Blog Posts - Decorative Arts Center of Ohio -- Reese-Peters House

'A Victorian christmas' arrives at daco

11/2/2021

Visitors to the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio (DACO) will travel back in time to experience “A Victorian Christmas” this holiday sea

The exhibition, which opens Nov. 6, 2021, will run through Jan. 2, 2022. Curators George Johnson and Randall Thropp carefully considered each component of the exhibition to maintain its authenticity.

Featured in the exhibition are an assortment of Christmas trees adorned with authentic 19th-century Victorian ornaments from Johnson’s personal collection
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“Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had nine children, and for Christmas, they set up a tree for each of their children,” Johnson said. “So we’re going to put up eight trees plus one Christmas pyramid, which is a German tradition.”

A Christmas pyramid is a carousel-like structure that can vary in size and dates back more than 200 years. The pyramid that is part of the “A Victorian Christmas” exhibition will feature four different platforms, with a windmill at the top.

“Victoria’s grandfather and great-great grandfather were German, and Prince Albert was German, so German Christmas trees were no stranger to them,” Johnson said. “Princess Victoria wrote in a diary about going to her grandparents’ house and seeing their decorations.”

In addition to authentic Victorian ornaments, electric candles will adorn each of the trees to replicate the use of real candles used during the 19th century time period. Victorian-era toys will sit under the trees, with nearby mantles decorated with antique Christmas decorations.

Visitors will also get a glimpse of what men and women may have worn to celebrate the holidays through the incorporation of costumes found in a popular exhibit at the museum.

Thropp, who curated the “Distinctly Paramount: Fashion & Costume from the Paramount Pictures Archive” exhibition that runs through Jan. 2, 2022 at DACO, selected a handful of costumes from the small and big screens to showcase in the Victorian Christmas exhibition.

“I am excited to be a small part of this year’s Victorian Christmas exhibition at DACO,” he said. “Five Paramount costumes will be added to the first floor that represent The Alienist, Angel of Darkness and So Evil My Love.”

“A Victorian Christmas” will be open during regular museum hours. At least two formal tours are planned, and docents will be on hand to provide information about this exhibition during regular museum hours.

Docent’s Love of the Arts Drives Passion for Volunteering

7/27/2021

Barb Sater.

“Many first-time visitors are surprised to discover the House is the museum of DACO,” she said.

Although her professional background isn’t in the arts, Barbara L. Sater says it was her love of the arts that brought her to the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio.

A retired registered nurse, Sater is one of several volunteers at DACO who come from a variety of backgrounds, all with one thing in common - their appreciation for the arts and willingness to learn.

Sater, a docent volunteer since 2013, has lived in Lancaster for more than 40 years. During one of her visits to DACO, an exhibition of “Christmases Past” that featured toys from the 1950s and 60s piqued her interest in volunteering, she says.

“I was very impressed with the docents and appreciated their enthusiasm and pride in the museum and the (Reese-Peters) House,” she said.

As a docent, Sater’s role is to make works of art meaningful, accessible and inspiring to visitors, she says.

“I interact with all visitors coming through the exhibition on my scheduled day, introducing them to the event and generally getting them started on their tour of our four galleries located on the second floor of the Reese-Peters House,” she said.

Sater also provides historical tours of the property to showcase the preservation of architecture and the collections of the Reese-Peters House.

As a volunteer, Sater also participates in ongoing docent training that includes semi-annual updates about the museum and curator-led docent training for each of the three exhibitions per year.

She says her most memorable experience as a volunteer has been the Paramount costumes exhibitions, not only because of the interesting exhibits alone, but also due to the sheer number of visitors coming through the museum each day to experience it themselves.

“Visitors are in awe of the costumes, their craftsmanship and history,” Sater said.

She remembers a “dapper looking” 98-year-old gentleman who toured the current “Distinctly Paramount” exhibition in particular as someone who made an impression on her because of his joy in seeing men’s fashion on display.

