Former Glory Seat Weaving

A weekend with Gio Ponti

2012-01-29T14:58:00.000Z

Well not quite...but a weekend with chairs designed by Gio Ponti way back in 1957 that are still in production today, see the website here.

These chairs are known as the "superleggera" or "super light" design - and super light is no exaggeration believe me! They are truly amazing, you can lift them with one finger, the ash frame is so slender.... they're a kind of delicate but strong ballerina of the chair world.

My job as ever is to replace the seats, not an easy task, but I thought my fellow chair seat weavers out there might appreciate a photo "anatomy" of the process needed to replace these awkward little blighters! It made me smile when I read on the Cassina web page that the seats are "india cane", well I don't know about India but they're definitely cane! So firstly here's the seat before work started.

Notice the "knotted" edge around the frame and the rush style covering of the corners, so more investigation needed....

Wow that's neatly done, so where are all of the cane ends?

Ha, neatly tucked into the reed cane liner and then overwrapped by the next cane along. So what about those rush type corners?

Oooh, clever! So having taken it all apart guess what I was doing for the rest of the weekend? Well, it makes a change from rushing chapel chairs!

Nearly famous....!

2012-01-19T15:32:00.000Z

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!

D'ya know what it is yet?

2012-01-16T09:25:00.000Z

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.

A boot sale find

2012-01-09T15:22:00.000Z

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.....

RIP Sybil

2012-01-06T17:31:00.000Z

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.

Mouldy bottoms!

2012-01-05T15:55:00.000Z

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.

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T12:10:00.000Z

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!

Seasons Greetings!!

2011-12-28T12:52:00.000Z

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.....

Vico Magistretti and the countdown to Christmas

2011-12-15T16:18:00.000Z

Not long to go now before the holidays. As usual we are trying to clear the decks so that we can bring the dining room back into commission for Christmas Day. Because it hardly gets used during the rest of the year it tends to be the dumping ground for surplus stuff, so it's generally at this time that we have to do a clear out. This year we have a bit more than normal stored in there, mainly due to having to clear Mother-in-law's house. But now that the house has been sold, the bits that are left can't multiply, (I hope) so once we find new homes for these last few bits and pieces - that's that!

On the work front we have a few rush seats to weave and return to their owners before next week, all other restoration will start again in the New Year. We're just about to finish the last drop-in pad of a set of three for some Vico Magistretti Carimate chairs, this time using "reel rush", a pre-twisted natural material. We see a lot of these, most of the earlier dining sets dating from the 60's seem to have been woven traditionally using hand twisted rush, perhaps these were the first chairs made by Cassini. Later versions from the late 70's onwards have more varied seat materials. The set that we are restoring at the moment are from this sort of period and were originally woven using pre-twisted natural material, so we are replacing them "like for like". The original seats had only just worn out, so I guess it proves that the pre-twisted material does have a good long lifespan and also that it has been around a lot longer than people imagine. Here's a picture of the old "reel rush" on the underside of the final seat pad we're working on. You can see around the edge where the frame protects it that the material was very green to begin with.

For comparison, here's a picture of the two newly woven pads alongside the old one. It'll be a few years before the new seating fades to the muted golden colour of the old one.

I like them when they're green.

Goodbye to the Cotswolds

2011-12-12T17:22:00.000Z

Last week turned out to be busier than we'd expected. The people buying Mother-in-law's house decided that they wanted to move in on the 9th, but we only got to know about these plans on the 5th!

So we visited the Cotswolds for the last time.

This is Bourton on the Hill. The main street is lined with houses built from mellow stone, most of them look out onto fabulous views across the surrounding countryside. Along with other beautiful villages and towns along the route to Mother-in-law's house, they're "old friends" now. But my favourite view of all was always this one.

Just outside Chipping Campden there is a fantastic 360 degree view across the undulating hills. There are endless dry stone walls marking ancient boundaries, fields and forests, it's simply magical.

Well that's it now, no more frantic car journeys in all weathers. Perhaps Christmas might be a little bit more peaceful this year after all.....

A smile for Tuesday - George the cat!

2011-12-06T11:47:00.000Z

Christmas is coming, look at this lovely photo sent by our son of his friend's cat George.

Daft or what! (by the way, he wasn't harmed by the hat, he is probably the most loved and pampered cat in the world)

It's December already

2011-12-03T11:51:00.000Z

And here is how December started for us in Dorset.

There had been a sharp frost overnight, so as the sun rose through the trees, the mist swirled. It was really beautiful.

I'm looking forward to the 22nd when the days start to get longer again. The short, dark, colder days make all sorts of jobs more difficult. I've spent days recently almost literally "watching paint dry!" All of the hard wax finishes, oils and shellac take longer to cure, even in our newly tidied and warm workshop, processes can take twice as long as they would in the spring or summertime. One of the most frustrating jobs at this time of year is tinting new cane to match old - when? First thing in the morning if it's bright, but if you miss that opportunity, you'll have to wait until tomorrow, it's already too dark by lunchtime. A bit of patience is called for I think.

It has been a relatively unexciting week on the work front, lots more of the same really. Cane panels by the dozen, the odd woodworking repair and lots of final finishing which is always satisfying. Another bit of good news is that finally our stock of "reel rush" in one kilo reels was delivered, (note to self - update the website!) We hauled best part of a ton into the store, so guess what? All of that space we made last weekend has disappeared already.

Another bit of good news is that we have a completion date for the sale of Mother-in-law's house. It will be such a relief to not have to worry about it any more. All the long journeys, cleaning, decorating and furniture removals - at last the future looks a little bit less demanding.

The grand sort out!

2011-11-28T13:16:00.000Z

I haven't mentioned it before, but for the last few weeks we have been sorting things out. For months and months we have not only been working full time, (and a bit more) as normal, but have also been trying to deal with the issues that were raised by Mother in Law's dementia and eventual move into a nursing home. As a result of all the travelling to and fro, extra correspondence, decorating and generally preparing her house for sale, our own home had become seriously neglected in the process. The workshop and storeroom were also untidy thanks simply to the lack of spare time available to put things back where they belonged. Stupid things like not disposing of cardboard boxes and general packaging materials had meant that we were running out of space! So a month ago we steeled ourselves to begin the colossal task of sorting everything out.

I always find that hard work gets easier if you can have a laugh. We did find one or two things that were just so peculiar that there was nothing else to do BUT laugh. For example, can anyone explain to me why this box was found in the far corner of the store?

A box of random stuff. Some guttering, draught excluder and rams horns! How this lot ever got put together in one box I've no idea and how they ever came to be buried under everything else is another mystery. Blame it on the pixies!

However hard and however long it took us to clear out I can honestly say it was worth it. I've even got a pot plant in my workshop now!

I've actually got some spare space in the client "waiting room"

And as for the materials store........well........

Space!!! And it was there all the time......

A toad and communication problems!

2011-11-22T13:26:00.000Z

Well looky here.....

A baby waif and stray I found last night making his way onto the road. Well not to worry now, he's safe living under the autumn leaves next to the pond in our back garden. He looks a bit too young to survive the winter, but I hope he does. He can be our slug muncher in the spring!

