Leontine Linens acquired the historic Eleanor Beard Studio in the summer of 2002. Despite working closely with the studio since Leontine’s inception, it was not until Jane Scott became caretaker that she discovered the rich history of the studio and its founder and namesake, Eleanor Beard.
About Eleanor
Born in 1891 to Ben Robertson and Ann Collins Robertson of Cincinnati, Beard married Marvin Beard, who owned a general store and raised sheep as a side business. In 1921, Marvin found that the price for his wool was so low that profit was near impossible. His wife took one look at the harvest and decided to have it washed, batted and made into comforters for their home. Upon receiving the finished machine-quilted comforters, Beard thought she might have discovered a product with higher profit margin than the raw wool and decided to travel to New York City in search of buyers.
Upon meeting with a New York City department store buyer, she found that the machine-made prototypes she brought were a dime a dozen: The buyer suggested a market for a more distinctive product, perhaps one that was hand-stitched. Eleanor Beard returned to Hardinsburg and hired three local women, and a business was born. From 1921-1923, Beard farmed the work out and each employee completed pieces at their homes. They would travel by car and horseback to deliver their completed pieces and to pick up their next project. At first, it was a husband-and-wife (or wife-and-husband, more appropriately) team, with the Beards processing orders and packing and shipping from their home. As business ballooned, the Beard’s built a small studio in their back yard.
Beard passed away in 1951.
The Business
The Eleanor Beard Studio built its success on the native needleworking talents of local women. Beard devoted herself to bringing the local talent to its highest point of beauty. She introduced new techniques such as trapunto to the artisans.
The business grew quickly, with as many as 1,000 women employed at one time. There were shops in major cities like New York, Chicago, Santa Barbara and Pasadena as well as seasonal locations in Palm Beach and Southampton. The shops were designed as a refuge for clients and functioned as much as a social meeting place as it was a retail setting.
Upon Beard’s death, the company was purchased by Clara Kjose who managed the Park Avenue shop. Ten years later in 1960, Beard’s daughter Barbara Beard Castleman purchased the company. Again in 1967, the company was sold to a group of artisans working in the studio.
In the company’s early years under the guidance of Beard herself, the studio was highly in tune with the luxury market and home fashions. After Beard’s death, that focus seemed to dilute. By the time the employees were in ownership, there no longer was a leader watching the world outside of rural Hardinsburg and guiding the company toward new ideas and designs. In the 1960s and 1970s, the retail business all but disappeared and the company turned toward private-label and wholesale manufacturing.
It was not until the company was passed to Jane Scott Hodges in 2002 that Eleanor Beard repositioned itself as a workroom of skilled artisans. Hodges was able to return a sense of artistry and fashion to the historic line.
The Product
Original Eleanor Beard products can still be found today, in estate sales and on internet auctions. Many people contact Leontine Linens upon the potential discover of an original Eleanor Beard item.
The Studio’s first product and main focus for the first years of business was the hand-quilted comforter. Beard expanded the use of quilting into other products, including garments and accessories. A special form of quilting called Trapunto was revived by the studio and is still done today.
As home fashions changed, so too did the Eleanor Beard product line. The product line expanded to include all aspects of home décor, including pique bedding, sheet sets, towels, and table linens. Appliqué was introduced as a second option for embellishment.
Today, many of the same quilt patterns, monogram styles, and border styles are still available. Under the guidance of Jane Scott, the studio has returned to the spotlight as not only a preserved piece of American history but also as a true force in the couture home market.