“He told the story to the tour group of meeting designer Emilio Pucci when he himself happened to be wearing a Pucci-designed suit,” she said.

For Sater, volunteering offers an opportunity to be part of a group of people who share an interest in decorative arts, architecture and heritage of the Reese-Peters House.

“Volunteering is the lifeblood of organizations such as DACO,” she said. “It’s critical that we pass the baton to the next generations so they may continue the enthusiasm, excitement and commitment to our community’s heritage.”

To volunteer at DACO, visit our Volunteer Portal.

Malvar-Stewart brings ‘Farm to Fashion’ to DACO fashion show, Nuno felting class

7/27/2021

Photography by Seth Moses Miller. Hand-felted ensemble with Filipino “terno” sleeves. Local wool, fibre from RaeRae my favourite alpaca, and banana fibre.

Since moving to Columbus nine years ago, Celeste Malvar-Stewart has worked closely with Ohio women farmers to obtain animal fibres that she uses for her projects.

The designer knows the name of every animal and visits them regularly.

“Because positive energy is important to me, working with happy animals is key,” she says.

Malvar-Stewart currently uses wool from two heritage sheep breeds - Lincoln Longwool sheep and Cotswold sheep - as part of her efforts toward preserving these threatened animals. She also uses fibres from huacaya and suri alpacas, which are among the most eco-friendly fibre animals.

“My work is quite literally from local farms to my fashion,” Malvar-Stewart says.

On Aug. 14, visitors to the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio will get the opportunity to learn more about these fibers that are used to create one of the most popular fashion accessories: a scarf.

As part of the “Farm to Fashion Nuno Scarf Workshop” with Malvar-Stewart, individuals will learn the process of Nuno felting, also known as laminate felting, using a silk base and textured raw fibre for surface design. Participants will leave the class with their own mini scarf after designing and hand felting it.

“I first began creating Nuno felted scarves while living in New York City as a way to practice and master the craft,” she said. “I enjoy the organic and somewhat unpredictable aspect of the technique and its textural results.”

Malvar-Stewart will also be one of four Ohio-based designers featured in an intimate runway show Sept. 18 called, “Fashion of Our Times.” The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio event will also include designers Tracy Powell, Dom Susi and Xuena Pu. The show will include designs inspired by these four, as well as a panel discussion for them to share their inspiration, vision and other behind-the-scenes details leading up to creating their collections.

“In addition, I will be showcasing a small collection of my latest work called, ‘I’ve Got the Blues,” which will include my signature looks while incorporating various new techniques using deconstructed denim waste combined with traditional tailoring, embroidery and felting,” she said. “Many pieces will include blue - dyed with indigo or infused with denim waste.”

For Malvar-Stewart, incorporating sustainable practices into her creations is a priority.

“Practicing and cultivating sustainability, intention, mindfulness and kindness within the fashion and fibre arts are the most important aspects of my work,” she said.

Each piece is produced with minimal to zero waste.

“Any additional colors are achieved by using natural dyes that I grow, locally forage or source responsibly,” she said.

An independent fashion and fibre artist for more than 25 years, Malvar-Stewart focuses on sustainable design in couture and high-end fashion and accessories. Her work has been showcased and published in The New York Times, Essence and local publications like Midwest Living and Buckeye Lifestyle.

She obtained a bachelor of applied arts degree and a master’s degree in fashion and textiles.

With her husband and two pugs, she lives in German Village, just a stone’s throw away from her studio, “Hangar 391” where she creates fashion under her brand, “MALVAR = STEWART.” She also creates fashion accessories and interior wear products exclusively for U.S.-based sustainable fashion and interior design platforms like MIVE in Columbus and Lu France Interiors in San Diego.

Pu brings ancient techniques to modern work

6/28/2021

Xuena Pu began her fashion journey in China as an apprentice of sewing and pattern-making at a small garment factory. Yet her fashion roots run even deeper, as she learned and practiced ancient weaving techniques in her early childhood with her grandma.

