2305 days ago

PURPLE - A Colourful History

Owner from Curtain Clean BOP Ltd

It’s safe to say that you can expect to pay the same price for the same fabric, regardless of the colour. But only a few generations ago, the cost depended on the colour of the cloth because some dyes were so expensive to obtain.


Purple was so expensive that only royalty could afford it!

Tyrian Purple, otherwise known Royal Purple or Imperial Purple, dyes fabric a beautiful deep purple shade. In ancient times, the dyestuffs were obtained from the Mediterranean sea snail. The purple is used by the snail as part of predatory and defensive behaviour – the secretion can be extracting by poking and antagonizing the snail, and the resulting goo would gradually become purple on exposure to sunlight. ‘Milking the snail’ was a renewable resource, but so labour-intensive that usually the snails were crushed completely to extract the colour. Mountains of snail shells have been found at the ancient sites of Sidon and Tyre – they were harvested to such extremes that for a long time, the Murex snail was considered extinct.


Keep reading: www.charlesparsonsinteriors.com...

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More messages from your neighbours
4 days ago

Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

🎉 2026 is almost here!

We’re curious ... how do you welcome it?
Do you set resolutions, follow special traditions, or just go with the flow?

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Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
  • 10.1% Yes! New Year, New Me
    10.1% Complete
  • 19.5% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
    19.5% Complete
  • 70.5% Nah - not for me
    70.5% Complete
884 votes
16 days ago

Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’

If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.

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14 hours ago

The Summer Kiwi Quiz is back by popular demand

Summer Kiwi Quiz - 2026

Grab a copy of your local Stuff newspaper between 1 Jan - 28 Jan and participate in the Summer Kiwi Quiz! Test your knowledge, answer the daily New Zealand based questions, and find out how well you know our beautiful country!

Each correct answer will get you one entry into the draw to WIN 1 of 5 Ooni Karu 2 Portable Pizza Oven bundles, valued at $1024! Each bundle includes: an Ooni Karu 2 Multi-Fuel Portable Pizza Oven, Ooni Karu 2 Carry Cover, Ooni 12" Perforated Peel, Ooni Digital Infrared Thermometer and an Ooni Cookbook: Cooking with Ooni. The more answers you enter correctly, the higher your chance of winning. For more information and to submit your answers, click here

The Team at Stuff
Enter Here

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