Back to today, sorry to everyone who is currently waiting for a quotation for overseas deliveries. Royal Mail's website is broken - it's impossible to get any quotes at all!! I think they have tried to update the whole site and it has failed catastrophically. According to their Twitter account they apparently have no idea when it will be fixed....some of the tweets make very interesting reading. I felt particularly sorry for one company who have been waiting for three days to access their postage account online and were finally recommended to take their post to the local post office, all 40+ parcels! Can you imagine? If you want my advice avoid the post office for the moment, you might bump into some very annoyed people and wait an incredibly long time for service.......

From a Louis XVI window seat to a broken country chair!

2011-11-18T14:32:00.000Z

I think it's what I love the most about my job, you never know what will walk through the workshop door. For example this week, firstly a very nice lady arrived with this:

A lovely 19th century French walnut window seat with beautiful carving. But what made it even more interesting for us was the history. We were chatting about how pretty it is, it's likely age and the fact that whilst it is French and Louis XVI in design, it is probably a 19th century piece. The owner said she had an inventory of furniture and when she went home, she would look to see if the stool was on the list.

About two hours later an e-mail arrived from the owner, the stool was on the list described as French 19th century walnut and in 1970 was valued at the princely sum of £35! The seat will be replaced once we have repaired one rail which has split - it is a stunning piece of furniture.

And then the next day another lady arrived with this:

These are the remains of an oak dining chair! Again it was the story behind the chair that was interesting. It is one of a set and unfortunately when the owner moved from the US to England, this one chair arrived in pieces from the shippers - that was 30 years ago. Goodness only knows what happened to it in transit, all four stretchers are missing and all but one of the seat rails are broken. It will take us some time to make the missing pieces, but it will be worth it - at least the dining set will be complete again.

Weaving Wishbones and Handles

2011-11-15T18:01:00.000Z

The set of eight Wegner Wishbones are nearly finished. Here they are so far, six are completely finished, number seven is cleaned waiting to be finished and number eight is still exactly as it was when it arrived with us.

Hopefully all will be finished by the middle of next week.

Another job finished last week - the wrapping of these two pot handles.

The customer sent us the remains of the wrapping from the left hand handle to copy, the detail weaving was originally stained blue, so some of the new cane had to be dyed. Something a bit out of the ordinary and two very pretty pots.

Remembrance day

2011-11-11T11:03:00.002Z

Why we will be silent for a minute on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

This watch belonged to Eric, he was 18 when he signed up to fight in the first world war. He was a non-commissioned officer and following initial training his first posting was to the Somme where he fought in the trenches and yes, he "went over the top". I guess you could say at this point that he was "one of the lucky ones" because he was injured and shell shocked badly enough to be returned home for convalescence. His sister Irene nursed him like a mother, encouraged him to express his depression, fear and anger through art - he did some truly moving paintings of fields, churches and the aberration of war.

After just a few short months he was assessed and proclaimed fit to return to the battlefield. Irene was devastated, she begged the authorities to reconsider, she told them that he may be physically fit, but mentally he was scarred for life, not capable of fighting. Her protests were disregarded.

Eric was sent back to Europe, this time to Belgium - Ypres. Yes the muddy killing fields of Ypres. He died from an exploding bullet to the thigh, he was just 21 years old.

Irene kept the letters that she had written to his commanding officer and the replies. She had asked about the manner of his death, did he suffer, what were his last words? The commanding officers replies were beautifully hand written in pencil on spiral bound notepaper - there were no last words of comfort for Irene.

When Irene died aged 89 all of these keepsakes were found carefully wrapped and bound in ribbon alongside a tiny pair of leather gloves that she had made for her only son who had died aged 60 just six months before she did.

Irene was my Grandmother, Eric was her only brother - she gave us this watch before she died so that we would never forget.

Thursday catch up.

2011-11-03T10:47:00.000Z

It's lovely to have visitors and be a tourist in your own area for a few days. I can't remember the last time we visited Swanage to just wander around, look at shops and eat fish and chips, but that was what we did last Saturday and it was bliss, even the weather was good.

However, there's always seems to be a price to pay for any fun, so this week we're trying to catch up. Nothing exciting, just more of the same but it is hard work. The Wegner wishbones are getting done one by one, half a seat a day, that's quite enough effort I can tell you! It's proper aerobic exercise without the need for any rowing or running machines.

In between there's more cane panelling to do, some to be tinted and others left "au naturel".

There was also quite a bit of restoration woodworking that had been put off for too long, so yesterday I decided to get on with it with a vengeance. First there was a lovely arts and crafts chair that needed a new front seat rail and stretcher, both had broken. So we found an old seat rail in our "butchered wood" store and made a new front stretcher out of an old piece of beech. The stretcher had to be beaten up a bit and coloured to make it match in with the rest of the frame - this is the result.

Just need to put a new seat on it now. The other woodworking job was to make a new front rail for a drop in seat pad that had moreorless disintegrated.

This is one of a set of three, luckily the other frames are fine. So now we can re-rush this lot too! All pretty boring stuff, I'm still waiting for some spare time to go back to working on the papier mache inlaid chair, but it never seems to happen.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T17:03:00.000Z

The end of Summertime and the beginning of the cold, dark days of Winter - Happy Halloween.......

Men say that in this midnight hour,
The disembodièd have power
To wander as it liketh them,
By wizard oak and fairy stream.
~William Motherwell

We've had a lovely week, our French friends came to stay, so there's been lots of laughter, outings and fun here, not to mention the lovely food!

The loaf in the foreground was bought from a French bakery in London, wow it was lovely! We served it with salad, cheese, eggs, fish and pasta - delicieux!

The girls each carved a pumpkin.

We put them on the front doorstep with tealights inside.

Magical! It's been a lovely week.

Rain!

2011-10-27T10:26:00.000+01:00

It's been raining heavily on and off for days now, so much so that yesterday when we were walking back home from the village we were completely soaked through by a passing van, (going too fast as usual). The road was like a fast flowing river, the van created a massive wave that engulfed the pair of us, there was no escape! By the time we got home both of us had to change ALL of our clothes. Will this rain ever stop?

We had a big order of stock arrive on Tuesday, two great big pallets that had to be manhandled from the lorry into the store, luckily the rain did stop briefly while we moved it all, but the ground was soaking wet, we were up to our ankles in puddles. By the time we'd moved the best part of a tonne of stuff we looked like drowned rabbits!

Meanwhile, remember this?

Well it has a new home now and I'm sad to see it go, but you can't keep everything can you? We won't get much chance to create original works over the "dark season" so it'll probably be Spring before I get a chance to start playing with all of the other ideas we have in mind. For now it's back to answering the phone, weaving Wegner Wishbones and putting in new cane panels! I don't like the cold and damp, I just want to hibernate - wake me up when the sun starts shining please!

Do the dark, dark days of the approaching Winter affect your working life? Or is it just me?

Hans Wegner's Wishbone or "Y" chairs

2011-10-21T13:29:00.000+01:00

"A chair is to have no backside. It should be beautiful from all sides and angles." - Hans Wegner

One of the design icons of the 20th century - Hans Wegner's "Wishbone" chair, first produced in 1949 by Carl Hansen in Denmark is instantly recognisable. Still in production today and now available in a multitude of colours and finishes, the continued demand speaks volumes for this visionary designer's abilities. I wonder, how many of today's designs will not just stand the test of time, but will also be popular and desirable across all age groups in 60+ years time?

