This is one of the many villages in the area which still have a distinctive German character and where some of the older residents speak the Schwabian dialect of German as a native language.
Antiques and textiles dealer Maud has a home in Nagynyarad and drives over each month to work with traditional indigo dyers who hand print and hand-dye the linen. Spun at home on narrow traditional looms, it was stored in rolls and when it was needed the narrow widths of linen were hand stitched together to make grain sacks, tea towels and tablecloths, with the traditional cart covers now coveted by interior decorators as curtains.
Also hand-dyed in contemporary colours, these textiles are sold as natural linen and dyed lengths, cushions, bags and rag rugs by Maud and her two daughters at antiques fairs, including DMG Fairs and Cindy Mainwaring's fairs.
Said Maud: "I bought fabrics and antiques from France and East Germany and when handcrafted pieces became scarcer, I kept moving east and into Hungary. I have such a respect for Hungarian culture and traditions and the amount of labour that has goes into the creation of the linen that I wanted to give the fabric a new life."
At Cindy Mainwaring's last Whitstable fair on September 2, Maud took plenty of her indigo blue and white textiles to complement the seaside feel of the fair and she will be at Cindy's next Chelsea fair at Chelsea Town Hall on Sunday October 8.
Telephone Maud on Tel: 01285 641867 or visit www.beyondfrance.co.uk. Telephone Cindy Mainwaring on 01227 773037 / 07778 318319.