As a sustainable fashion designer who now lives in Powell, she says she has a strong mission to preserve the cultural heritage in textile art.

“I hope to share these traditional ancient techniques with the next generation,” Pu says.

Currently, Pu is exploring various ancient weaving techniques, creating examples and combining them all to create a database.

“My goal is to incorporate more intricate processes into new designs to produce modern pieces that we can identify with today while reminiscing about our history,” she said.

Pu will be one of four Ohio-based designers featured in an intimate runway show Sept. 18 called, “Fashion of Our Times. The Decorative Arts Center of Ohio event will also include designers Tracy Powell, Celeste Malvar-Stewart and Dom Susi. The show will include designs inspired by these four, as well as a panel discussion for them to share their inspiration, vision and other behind-the-scenes details leading up to creating their collections.

A Magna Cum Laude graduate from Columbus College of Art and Design, Pu will also teach a headband workshop at DACO Oct. 17 where she will instruct learners 14 and older on how to crochet their own headband using their new skills.

“I will teach some basic skills of crochet and macrame,” she said. “This class is ideal for those who are interested in crochet.”

While the pandemic put on hold or changed how many fashion shows, classes and other events were held, Pu says she took advantage of the opportunity to have more time to evaluate her designs, think about long-term goals, and focus on what she wanted to be and where she wanted to go.

“Pursuing and finding the true meaning and power of fashion design, and the process of art creation, has guided me during this special time period,” she said.

Taking a moment of reflection can sometimes have a greater impact on one’s life than expected, she says. She recalls one moment, in particular, from years ago that changed the direction of her career.

“I was inspired by an article that was talking about fashion designers and fashion school,” Pu says. “This article reminded me about the fashion dream I once had in my life. I made up my mind to chase my dream and started to prepare my portfolio for the application to a fashion school. Looking back, I appreciate the author who wrote the article that helped me reshape my life.”

“Fashion of Our Times” will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 18. Cost is $65 for the general public and $60 for members. Member pre-sale begins July 8, followed by general admission Aug. at decartsohio.org.

Designer Emily Rinehardt brings Sketch Class to DACO

6/14/2021

Fashion designer Emily Rinehardt remembers how intimidated she was when she learned to sketch.

Last weekend, she shared her techniques in the hopes that others may feel a little more comfortable with trying their hand at the craft and seeing their visions come to life. Through her Fashion Sketch Class, held on June 13 at DACO, Rinehardt explored the basics of sketching - drawing stylized figures, proportions and how to render garments.

“I think what is so fun about this type of illustration is that it can be very stylized,” she says. “Everyone has their own illustration style. There is more room to be creative with what you want your style to be.”

Even though there are guidelines, Rinehardt says that the creativity individuals bring to sketching makes it fun and easier to learn.

A Kent State Fashion School 2018 graduate, Rinehardt interned with fashion and textile designer Celeste Malvar-Stewart, who is teaching a “Farm to Fashion Nuno Scarf” workshop Aug. 14 at DACO.

“When I interned with her, I got a passion for sustainable fashion,” Rinehardt said. “She was so inspiring to be around.”

After graduating, Rinehardt worked as an assistant designer at La Senza, an intimate wear retail company, before co-founding a sustainable upcycling company in Columbus called Salvaged Apparel Co.

“Our mission is to upcycle clothing, redesign and reuse apparel, and to keep clothing out of the landfill,” she said. “We had our first collection in August 2020.”

Although her passion for sustainable clothing plays out in her company, she still embraces and practices her first passion, fashion illustration.

“Fashion illustration is so important because it’s the first step in the design process,” Rinehardt said. “I like to start with it because it’s the most emotional way to communicate what your design is, for yourself or a client.”

Rinehardt says she’s excited to work with DACO and those who share her passion. She recently visited DACO to see the “Distinctly Paramount” exhibition.

“The construction of those garments are so cool and I’d love to try to incorporate some kind of costume sketches into my class,” she said.