We've been very lucky to have restored many of these chairs, inevitably most of the early ones we see have been in the same family from new and have often travelled around the globe with their faithful owners. When you talk to the owners, it quickly becomes obvious that their chairs are old friends that they couldn't bear to lose. Maybe that's why so many are quite happy to have them restored once they are looking tired and neglected - a bit like paying for someone you love to have a full facelift!

They're not the easiest of chairs to restore, (as I've said on this blog in the past!) and I do still wonder whether Mr Wegner ever actually did chair seat weaving because some of his designs really do test even the most experienced weavers full range of skills to the limit. But then nothing worth having is ever easy is it? Sorry for the ramble, but as we are working on 9 of them at the moment I've got loads of time to ponder....it occurred to me that we could do with a few more Mr Wegners - it would solve a lot of problems, (bear with me!) You see really good design lasts forever. Why change something when you still love looking at it and it functions so well that nothing can beat it? An end to some of our "throwaway" tendencies perhaps? Hmmm.....

So here it is today, in all it's "Former Glory", an early Wishbone chair with it's freshly cleaned frame and a new seat. The next set we're working on were going to have black woven seats, but there are problems with the colourfastness of the new cord. Having discussed the problems with the chairs owners, they decided that they would like to have them home by Christmas, so they too will now be woven in the natural coloured cord. Otherwise they would have to live without them for another couple of months before the new colourfast black cord is available.

See what I mean about loyalty?

"Many foreigners have asked me how we made the Danish style. And I've answered that it...was rather a continuous process of purification, and for me of simplification, to cut down to the simplest possible elements of four legs, a seat and combined top rail and arm rest." - Hans Wegner

Some of our customers projects

2011-10-17T12:31:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy weekend but all good fun, we had lots of visitors and some precious time out visiting a local market and Poole Quay with our family - the weather was perfect, Poole was shimmering in the late Autumn sunshine. We took a drive around Sandbanks, the famously expensive area of Poole where a sandy promontory stretches out into the beautiful bay. I even managed to find some Dorset "hag" stones on the beach, I have plans for these - have a guess!

But now it's back to the normal working week, lots of Wegner wishbone chairs, I'll post up more about those in the next few days.

We've also been working on our websites and Facebook page, in future I will try and post more regular updates about materials and any special Christmas gifty items we are working on, (yes Christmas is coming....oooh no!) One new page I'm working on will be for customer projects on the Seat Weaving Supplies website. We've been collecting together photos and info about special projects that some of our customers have worked on using our materials. One of those featured will be Mike Abbott's green wood chair making courses. Here's a preview of the work that some of his students have created:

Black Danish cord looks lovely on greenwood chairs! Great work. There will be all sorts of projects on the new webpage,we love to see just how creative people are and to show off their work, I'll let you know when the page is online.

Talking of artistic folk...please take a moment out to look at Wendy's site for her "Handmade Monday" feature that encourages creative people. And while you're there, please read her post and please, if you can, support her in her quest to help sufferers of MS. It's such a cruel and unpredictable disease that I'm sure will have touched most peoples lives in some way at some point.

It makes us appreciate just how lucky we are, enjoy every day folks.

Larmer Tree - Bernard DID make it to the ball...!

2011-10-10T12:08:00.000+01:00

We got there! Bernard passed his braking test by just 2%, phew....We had decided to risk it, to wait and see whether he passed or not before moving any stock around. Lucky! The mechanic's workshop closed at 5pm and we arrived at 4.45pm, so as it turned out we wouldn't have had enough time to mess about transferring stock from the horsebox to the trailer and car anyway - well at least not without upsetting the mechanics wanting to get home on a Friday evening!

We left for Cranborne Chase Woodfair at 7am on Saturday and were set up in plenty of time for the 10am opening. The weather stayed fairly dry, but oh boy, was it cold! There was entertainment on Saturday night and Sunday dawned bright and warm, so all in all not a bad weekend considering it's October.

Some pictures.

This is the fabulous view. Larmer Tree Gardens are on top of a "dome" which is partly why the weather can be windy and misty here when it is calm and clear lower down. The hay bales in the foreground were a childrens "soft play" area, they loved it, it was full of laughing kids all day long.

Now some of our friends.

Here's Neil Taylor with his fabulous saddle seated chairs. We're in the background.

David Drew with his amazingly neat basketry. I was stunned when he told me that he is mostly self taught! Lovely work.

Here's Owen Jones making his famous oak swill baskets. He's been featured in loads of magazines and TV programmes and is an all round nice man!

And here's a stickmaker with his shepherd's hut. I loved the guard dog!

A real "Woody Weekend".

Oooooh dear......

2011-10-07T09:56:00.000+01:00

Don't you just love him?

Well it's Friday morning and Bernard is still languishing in the mechanic's workshop. Overall he passed the "plating" test except for his brakes which failed by 1%. The mechanics investigated and found that a recently replaced brake master cylinder seemed to be the problem, it was sticking. Luckily we still had the old one, (some Bedford TK parts are as rare as hen's teeth!) and with a bit of persuasion it worked better than the newer one. That was yesterday afternoon....they have rechecked the braking system but are not convinced that it works all that much better than before. We'll find out..... at 3.30pm today he has a retest, (notice 3.30pm!).

Now what do we do......do we trundle down to the workshop, empty Bernard before his test then pack the car and trailer with everything we need for the show tomorrow, or do we wait and see?? If we pack the trailer and then get a pass certificate, we'll have to unpack and repack it all into the truck again, but if we don't pack the trailer before the test and then get a failure certificate, the workshop will be closing and we won't be able to get our show stuff out of the truck!!

I think at this point it would be easier to go on holiday.

Getting ready for the Woodfair at Larmer Tree.

2011-10-05T10:22:00.000+01:00

Today is Wednesday and we will be at the Cranborne Chase Woodfair at Larmer Tree Gardens on Saturday - pretty straightforward stuff you'd think - except as I sit here and type, Bernard the horsebox, a crucial part of our stand display has once again failed his annual "plating" test (MOT). He is currently sitting in a commercial workshop awaiting a retest. Now this may or may not happen by Saturday and he may or may not pass the test ....panic ....me .....noooo!

Meanwhile the show preparations and client work continue. We finished the seat of the "Denims" stool yesterday evening, decided to go mad with mixed media and added in some French style hand wrapped coils of denim blue straw to the rushwork. I'm quite pleased with it, but my other half's jury is out!

Well you've got to admit it's something a bit different!! We've also made a much simpler version without the extra "leg". I've got to own up and say that making this has been fun and a challenge that I've really enjoyed. Persuading a few bent branches to hold together in a frame that can support a seat top is like doing a jigsaw puzzle that has some very oddly shaped pieces and without a photo of the finished thing.

Yes.....it was fun!

The "Denims" stool

2011-09-30T09:34:00.000+01:00

A bit of carving.....I don't know why or how this came about, but when a fork between two branches of hazel looked like a pair of jeans, it seemed natural to carve a cowboy boot and put it on the bottom of the branch! (I know...it's mad...)

