Joanna Proops has had a lifelong love of beautiful fabrics, sewing and embroidery. She was making her own clothes by the age of ten and later taught herself the painstaking skills required to repair rare, damaged textiles.
Her involvement with the antiques trade began in the 1970s. At the time, almost nobody showed much interest in antique textiles. Charity shops were even putting rare handmade lace on bonfires because no one wanted it.
Joanna was certain that people would eventually recognise the beauty, history and value of eighteenth and nineteenth-century textiles. With the help of a bank loan, she set about rescuing as many fine linens, silks, brocades and pieces of lace as she could.
Knowledge that cannot be manufactured
Many antique shops in Bath have closed or moved away over the years. Antique Textiles and Lighting has endured because of the quality of its collection and Joanna’s specialist knowledge.
The shop received the British Antiques and Collectables Award for the best Antiques, Textiles and Lighting Shop in the UK.
Genuine antiques only
Everything offered for sale is a genuine antique. The shop does not sell reproductions. Most of the textiles date from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, with selected pieces extending into the early twentieth century.
Because many pieces are fragile, they are unsuitable for conventional post. The shop does not operate online or by mail order. Visitors are warmly encouraged to browse in person or telephone Joanna about a particular piece.