While scouting for potential Canada Day items, I checked in with quintessential Canadian retailer, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), where I knew they’d started covering chairs and other furnishings with their iconic point blankets.
I was a little surprised to see that the Bay has expanded (or is it diluted?) its classic line of four-stripe blankets to include solids and stripes in red, grey, light blue, pink, even a rich burgundy.
The classic four stripe blanket is older than Canada itself. Originally conceived as a commodity to be traded with aboriginals, the point system was devised to standardize blanket sizes and weights. Today the points refer to twin (two points), double (four points), queen size (six points) and king size (eight points).
The first point blankets introduced in 1780 were white with a wide coloured stripe at each end, which provided excellent winter camouflage for the First Nations people. The iconic blanket with stripes of green, red, yellow and indigo were known as “chief’s blankets” or multistripes and were introduced around 1800.
I wasn’t able to get a price on the upholstered chair but the small storage cubes are $225 and the long storage bench is $695. The large pillows are $85 – $100 and the knitted throws are $80.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:46 am
We have one of these with four points that Brett’s mom had packed away. So classic, I love them, but I’m also really digging the gray with black stripes, I’d not seen that before.
(btw, thanks for the vote attempt, I appreciate the thought!)
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:39 pm
I have long coveted the four points wool blanket. LONG. My lowest moment was a heated argument with PB while registering for our wedding at the Bay over the coveted blanket. He didn’t want a $300 blanket on our registry. I lost on the blanket…but he lost on the patio heater!! HA!