The "blocking out" of the shape.

Then the finished carving.

Is it mad? Oh well, my defence is "one's man meat is another man's poison! Now to decide how to weave the top - any ideas?

No 1 son's project.......

2011-09-26T13:40:00.000+01:00

We're not the only people in the household with projects. No 1 son has a passion for restoration too, except his projects are somewhat larger than ours, usually cars or buildings! I'm sure it's our own fault for indulging his passion for model cars and lego when he was a tot.

Well here it is.........

It's been several weeks of very hard labour for him, but what a result! It was a non-runner with endless mechanical and bodywork problems, but he has persevered and now it is fully roadworthy and has passed the MOT test. It still needs a front end re-paint, but that's non-essential cosmetic work as far as he's concerned and will have to wait until more funds are available. I heard it running this morning.....mmmmmm, a Rover V8, just like a quietly purring big cat. We're very proud of his achievement, this is the third car he's either restored or rebuilt. Well done son!!!

Meanwhile we're plodding on - remember the chair frame that needed refinishing last week? Well here it is now waiting for the cane to be replaced.

I also spent some time over the weekend making a couple more footstool frames from scratch using some hazel from our garden and some recycled bits and pieces that we've gathered together over the years.

We're going to put a really fancy top on this one to contrast with the simplicity of the frame. The second of these frames is in pieces in the background of the photo, one of the legs has two branches and looks like a pair of jeans to me, so it's been christened the "Denims" stool!

Back to the mundane for today though, more "Habitat" cane panel seats.......

If you want to have a look at the work of loads of other really talented craftspeople, then pay a visit to Wendy's blog here, She showcases other crafty bloggers skills every Monday - pay her a visit!

An Art Deco Bergere and Mr Wegner....again.

2011-09-21T13:40:00.000+01:00

I feel like Forrest Gump's Mom saying it, but it is true that in our line of work "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get"! This week so far we span from 1900 to 1970, high Victorian to sleek modernist with a bit of bling in between. Firstly on Monday this arrived......

A high Art Deco, faux painted Walnut, blind sunset cane backed bergere sofa. It weighs a ton! For now we will just be replacing the arm panels, but first of all I've got to find a way of re-gluing one of the joints without disturbing the upholstery - could be interesting.

Then there is this....

Another one!! Hans Wegner's Wishbone chair. This ones seat has been half eaten and stropped by the cat.

Finally a fiddly one....

It's a low bergere armchair. The cane in the back and arms has to be replaced and whilst we're at it, the customer has asked us to "give the frame a bit of a clean". Easier said than done when the upholstery is fairly new, hence the parcel tape and plastic covering every square inch of fabric! I'll post pictures of the revived woodwork soon.

I'm also hoping to return to the black lacquer chair this week to do more repair work, but we'll see if time permits. Our next and last show of the year at Larmer Tree Gardens is just over two weeks away, so we will have to make time to produce some new pieces for that as well.

Good things come in threes

2011-09-18T13:53:00.000+01:00

Good things come in threes so they say, well at least they certainly did for us this weekend. First of all a friend arrived on the doorstep with a beautiful bunch of flowers to say thank you for something we'd done. It was completely unexpected so was such a lovely surprise. Then on Saturday, our "apprentice", (kind of our third son really) also turned up on the doorstep unannounced with an invite to his wedding next year. Fantastic!

Then to top it all the postman arrived with this little card.

Such a pretty picture of a house in France. But the best bit was the message inside.

It's always nice to know that people like what you do, but even more special when they use some of their precious time to tell you so. All I had done was wrapped a pot handle, see at the bottom of this post here where I mentioned it last week!

I'm gobsmacked!! Thanks to all three for making this weekend very special.

Is there anybody out there that has 6500 chairs for re-caning??

2011-09-16T14:58:00.000+01:00

We've just had a delivery of rattan materials, enough to reweave about 6500 average bedroom chairs. The order arrived this morning, just as the first couple of customers were leaving and another set arrived, so needless to say today has been bedlam - lorries, cars and people everywhere!

This is what that quantity of materials looks like.

Then we had to move all of this lot from the delivery van into the store - don't you just love Fridays!

Lovely weather for ducks.....with strong wings!

2011-09-11T17:04:00.000+01:00

Well I don't know about hurricane Katia supposedly arriving overnight, but if yesterday is anything to go by then we don't need any more hurricanes, we've had quite enough bad weather thank you very much!!

It seemed like a very long day yesterday at the show and overall it was lovely, except for the weather. Why has virtually every event this year been blighted by the cold, heavy rain or high winds?

Anyway, just for a change I didn't take any photos at all, but I did make a little film, it's on youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkDoOx0EXP4

A day in the life of me, my better half and Bernard, (of course).

I felt so sorry for some of the stallholders, the wind was incredibly strong at times and wickedly blustery. One minute everything would be calm then the next, a great whoosh, clatter and bang, someone else's gazebo would be bending or breaking!

We're glad to be home.

And on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, memories drift back to that awful day when it seems the whole world stood and watched in disbelief at the unfolding events. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims.

What on earth was I doing moaning about a bit of bad weather!!

Last minute job

2011-09-09T17:54:00.000+01:00

Still a bit tacky, but finally I have got around to repairing, cleaning and refinishing this French medallion table top that we have had for years. At last it can be reinstated in pride of place at the back of our stand, (without me feeling embarrassed that it is grubby and unloved!)

Now we really are ready for the show tomorrow - I think!

Footstools for Frome Cheese Show

2011-09-09T12:17:00.000+01:00

Just three new ones for the show tomorrow, (so far....).

A little wartime CC41 frame with an "antique" colour paper fibre rush seat with chevrons.

A taller "Arts & Crafts" green stained stool with a "river rush" paper fibre seat.

And finally a pitch pine framed footstool with a whacky stained rattan splint seat.

Another little job that was really enjoyable this week was this woven pot handle.

It makes a nice change!

Hope some of you can make it to the show tomorrow, fingers crossed for better weather hey?

It's been a good year for the marrows.....

2011-09-07T16:11:00.000+01:00

Well strictly speaking, it's been a good year for the overgrown courgettes! The constant rain we've had has meant that they could be neat, modest, little courgettes one day and massive marrows the next - we're drowning in them and we've only got five plants!

So some creative cooking required. We very quickly exhausted all of the usual fried, steamed, stuffed and curried recipes so are now onto the more exotic.....chutney, soup etc.! Then on Saturday I saw a recipe on the telly box........

Not a very good photo I know, but it was yum. Fillet of fish lightly fried in olive oil and served over part boiled then olive oil fried seasoned new potatoes and courgettes with a sauce vierge made from some really unusual tomatoes donated by our next door neighbour, masses of parsley from the garden, shallotts and a small dash of juice from a lime. Ooooooh.

There are two more huge (2 foot long) marrows to cut and about fifteen courgettes......any more ideas anyone.....please? I've given loads away already, even the neighbours are "marrowed out"!

Not exactly a day of rest.

2011-09-04T17:37:00.000+01:00

It's Sunday....so I must be cleaning - again. The only consolation is that these are the last of the books from Mother in Law's house. Yippee!