Docent Spotlight: Debby Rockwood

4/21/2021

Walking through the hallways of the Reese-Peters House, Debby Rockwood often imagines the previous families who called the historic structure “home.”

While her imagination paints vivid pictures in her mind, many of these images are also based on stories that have been passed down generation after generation in her husband’s family. Her husband’s ancestors once owned the home and eventually donated it to the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio, she says.

“Ever since I married my husband, I’ve heard stories about how they were contributors to the community and this house was always full,” she said

The home has come to mean a great deal to her, Rockwood says, spurring decades of volunteerism as a docent where she has continued to pass down the stories of those who once lived in the Reese-Peters House to visitors.

“When I am in here, I think about them walking around in the rooms,” she said. “My mother-in-law would come over here and say, ‘He sat over there,’ meaning her grandfather. So it means a lot to me.”

As a long-time docent, Rockwood has experienced many of the permanent and revolving exhibits at the center first-hand. Among her favorites are the “Paramount Pictures” exhibitions that celebrate fashion, movies and television.

A new exhibition curated by Lancaster native Randall Thropp, “Distinctly Paramount: Fashion & Costume from the Paramount Pictures Archive,” is set to open June 5 this year.

Rockwood says her interest in design dates back to her childhood. “Back when I was a young girl, a lot of girls and some boys made their own clothes,” she said. “My sisters and I made our own clothes, so we have always been interested in construction and how things are put together.”

As a docent, Rockwood says she also enjoys greeting guests, discovering their hometowns and answering their questions.

“It’s important that people who come from out of town realize this is their Decorative Arts Center, too,” she says.

Rockwood says she believes her husband’s ancestors would want it that way, as well.

“I think they would have been so proud of what this has become,” she says. “It’s an amazing thing that we can provide this education.”

'Rocketman' Relics on Display in Lower Gallery

4/19/2021

Have you ever watched a film and marveled at the historical accuracy of the set, props and costumes? Conversely, have you ever gasped in horror at a missed detail or historically inaccurate costume? Those examples highlight why mood boards are important to the film’s designers.

Costume designers use mood boards for information and inspiration, to help capture the “mood” of a scene and ensure its historical accuracy.

Visit DACO beginning May 5 to see how mood boards help inform the costume design process with a new pop-up exhibition in our Lower Gallery featuring costumes and mood boards from the Elton John biopic, Rocketman.

Thropp Explores Fashion as Costume in New DACO Exhibition

4/19/2021

Deep in the open stock of the Paramount costume archives is a special costume area called “The Gold Cage.” That’s where designer duds that didn’t make the film go to wait for the possibility of an appearance in a different film. Clothing ends up there for many reasons⸺maybe it didn’t photograph well, it wasn’t needed or the scene was cut in which the clothing was worn.

That’s when DACO Curator and Paramount Films Archivist Randall Thropp got to thinking.

“I was in the Gold Cage flipping through to see what we had,” he says. “I realized that nobody gets to enjoy these really high-end designer pieces, and we’ve never showcased this stuff before--it’s just being recycled,” he says. “I started pulling pieces out and realized it all would make a great exhibition.”

That exhibition, Distinctly Paramount: Fashion & Costume, opens at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio on June 5. From May 5 to June 5, visitors can view a pop-up exhibition featuring mood boards and costumes from the film Rocketman.

To Thropp, fashion and costume are a bit like the chicken or the egg. Which came first? We know that fashion imitates costume, and vice versa. It can be hard to separate the two.

“This exhibition is really a marriage of fashion and costume,” he says. “We see fashion as costume and we showcase some really nice designers, and some that people would not normally see.”

The range of designs span the 1920s to 2020.

When pressed to give his favorite costume from the exhibition, Thropp can’t name just one. “One of my favorite pieces is a blouse by Stella McCartney. It’s just beautifully done. And of course the pieces done for The Alienist (television series).”

