking.
The collaboration combined sustainable materials and traditional craftsmanship, which sit at the heart of The King’s Foundation’s work. The result is a stunning range of footstools made across three of The King’s Foundation sites and by different generations of learners.
“The footstools are a very special project as it’s the first time we have created items that represent a collaboration between two of our educational sites, Dumfries House and Highgrove Gardens, across three of our educational programmes.
Simon Sadinsky, Executive Director of Education for The King’s Foundation
“The King’s Foundation champions tradition and heritage, which is perfectly embodied in the unique footstools that have been so expertly created by our incredibly talented students and Sewing Bee members. The project also highlights our commitment to sustainability by using upcycled and natural materials.
“What has made it even more wonderful is being able to welcome some four-legged friends from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to mark the start of another magical festive auction – we hope this will in turn help to find them new homes!”