It's taken all day to hoover, wipe and dry them, then they were sorted into history, novels, gardening etc. and boxed ready to take to auction. It seems an awful thing to do to break up one person's lifetime collection, but I don't know what else we can do really. It's a very difficult situation to be in, it seems wrong to dispose of someone's possessions whilst they are still alive and physically well, but equally we know that dementia doesn't improve over time and these are just things after all, things that she can no longer use.

The rest of the week has been successful, we waved our youngest son off to a new job in north Somerset for a couple of months, (he's enjoying it so far...) And we also waved goodbye to a lot of finished furniture so the workshop is much tidier and more spacious now.

These were two rush seats woven for a restorer friend of ours, the rest of the work was mainly cane panels. Next weekend we'll be at Frome Cheese Show on Saturday, so most of this week will be spent replenishing our stock of finished footstools for the display.

And just for a change, a word and wisdom of the week - because today in by book cleaning I came across a Thesaurus and a Book of Quotations, so I thought I'd make use of them!

Ephemeral - Brief, evanescent, fleeting, momentary, passing, transient.

Hmmm, just like life.

"I want to go ahead of Father Time with a scythe of my own" H. G. Wells.

I'm with you on that one H.G.

What a superb and extraordinary weekend.

2011-09-01T12:15:00.000+01:00

More about last weekend.......

The morning after Stock Gaylard we were up at 7.30am to set off for the Cotswolds. Within 5 minutes of getting there, the first man arrived to collect some of Mother in Law's furniture. With the house now (hopefully) sold, we have to do the final clearance of the remaining bits, so we advertised them on Ebay. From 11am onwards it was non-stop collections until about 3pm! We had such a laugh with the lovely folks that bought the furniture. The first family turned up with their nephew - a lovely man, he was so polite, very sweet and luckily also very strong, which was just as well because when they tried to take a wardrobe downstairs, it wouldn't go, so my other half, nephew and uncle had to dismantle the whole thing moreorless into matchwood!

Meanwhile the second set of people arrived, two ladies with their elderly but very spritely mother who had joined them for the trip as she loved the Cotswolds so much. I made mother a cup of tea and she sat in the garden enjoying the air. The two ladies had arrived complete with toolbox and were dressed in very sensible "furniture removing" clothes. The three of us then "set to" dismantling another bigger three door wardrobe, (well actually some of it dismantled itself when the shelves and back fell out!) Between us we managed to get the whole lot downstairs in pieces, then as they were loading it into the van, one of the ladies stepped on the mirror and cracked it! They didn't mind too much as the wardrobe was for their teenage nephew - (does he seriously want to look at himself in a full length mirror!!)

Anyway, as it turned out, none of the people collecting had ever used Ebay before. The nephew of the first family is a musician who had a massive hit record a few years back. The two ladies are currently building their own eco friendly house, (out of marine ply and newspaper according to "Mum" who I would have been quite happy to bring home with me because she was so lovely!) and their house build will be on Grand Designs next year.

Once everyone had left, we decided to make the most of the dry weather and have a "tourist" trip to Stratford Upon Avon. We used to live in a little village called Alcester a few miles from Stratford when we were first married, so it was like stepping back in time for us. It has changed over the passing years, but is still as beautiful as it ever was. It's hard not to be impressed by the Tudor achitecture and the river. I didn't have my camera with me, but I took a few snaps on the phone, this is Shakespeare's house:

And this is a row of Tudor buildings now used as shops.

What a superb and extraordinary weekend we've had. But now it's back to the mundane - work!

Stock Gaylard lived up to expectation again!!

2011-08-30T10:01:00.000+01:00

Long post coming up!! We've had a lovely time, very hard work but thoroughly enjoyable. As in previous years the rain continued off and on right up until about 7am on Saturday and then, miraculously the sun came out! There was the odd shower, but nothing compared to the last few days - how lucky is that?!

We were positioned under a gorgeous old oak tree at the top of the "Oak Avenue". We had access to electricity which made our lives so much more comfortable overnight having lighting and a working fridge, it meant that we slept very well and woke up refreshed for show day - setting up for any event is always hard labour.

Here's a few photos taken just as the show began.

The view we had from Bernard's ramp across the central catering area.

Looking down the beautiful avenue of oak trees.

Here we are under that lovely old oak.

And this is what the central area looked like at lunchtime! You can see that there is blue sky but also that most people had come dressed for the unpredictable weather.

We were kept very busy and only managed to weave one chair seat all day, but it is great to be out of the workshop and talk to people about weaving and restoration. We also had a massive surprise, two of our friends from the craftsforum came to visit! Not only did they visit they came bearing fabulous gifts.......

Lunch!!!!! Wow, we never normally get the chance to eat at lunchtime, what a truly lovely, thoughful thing to do, so kind of them. We had a great time, lots of laughter and chatting, (hope you're reading this P & M!!). AND there was cake!

But the surprises didn't end there, a blogging friend of ours Leanne also came to visit and she too came bearing gifts - my favourite - blackcurrant jelly, home made! Fantastic. We met Leanne through blogger after the Stock Gaylard show two years ago, she writes a fascinating blog about her life in North Dorset and we arranged to meet up this year for a cuppa. She has written a lovely post here about her day out.

It was really lovely to see you Leanne!

We were kept so busy that we didn't get a chance to see much of the fair on the day, but we did see Mike Abbott before the show opened and had a chat about his new book, then we had a chat with Fabian and had a look at his most recent work, but we never did get to say hello to Martin Symes the wheelwright our friend of many years, but we shall probably see him at Frome Cheese Show in a couple of weeks time. Never mind.

A truly great day, a wonderful show organised so perfectly by the estate owners.

So that was Saturday. We were packed and had left the site by 6.30pm. We returned home exhausted but happy. Sunday and Monday might have been days off for most, but we had more things to do - another trip to the Cotswolds to continue the saga of emptying Mother in Law's home......more of that when I've recovered from this weekends jaunts!!

This weather!

2011-08-26T15:51:00.000+01:00

Well we've packed Bernard ready to leave for the show in an hour's time, so that would be why it has just decided to pour with rain!! And it's not just raining out there, it's like a biblical flood, there's been thunder and lightening again. Just look at it....

And to top it all it's cold. I'm not looking forward to a night sleeping in a field, but at least we've got electricity, so if the worst comes to the worst we can put the heater on! Thank goodness for Bernard.

The boxes and baskets are finished....

So lets pray for a bit of calmer, brighter and warmer weather tomorrow. I seem to remember that every time we've been to Stock Gaylard the weather has been the same, heavy rain right up until the early hours of show day and then pleasantly warm and bright - here's hoping!

New Stock for Stock Gaylard Oak Fair?!

2011-08-24T18:27:00.000+01:00

Been busy......experimenting! We needed a few last bits and pieces for the show this Saturday - I'd had this idea so I thought I'd give it a go and see if it would work.

There is a story behind this bit of recycling. We found some old pine packing boxes in the shed at Mother in Law's house when we were clearing out, they'd been stacked and used as storage shelves. My dear other half said he remembered his father using them over 40 years ago when he moved house. Several of them were riddled with woodworm to the extent that two fell apart when we lifted them, but the others weren't too bad. Anyway my other half wanted to throw them away, but I said "No I've got an idea". Now my OH is a patient man, he gave me that, "ooooh noooo" look then dutifully put them in a plastic bin bag and into the car. Well.... here are two of them, washed, wormed and ....well..... titivated!

