The counterpane & bed were a collaborative commission for the Crafts at Home Showhouse at the National Garden Festival in Gateshead in 1990. It was purchased from the Silent Auction at the end of the Festival by Tyne & Wear Museums for their contemporary applied art collection housed at the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead.
The bed was made by Toby Winteringham. The design of the counterpane is based on an astolabe, and deals with issues of time and the planets through recognised symbolism.