31 August 2017

Pew - Something Still Stinks

The search for compelling images to use for smalltimores jewelry is often frustrating - it's not unusual to page through two dozen "likely target" magazines and still come up empty-handed. And yet, it remains my favourite part of the jewelry making process because subject matters and is what sets smalltimores apart from mass-produced junk. Buyers of my jewelry get the point of view and appreciate the sense of humor.

During this continuing wave of 1990s nostalgia, complete with multi-part documentaries including National Geographics's 2014 series "The 90s: The Last Great Decade?" and the current CNN's series "The Nineties," I spent a much more time-consuming method of reacquaintance by hunting through every single 1990s issue of four high-end home design magazines. Floating down memory lane upon those 480 issues, I well-remembered articles I had enjoyed and ads I had admired - and, at such a remove, found it fascinating witnessing progress unfold as web addresses began appearing, the ABCs of email were introduced, and the eternal question of satellite vs cable TV was formulated. The future really arrived in that decade.


But a full page ad in the November 1998 Architectural Digest placed by Pew Corner, a British company specializing in "fine reclaimed church interiors," marketing wood chairs just retired from Westminster Abbey, reminded me that those 1990s advances enabled the seismic shift social media would effect in the next two decades.

"From the coronations and weddings of the Kings and Queens of England to the recent funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, the chairs of Westminster Abbey have borne silent witness to the majestic unfolding of English royal history."

OMG.  Oh. My. GAWD.

Today, on the 20th anniversary of the death of Diana, can you imagine the blowback had social media existed when that ad appeared? It's probably safe to say that ad would not have appeared. Maybe those chairs would not have disappeared.

Upon googling, I found just four references to Pew Corner's offering: an article in the UK's The Sunday Times, a Wall Street Journal piece behind a pay wall, a passing mention in the San Francisco Chronicle, and, with a bit more detective work, a story in the UK's The Telegraph noting how Chairgate (my description) had only added to the Abbey's administrator's annus horribilis.

I also learned those 800 wooden chairs, which Pew priced at £3000 apiece (about $5100 in 1998), were replaced by stackable metal garbage. It sure made me nostalgic for the good old days of the 1980s.

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