I've woven a double braided rim around them, the idea being that they can be lined with fabric and used for whatever you fancy! The cane still needs to dry and then be trimmed and the boxes need polishing, but they should look good then. One is proudly labelled - SARDINES, (upside down!) and the other DRIED PRUNES. I am keeping one other for posterity, it is labelled PEACHES and came all the way from sunny California!

Apart from that we have finished another little footstool, more modern and Danish looking this time.

And lastly, I did finish the two egg baskets.

Thankfully we have enough items to take to the show now so all that we need to do is pack the lorry on Friday. Hope to see some of you there, come and say hello if you are visiting!

A flood!

2011-08-18T18:15:00.000+01:00

It hasn't stopped raining today, it's positively hammered down. There have been flash floods everywhere causing mass disruption. There were great crashes of thunder and lightning that went on for ages, (but it's August??). We've been lucky our home is on quick draining land, but even so, we had a flood in the driveway.

Look at the depth of the water, it's covering the bottom of Bernard's tyres by about 3"!

I read this article in our local paper, the title of the little film of the floods made me giggle it read:

"Flash foods in Bournemouth".

Wow, bling...... in Bournemouth......hehehe.....!

Books, books and more books

2011-08-15T13:36:00.000+01:00

Sorry it's been a bit quiet on the blogging front, but as well as too much to do and too little time to do it, I've also been a bit preoccupied with books - hundreds of 'em!

Now mother in law's house looks like it is definitely sold, (fingers crossed!) we've started the process of removing the last bits and pieces. Now there were two passions in my husbands late father's life - records and books. It was an obsession to the extent where he had to have special cabinets made to take the records and shelves for the books! When I say there are about 1000 classical lp's and more than 300 books it's no exaggeration.

Most of the books are about history, English and European, but there are also loads of novels and even a series of natural health and healing books. Because of the state the house was in, all of them have had to be hoovered and cleaned before we can sell them or give them to the local charity shop, hence I've been a bit busy! We've got to raise as much money as we can to go into mother in law's dementia care home fees fund.

Only another 100 or so to go........well, at least until we collect the last batch!!!

Otherwise work has been all cane panelling, another batch were done last week.

And we're still trying to get things together for the Stock Gaylard Woodfair at the end of the month. It's all go!

Why, oh why......

2011-08-10T12:17:00.000+01:00

Rioting, looting, violence......how will that ever solve anything? Worrying times. This advice was sent to us by one of the small business organisations today - how sad that this is necessary.

Police Advice

Obviously we are hoping the riots that have taken place in London and elsewhere, are not replicated within our area. However, to be prepared, the following Police advice has been issued.

POLICE ADVICE FOLLOWING PUBLIC DISORDER AROUND THE UK

Ensure staff report any suspicious activity to security officials and the police
Consider regular checks of the building and surrounding areas. Identify any areas that are vulnerable and remove loose objects that could be used as missiles
Make sure all service doors are kept locked and secure when not in use
Ensure your CCTV system is fully operational
Consider removing high value goods from display windows overnight
Keep as little cash as possible in the building overnight
Where possible retail premises should be suitably staffed with security guards
Landlords need to ensure that residents living above commercial premises are aware of risks and ensure that all fire alarms, smoke alarms and fire escapes are fully functional
Does your alarm company have the latest key holder information? If not call them now
Does your business have an emergency business plan?

Keep safe everyone, common sense has to prevail eventually doesn't it?

Friday is for finishing things.

2011-08-05T15:06:00.000+01:00

Another Friday, where does all the time go!? Everything is taking longer than expected, there are seized in screws where there should be easy to remove nails - the finish that I thought was french polish isn't so it needs to be stripped - the joints that needed re-gluing and looked like they would fall apart actually have hidden nails in them....etc.....grrrr!

On a happier note, the Mouseman footstool and the French "shabby chic" chairs are finished, hurrah! The canework on the chairs was so fine, it took forever. Normally an English chair will have about 9-10 drilled frame holes per 6" around the perimeter of the seat, which means that the guage of the weaving is quite broad, however, these French chairs had 15/16 holes per 6", so as you can guess the guage is much tighter and it takes a lot longer to do.

The rest of today will be spent putting cane panels into "Habitat" seat frames, because for whatever reason, we've had over a dozen arrive this week - things do seem to go in phases. We're also trying to get ahead of ourselves for the show at Stock Gaylard later this month. So far we have prepared three more footstools to work on and I have dyed a batch of cane for some more baskets. Perhaps next week will be a bit easier.....

The Mouseman footstool is nearly finished!

2011-07-31T18:32:00.000+01:00

Had an inspiring weekend....so I thought I'd make the most of it and work on the lovely little Mouseman footstool. First of all I removed the old leather seat straps that were broken...

then some old leather had to be aged to match the 90 years of wear and tear...

The new bare strips were cut and woven into place....

and finally, the new straps were antiqued to match the originals....

I'm quite pleased so far, tomorrow the hide feed will have been absorbed into the old leather and I should be able to buff the whole top, then I'll be able to do the final distressing to the new straps.

Why not pop over to Wendy's handmade Monday to see what everyone else has been doing this week?

A boot sale book!

2011-07-29T12:20:00.000+01:00

Last weekend we did a boot sale. Mother in Law's house is now nearly empty, so we have what seems like tons of things to dispose of most of which is too good to throw away. The money raised is also very welcome, nursing homes, (especially demetia care nursing) are not cheap!! There's nothing of great value to sell, but even the 50p's add up and it feels good to be able to add a few hundred pounds to the care home pot from the last few months efforts.

But when at a boot sale I can't help myself.....I just have to have a wander......I found this on my travels.

A 1949 book of basketry by Dryad Press! What makes it even better for me is Mr Crampton is working with centre cane reed all the way through the book. I'm chuffed. This little passage made me smile.....

"The beginner finds enough difficulties in his way and should be warned against low-priced and poor quality material. The real craftsman prefers to select his cane, irrespective of price, because it not only saves time but produces a superior article. You cannot do good work with poor materials"

Love it! A man definitely after our own hearts and way ahead of his time! I'm looking forward to spending some serious time with this man's book.

A "Mouseman" footstool

2011-07-24T15:07:00.000+01:00

I think most people have heard of the "Mouseman", or to give him his proper name, Robert Thompson "The Mouseman of Kilburn". He was a prolific maker of English Oak furniture in the 1930's who preferred to stick to traditional methods and tools to produce his designs. His major influence was medieval simplicity, a single worker could make one piece in its entirety - no production line. As a result, each piece is unique with a texture all of its own. Robert Thompson started to mark his work with a carved mouse in the 1920's, apparently to begin with the mouse even had carved front legs, but as these broke off a little too easily, the mouse was redesigned and this is one way that collectors of his furniture can date a piece. The company still exists today, they have a website here:

http://www.robertthompsons.co.uk/

Well........ look what came to our workshop on Friday afternoon..........

