The Chatsworth Lady as an internet presence began quite innocently (as these things often do) a few years ago, when a friend/shop owner on Etsy encouraged me to open my own shop to sell vintage jewelry and collectibles. Given my penchant for British history, architecture and gardening it was a no-brainer to name my shop ‘Chatsworth Vintage’; however, the classic Colen Campbell illustration from Vitruvius Brittanicus wasn’t amenable to being used as an avatar, so I instead photographed a small 1850s watercolor minature portrait that I’d bought years ago from an antique store in Massachusetts. I have no idea who this young lady was, but once affiliated with my Etsy shop she acquired an identity as “The Chatsworth Lady”.
Approximately a year later I decided to start a blog on Tumblr in order to provide more detailed information on the types of vintage items I offered (Etsy listing descriptions aren’t the best places in which to be verbose, because shoppers have notoriously short attention spans); the blog was also named Chatsworth Vintage and linked to the shop. But “life and time” conspired during the past two years to make the shop more of a burden than a pleasure; major changes in the Etsy venue itself weren’t exactly to my liking either. So I liquidated the remaining inventory and closed the shop on January 1, 2015. I had definitely enjoyed my blogging experience and so I renamed it The Chatsworth Lady and carried on.
However, I couldn’t escape the nagging feeling that Tumblr really isn’t the ideal venue for blog posts that are heavier on words than on images, and felt a need to “graduate” to a more professional-feeling venue. After discovering how easy it would be to import my existing Tumblr blog to WordPress, here I am — or should I say “here we are”, because I would be delighted if you would join me in my ongoing fascination with gardening, art porcelain, vintage jewelry, precious gems and jewels, and so much more!
Please use the form below if you would like to contact me directly (nothing that is entered into this form will be published or shown on the blog, and your email address will not be shared.) Although it is not possible to attach an image to this contact form, you will be able to send images to the email address from which I will respond.
The Chatsworth Lady 
Hello M’Lady. I’m not sure how you feel about blog awards, but I nominated you for the Liebster Award. I truly enjoy your work and your world. Details can be found here: http://wp.me/p1w6cN-226.
Kevin, how nice of you! I confess I was utterly clueless about blog awards and so I’ve done some research into what the different kinds are and how they each work; sadly, I fear the format of the non-voting sort is a bit beyond my comfort level. I am hugely flattered though and thank you so much for thinking of me… and am very happy that you enjoy my blog! Yours is definitely one of my personal Top Five sites. 🙂
Understandable. Just know that I appreciate your support and your own take on life. Cheers!
Your help identifying a necklace that had been my mother’s is greatly appreciated.
I had attempted to get definitive information on it for years….
Thank you so very much