Well......not quite, but our materials may be near to other people who are famous!
Every now and again we'll have one of those really interesting phone calls, a designer, museum or theatre company wanting to create something a bit different using our materials. In the past we've supplied advice and all sorts of materials to be used by the West End and Covent Garden Theatres, snazzy London restaurants and even on the catwalk. We once supplied some basketmaking cane for a scene in "The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin" TV programme, (the poor long suffering wife of Reggie was trying to save money by restoring some chairs in one episode.)
Well today it was a film company that phoned, but not just any film company, the makers of the new Bond movie. Yes, our materials will be used on the set of the new movie. Oh well I thought it was exciting anyway........ at least it's a kind of brush with fame - about the closest we'll ever get, (thankfully)!
So a word of the week for a change.
Deluded - To mislead the mind or judgment, to mock or frustrate hopes and aims.
Just about sums it up I think!
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Monday, 16 January 2012
D'ya know what it is yet?
Haven't had much "spare" time this week, that might be because we've finished eight of the chapel chairs. So this weekend meant catch up time on some long overdue projects. Here are some component parts of the latest thing...any guesses?
Okay here's a clue, all of the pieces glued together.
I feel very guilty admitting it, but we were asked to make this over a year ago. I found all of the component parts eventually and finally got around to forming the extra mortices today, all it needs now is two seat tops. Any closer to guessing yet?
Well it's a dogs step stool! We've made it to order especially for one of our customers elderly Daschunds, (stay with me) the dog is too old to jump up onto the bed now, so the idea is he can use this as a staircase.
The things we do.
Okay here's a clue, all of the pieces glued together.
I feel very guilty admitting it, but we were asked to make this over a year ago. I found all of the component parts eventually and finally got around to forming the extra mortices today, all it needs now is two seat tops. Any closer to guessing yet?
Well it's a dogs step stool! We've made it to order especially for one of our customers elderly Daschunds, (stay with me) the dog is too old to jump up onto the bed now, so the idea is he can use this as a staircase.
The things we do.
Monday, 9 January 2012
A boot sale find
We often wander around the boot sale part of our local market at the weekend but rarely find anything to buy, after all we are trying to clear the house out, not add yet more!!
But this weekend I did find a little something.
It's a hand turned shallow dish made from mahogany. I brought it home, cleaned it up and then drilled a series of holes around the lip so that I could use it as a basket base. Using some left over bits of weaving material, this is the result.
A pot holder full of Spring colours. I bought a second bigger platter too, but there wasn't enough time left on Sunday to work on that one because we had the extra sad task of dismantling poor Sybil's outdoor run - it was too painful to see it every day, we found ourselves looking for her inside.....
But this weekend I did find a little something.
It's a hand turned shallow dish made from mahogany. I brought it home, cleaned it up and then drilled a series of holes around the lip so that I could use it as a basket base. Using some left over bits of weaving material, this is the result.
A pot holder full of Spring colours. I bought a second bigger platter too, but there wasn't enough time left on Sunday to work on that one because we had the extra sad task of dismantling poor Sybil's outdoor run - it was too painful to see it every day, we found ourselves looking for her inside.....
Friday, 6 January 2012
RIP Sybil
She was nearly 20 years old, but you can never be prepared for their final moments can you?
Here she was, a dainty little blue cat curled up in a fruit box with her son Rodney. The end of an era, I was there when she was born and she was the last of the line.
She left us today. Bye Sybs.
Here she was, a dainty little blue cat curled up in a fruit box with her son Rodney. The end of an era, I was there when she was born and she was the last of the line.
She left us today. Bye Sybs.
Thursday, 5 January 2012
Mouldy bottoms!
We know what we'll be doing for the next three months......... It all started a little while ago with a phone call from the National Trust. "We have a problem with rush seats on the chairs in a chapel, it's so damp that the rush gets mouldy and mildewy then it goes soft and the coils start to break....any idea what we can do?"
That's the trouble with natural materials and especially rush and seagrass seats, when they get damp and stay damp, mould and mildew have a field day feeding off the coiled rushes and the internal packing. It doesn't take long to happen and there's no quick fix. The last thing you need is for a member of the congregation to sit on a mouldy old chair seat in their "Sunday best".
We suggested using paper fibre instead, it looks the same as rush but it won't hold the moisture in the same way and is much less likely to succumb to mould. So a decision was made, yes 40 chair seats would be replaced with paper.
The van turned up today full of little chapel chairs - all 54 of them.
Yes, I think that will keep me out of trouble for a while, well until Easter at least.
That's the trouble with natural materials and especially rush and seagrass seats, when they get damp and stay damp, mould and mildew have a field day feeding off the coiled rushes and the internal packing. It doesn't take long to happen and there's no quick fix. The last thing you need is for a member of the congregation to sit on a mouldy old chair seat in their "Sunday best".