It's lovely! The little mouse's face is so well carved and the oak has a really soft tactile finish, even though you can see the marks of the hand tools clearly, every surface is smooth to the touch. The owner remembers it from when he was a very small boy and it wasn't new then, so we estimate this is a very early stool from the 1930's. He loves it and would never part with it because the little mouse brings back so many memories for him, it's part of his family.

All we need to do is to replace five of the leather seat strips, they have broken - the weaving itself is not a difficult thing to do, the hardest part will be cutting and aging the new leather strips to match the old ones! A little job for tomorrow.

What a week.

2011-07-21T11:20:00.000+01:00

It's been very busy on lots of fronts, so a quick catch up.

Last weekend there was a wedding......one of our eldest sons best friends married his lovely lady at a super hotel overlooking the sea from the cliffs around Bournemouth. Our son was the best man, he looked so dapper in his tails! The bride looked ever so scrumptious in a beautiful beaded ivory silk dress. It was so lovely to be there, most of our sons friends have been around us since they were small boys so it was like walking into a room full of family, there was a lot of laughter and reminiscing.

But it was tainted. Our son also lost his job. It is unfinished business, so I can't say anything here yet. He is fine now, in fact extremely relieved and happy to leave a company where a few individuals have been somewhat desultory and disingenuous, (not necessarily my favourite words)

He's already filling his time messing about with his new toy, (a car of course) and we are sure that when he finds his new position, it will be with a company that appreciates his inate people skills and direct honesty. In the meantime, I'm sure I can find him something creative to do!

Mother in Law's house is also on the market, so finally we have an end to the long journeys, endless decorating and cleaning of the last year, yippee!

We've just been plodding on trying to clear the pile of work, mainly rush seated chairs - we are winning the battle now I think, at least there is less to do than has already been done.

So a word or two of the week, (as I haven't done one for ages).

Desultory - lacking consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful.

Vindictive - characterised by spite or rancour, English law of damages - in excess of the compensation due to the plaintiff and imposed in punishment of the defendant.

Shabby chic!

2011-07-15T08:53:00.000+01:00

As a restorer I spend the vast majority of my time cleaning up, revitalising or replacing an original finish. It's not every day that I'm asked to paint something!

A few weeks ago two chairs arrived, they looked like this.

Now normally I would expct to remove the gold paint, re-gesso and re-gild the frames, but just for a change my client wants me to remove the finish and paint them to look like they have always been painted, ie distressed shabby chic! He wants to use them in a display.

So first they were soda blasted, the only way to remove the old finish without damaging the incrediby fine carving. The process was so gentle that it even stripped the paint from the canework in the back without damaging it.

Then they were painted in Farrow & Ball paint.

Two coats of paint later, they were antiqued to bring out the depth of the carving and then some of the highlights in the paintwork were rubbed through to give the look of a hundred years use.

Just have to recane the seats now. I'll post a picture of both when they're finished. I'm realy enjoying myself!

Triangular rush chair and another egg basket

2011-07-12T13:22:00.000+01:00

Another long week of mainly cane panelling and standard cane work, but there was one unusual seat weave. The Victorian triangular chair, it was an awkward one, but it's nearly finished now. All that remains to be done is the final sealing of the fibre rush and replacing of the protective wooden edging or "rub rails".

You don't see many triangular seats and this one was just the wrong size for our work table. We ended up working on it with two legs straddling the corner of the table so the whole thing tilted forwards - not the easiest way to do it! This is what it looked like when it arrived.

I've also been working on a couple of egg baskets for a commission, they're coming on well, so far I'm quite pleased with them.

A bit more weaving to do and wrapping of the handles, soon be finished.

Being an Exhibitor - Episode 4

2011-07-08T12:50:00.000+01:00

The big day.

Ever since I can remember we have done the same thing when we prepare for a show. We consult "THE BOOK"! Right from the beginning we kept a list of the things we needed to take, mainly because as demonstrators staying on site you can't afford to forget anything, (although I do remember forgetting to pack our work table once....it's only the most important thing we need). So give it a try - imagine yourself at the fair and mentally go through your day thinking of all the things you may need and jot them down in a book. I'll start you off:

Basics: Fuel in your vehicle - stock - table/s and covering cloth - shelves/stands - any working equipment/tools - insurance documents - show paperwork/passes etc - phone

Stationery: Price tags - pens - rubber bands - business cards - staples - paper - visitor book, (for customers to leave you their contact details) - drawing pins - cheque book, (if you need to pay the organiser) - scissors - sticky tape - labels - tape measure - mirror, (if you sell goods that need to be tried on) - carrier bags - string, (you never know when you might need it)

Financial: Money belt - sales book - receipt pad - credit card machine, (if you have one) - a float for your till/belt.

Other: Flask or bottle of drink - food - sweets, (for the sore throat you'll get from talking too much) - comfy old shoes, (just in case those new shoes that you have only worn in last week suddenly start to dig into your heels) - wear layers of clothes so that you can add layers if it's cold and take them off if it gets hot.

Each time we prepare for a show we tick each item off in pencil, then when everything is packed, we rub the ticks out ready for the next time. The books looking a bit ragged now but it still works. You will no doubt think of loads of things I've forgotten, so if you do, please tell me and I'll add it in my little book!

Then the last bit of advice - smile and enjoy yourself! Remember.......

Smiling

Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the 'flu,

When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner and someone saw me grin,

Suddenly I realised I'd passed it onto him.

I thought about the smile and realised what it's worth,

A single smile like mine could travel round the Earth.

So when you feel a smile begin, don't leave it undetected.

Start an epidemic - get the World infected!

Author Unknown

Eye halve a spelling chequer!

2011-07-05T12:40:00.000+01:00

A bit of fun, not quite a word or wisdom of the week but very nearly... I found this amongst some papers this weekend whilst we were cleaning and tidying at mother in laws house, (again!).

Eye halve a spelling chequer

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a quay and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
It's rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
It's letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

Attributed to Jerrold H. Zar in 1992 by Wikipedia.

I ran this through Bloggers own spellchecker and guess what? The only words highlighted as misspelled were Bloggers, Zar and Wikipedia!

Exhibiting at Events - Episode 3

2011-07-01T12:21:00.000+01:00

Are you ready now to make your first foray into the world of exhibitions? Have you chosen an event, sorted out your style and stand - so what else do you need to know and have in place?

You need to tell the Taxman! Essential. The tax officers are very helpful these days, phone them up, they won't bite, honest! Tell them your circumstances and about any other employment you have, then ask for advice, guidance and any paperwork needed for your new venture.

Remember, stock, material costs, overheads, stand fees etc., are all allowable against any income generated, so keep records from day one. Set yourself up with a simple day book of income and expenditure, then enter the purchase cost of your new day book as expense number one in the expenditure column!

If you also have a "proper job", it's worth checking your employment contract to make sure that you will not be breaking your terms of employment by working elsewhere. Some companies can be a bit funny if they think their employees may be being "disloyal" or creating a "conflict of interests".

Start a second bank account. A "number 2" personal account. It's not essential to have a business account immediately, but it is a very good idea to keep your self employment earnings and costs completely separate from your normal banking - it will help you with bookkeeping and to see how well or badly you are doing. You may need a business account later if for example you decide that you want to accept credit/debit cards.