Thropp says that he hopes the exhibition brings new visitors to DACO. “Get out with your masks on and visit the gem of Central Ohio,” he says.

DACO Receives Grant to Digitize Family Archives

4/19/2021

A new collection of artifacts will offer a glimpse into what life was like for an influential Lancaster family over the course of a century.

Thanks to a new grant, this collection of prized family archives will be preserved and available to all for generations to come.

In March, the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio received a $7,735 grant from the Ohio History Fund to support the digitization of the Peters-Whiley family archives. Caroline Rockwood’s family, who are descendents of the Peters family, gifted this comprehensive collection of memorabilia that spanned from the 1880s to 1990s to DACO in the summer of 2020.

“This has been a family who saved just about everything and after my grandmother died, the sorted papers and pictures went to the Ohio Historical Society to be catalogued,” Mitchell said.

The collection includes hundreds of documents⸺from photos to letters, telegrams and bills, she says.

There’s even a receipt for 6,600 feet of telephone cable, and an annual phone bill for $60. “They represent a picture of life at a certain time,” said Mitchell, whose grandfather, Phillip R. Peters, grew up in the Reese-Peters House. “This is like taking a microscope to history. You can put all these things together to get an understanding of what life was actually like.”

The collection originally belonged to Lancaster native Rockwood, whose ancestors had owned the Reese-Peters house. Rockwood passed away in 2020, and her daughter, Dodie Mitchell, recovered the collection in her mother’s basement. “She often expressed concern about what would happen to them. DACO as a repository would have pleased her,” said Mitchell.

Just as extraordinary has been the family’s collaboration to collect and preserve these artifacts, each telling its own story, over the course of multiple generations.

“Saving that and having it available for researchers and people interested, by ensuring it will be there for a while, is important to all of us,” Mitchell said.

DACO Executive Director Jason Crabill says the Ohio History Fund grant will allow DACO to digitize at least some of the archives so that individuals all over the world can learn about life for one Southeast Ohio family over the course of a century.

“We are thrilled to be trusted with this piece of Lancaster’s history,” he said. “While we do not have the ability to store or display the archives, digitization will make them accessible to everyone in the world, ensuring that these artifacts are saved for posterity.”

Once digitized, the collection will be freely available for researchers and the general public through a partnership with the Columbus Metropolitan Library. DACO expects the digitized materials to be available by next summer.

“We are grateful that DACO has accepted the archives and very appreciative of Jason applying very quickly to get the grant,” Mitchell said. “It’s very important.”

Protocols to Keep DACO Visitors Safe

4/14/2021

We are re-opening on May 5 with our pop-up exhibition featuring mood boards and costumes from the film Rocketman in our Lower Gallery. Distinctly Paramount: Fashion and Costume opens June 5. Please see our Re-Opening Plan below, so you know what you can expect before you visit.

Open to the public on May 5, 2021
Temporary Hours: Wednesday – Friday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.

All visitors must call DACO at 740-681-1423 to make a reservation. Reservations are accepted on the half hour. Reservations are given on a first-come, first-served basis.

Requirements for Entry:
• If you are experiencing signs of illness, cough, difficulty breathing, fever etc., or have had contact with a person with COVID-19, please do not enter the Museum at this time.
• Face masks are required during your visit to the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio. Thank you for helping protect our visitors, volunteers, and staff!
• If there are guests in the lobby, please wait before entering.
• Number of guests inside the Museum, at any one time, is limited. You may be asked to wait before entering the lobby.
• We ask that you observe social distancing (six feet apart) while in the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio.

Lobby Precautions:
• There is a 30” tall plexi-guard on the Greeter Desk.
• Limited elevator usage to one person/party at a time.

Visitor Traffic Flow:
• Guests will enter though Lobby doors as usual.
• Greeter will instruct guests briefly about procedures.

Museum Shop Precautions:
• Limited number of guests allowed.
• Hand sanitizer will be available near the Shop door.
• Plexi-barrier is in place at the checkout.