Few people associate the Kentucky countryside with fashion production. Oh yes, there are Fruit of the Loom mills in the state and a fine thing they are,but that is another story. Yet Helen Bond Carruthers in Versailles with her cardigans, Maud Hundley in Anchorage with her needlepoint purses, and Eleanor Beard in Hardinsburg with lingerie and quilting were among many who had successful businesses. We have focused on Helen Bond Carruthers already. Let's look at Eleanor Beard.
The Eleanor Beard Studio was located in Hardinsburg,Ky. Hardinsburg was, and indeed still is, a small city of a couple thousand plus. Located in Western Kentucky in Breckinridge County, it's not too far from the Ohio River. Beard was originally a Louisvillian with a husband, Marvin,from Hardinsburg. His farm there was where they started the business when wool prices were low in the early 1920s. According to the company history at eleanorbeard.com: "...by 1929 Eleanor Beard had offices and outlets in New York (across the street from the Nancy Lincoln Guild), Pasadena, Santa Barbara and Chicago. At the height of its business, the studio employed around 1,000 people". They made quilted comforters, pillows, drapes,slipcovers, bedspreads, robes and accessories such as .... for more, click here: Past Perfect Vintage
1940s Hand Quilted Peach Silk Ladies Robe by Eleanor Beard