We suggested using paper fibre instead, it looks the same as rush but it won't hold the moisture in the same way and is much less likely to succumb to mould. So a decision was made, yes 40 chair seats would be replaced with paper.
The van turned up today full of little chapel chairs - all 54 of them.
Yes, I think that will keep me out of trouble for a while, well until Easter at least.
Monday, 2 January 2012
Happy New Year
Happy New Year everyone. It's back to work tomorrow for most I guess, but it's been good to take some time off and relax, hope you've had the chance to do the same. I strained my back on Christmas Eve - very stupid of me, in perfect time for the holiday - and it's only just starting to get better. My other half and youngest son both managed to catch colds this week and then two days ago I developed some kind of eye infection that made me look like I'd fought 9 rounds with Muhammed Ali!
Ho hum.
We've got to be fit and feisty by tomorrow though, there are 40 rush chairs arriving for restoration on the 5th and not enough space to store them all so we're going to have to do a bit of serious reorganisation. The chairs are for a very special place, (more about that later) and they have to be completed by Easter, so needless to say we're going to be busy - back to work with a vengeance!
No New Year resolutions here, other than the wish to remain healthy. With the Olympics and the royal jubilee this year, it's already promising to be a happier time. I wonder whether we'll get a decent summer....or is that wishing for too much!
Ho hum.
We've got to be fit and feisty by tomorrow though, there are 40 rush chairs arriving for restoration on the 5th and not enough space to store them all so we're going to have to do a bit of serious reorganisation. The chairs are for a very special place, (more about that later) and they have to be completed by Easter, so needless to say we're going to be busy - back to work with a vengeance!
No New Year resolutions here, other than the wish to remain healthy. With the Olympics and the royal jubilee this year, it's already promising to be a happier time. I wonder whether we'll get a decent summer....or is that wishing for too much!
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Seasons Greetings!!
I hope you have all had a peaceful Christmas and we wish everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year to come.
We are making the most of this holiday, (it's our only real chance to take a break all year) and I'm sorry for disappointing anyone, but we won't be back in the office until next Tuesday. So if you can, please leave us messages on the answerphone or e-mail and I promise we will get back to you as soon as we are back in harness!
Our family has a history of Christmas birthdays and I'm no exception. My grandfather was born on Christmas Day, Father in Law on the 27th, an Aunt on Boxing Day etc..... It's not the best time for a birthday, but it could have been worse, I was supposed to arrive around New Year's Day. My father tells me that it was the one and only time I've ever arrived early in my life! (not true of course....)
With my birthday being so close to Christmas, our sons have found a unique way of making it special for me. Every year all of their friends try to outdo each other by arriving en masse and presenting me with the worst birthday card or present they can find. This year, I must say that they excelled themselves. Look at this photo, this is what they bought me.
1. Tealights, because as they informed me, "you can never have enough".
2. A pink notepad, for those "senior, forgetful moments" and in pink because I hate the colour so much and they always aim to please.
3. An economy lightbulb, to increase my eco friendly profile, (allegedly).
4. A book of raffle tickets (?!!)
5. Some out of date paracetamol to treat the headache that I would no doubt have when they all left!!!!
I did tell them that the first thing I was likely to use was the book of raffle tickets, if anyone is interested they are 10p each and the prize is 6 rude young men! (only joking)
To be fair they did also get me some flowers, chocolates and a selection of hilarious cards. It was a lovely day. Hope you have a great time too.....
We are making the most of this holiday, (it's our only real chance to take a break all year) and I'm sorry for disappointing anyone, but we won't be back in the office until next Tuesday. So if you can, please leave us messages on the answerphone or e-mail and I promise we will get back to you as soon as we are back in harness!
Our family has a history of Christmas birthdays and I'm no exception. My grandfather was born on Christmas Day, Father in Law on the 27th, an Aunt on Boxing Day etc..... It's not the best time for a birthday, but it could have been worse, I was supposed to arrive around New Year's Day. My father tells me that it was the one and only time I've ever arrived early in my life! (not true of course....)
With my birthday being so close to Christmas, our sons have found a unique way of making it special for me. Every year all of their friends try to outdo each other by arriving en masse and presenting me with the worst birthday card or present they can find. This year, I must say that they excelled themselves. Look at this photo, this is what they bought me.
1. Tealights, because as they informed me, "you can never have enough".
2. A pink notepad, for those "senior, forgetful moments" and in pink because I hate the colour so much and they always aim to please.
3. An economy lightbulb, to increase my eco friendly profile, (allegedly).
4. A book of raffle tickets (?!!)
5. Some out of date paracetamol to treat the headache that I would no doubt have when they all left!!!!
I did tell them that the first thing I was likely to use was the book of raffle tickets, if anyone is interested they are 10p each and the prize is 6 rude young men! (only joking)
To be fair they did also get me some flowers, chocolates and a selection of hilarious cards. It was a lovely day. Hope you have a great time too.....
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