Insurance. You need some, at the very least you should have public liability cover. There are quite a few ways you can arrange this. The amount and type needed will depend on the requirements of the organiser, always ask for advice.

1. There are companies who will cover you for individual events but it does work out a lot more expensive. There was a time when PL insurance was not needed by individual exhibitors at all events, (...the days when the event organisers could actually AFFORD to insure everyone!) But there were a few where you needed your own cover and I remember many years ago paying £47 for £5,000,000 product liability and £10,000,000 public liability cover for one particular five day event. Bearing in mind that the cost of the stand for five days at the time was £200 ish, you can see just how expensive it was in real terms!

2. Annual insurance cover is easier and less expensive to organise. You can either go through a specialist broker, (Google "craft event insurance" or ask other exhibitors for their agent) or you can join an organisation like the NMTF, (National Market Traders Federation) or other trade associations who will often include insurance and all sorts of other benefits like legal cover and special card processing deals to their membership. Average cost it seems is between £80-£150 per year.

Be prepared for taking payments at events. This is becoming a real bugbear. The cheque guarantee card system is being scrapped this year which means that payments made by cheque may not necessarily be honoured by the issuing bank. So if you accept a cheque from a customer the transaction will have to be based on trust......

Card payments are more and more popular, but the costs of being able to accept them can be quite high. First of all you need a business bank account, then a merchant bank account and a card payment processor like Barclaycard or Streamline. You will also be expected to commit to a contract term of generally 18 months or more. All of this will take time to organise and a lot of paperwork, so if this is your chosen route, make sure you set things up well in advance and do plenty of research and comparisons between providers before you make a decision.

Alternatively you can use one of the ever increasing number of companies who offer shorter term rental of card processing machines. They organise the processing and merchant bank account set up for you but you will no doubt pay handsomely for the privilege in terms of set up fees and commission charges. Then there's the new idea of phone to phone payments, and Paypal through a laptop, the mooted "oyster" type cards....It is a complicated labyrinth of different charges, rentals and contracts to negotiate which is incredibly "catch 22". The card processing company will base your charges on how much business you expect to do over say one year - but until you have accepted card payments, how do you know how much business you will put through? It's all guesswork!

Good old fashioned pounds, shillings and pence! It seems we are going back to the past - cash is king again. The large events now provide at least one ATM cash machine on site and most now have more than one bank offering a counter service. Even at smaller events, it is likely that there will be an ATM machine fairly close or a local shop offering a cashback service, so ironically it has become easier for folks to obtain cash than it once was. The only problem of course is keeping cash payments safe. It's a good idea to equip yourself with a discreet money belt, please don't ever leave cash lying around even in a locked box, it's just to easy to take.

What else? There are other things you will need to check out but they will depend on the service or product you are supplying. For example if you are involved in food of any description, do you have any necessary hygiene certification and full ingredients list with allergy warnings? If you are a maker of toys, furniture, clothes, household decorations etc., do your products meet the needs of Trading Standards? For cosmetics, potions and lotions, have you checked out what ingredient labelling is required. For jewellers, woodworkers, etc., there are requirements of a makers to describe their products accurately.

Better safe than sorry, a bit of time spent in research beforehand can help prevent problems later on. Do your homework!

I must point out that all of this information has been drawn from our own experience and that of our crafty friends. I can't claim that it is a complete guide by any means, but I hope at least some of it will be of help to someone. The next (and final) episode will be about the big day itself.....

Far too much blabbering again, time to go now!

The "Silver" Exhibition at Walford Mill

2011-06-29T13:55:00.000+01:00

Walford Mill in Wimborne are celebrating their 25th Anniversary. They have also recently secured planning permission to extend the gallery and other facilities hugely - it is already a lovely place but is going to be amazing when all of the building work is complete! So for the next month they are holding a silent auction to raise funds to build the new planned bridge across the river to give better access for the disabled. Dozens of artists and craftspeople have donated items to the auction which was officially launched last Friday evening, many of the items have been specially made for the event.

My contribution was a freeform woven sculpture "bridge", I hope it raises lots of money for them!

If you get a chance, please have a look at the photo gallery of some of the items on offer and make a bid if you can, they are stunning!

http://www.walfordmillcrafts.co.uk/current.htm

Pot handles, Papier Mache and a Fox!

2011-06-27T17:37:00.001+01:00

I can't believe it, I've reached my 200th post and had over 9300 page views. Many thanks to you all for your support, I hope you have managed to find something useful or interesting in my random ramblings!

So what's new? Last week was a busy one, but something a little bit different did come into the workshop to break up the monotony of rush work - this little silver pot handle wrap.

It's a little hand hammered tea pot with a very pretty border around the lid and top, so a fine, intricate handle weave was needed I thought to do justice to the delicate detail. It's a variation of a design used on a lot of the Liberty Tudric metalwork designed by Archibald knox, except this handle wrap has been re-woven in 1.6mm wide cane instead of 3.0mm, so it took a bit longer than usual!

The other unusual thing that arrived this week was this amazing lacquered and inlaid papier mache chair.

It needs a lot of work which should be started next month, but I couldn't help myself, I just HAD to see how it would look by cleaning just a little bit....

Ooooh it's going to be a treat working on this one! Look at how the mother of pearl starts to shine with a little bit of cleaning.

And lastly at the weekend we saw this very sorry sight.

This young and incredibly skinny fox was wandering around the garden in broad daylight eating the bird food - he must be starving. He was so weak that he didn't even try to run away when he saw us.

Exhibiting at a Craft Fair - Episode 2 Presentation

2011-06-24T09:39:00.000+01:00

This follows on from episode one found here http://seatweaving.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-become-exhibitor-episode-1.html

You've done the leg work and the research, found a few fairs and events that you fancy and now you've just got to make the booking and prepare for the big day(s). So, how do you want the World to see you? Are you quirky, cutting-edge-super-modern, traditional, designer, cool, quaint, eco-friendly, romantic, sophisticated...... some, all or none of the above?

How you present yourself does matter. As a visitor walks past you he or she will more than likely decide in the first 2 or 3 seconds of seeing your stand whether or not to take a closer look. So it is important to transmit what you do and your style with a display that has the right impact on passers-by in a matter of seconds. How? The best way I've found is to look at other "brands". Let's take Tesco for example. They have a simple philosophy, (and a bigger research budget than me!). Plainer packaging is down to earth, good, wholesome "value", but the "treat yourself to the finest" range has a more sophisticated packaging design with lots of black. Ask yourself, when you shop at a supermarket do you instinctively look for certain ranges of goods by their packaging?

So using the same ideas, if you want an elegant look for say a jewellery display, maybe darker colours with a bit of sleek contrast here and there, perhaps a bit of rich velvet or silk will give the "treat yourself to the finest" look, (think Harrods). Or for an excellent value, fresh, wholesome and earthy look, (some soap, candles, honey and foodies maybe?) simplicity, natural tones, greens, beige, pale blue and ethnic fabric, hessian, some fresh flowers and gingham! There was a superb example of this at a show we were at recently, a lady potter with her beautifully simple pots displayed on tartan squares with a plain blue cotton fabric background - stunning! The colourful tartan showed off her uncluttered elegant designs to perfection. I was drawn to her stand and just had to have a closer look.

The things to avoid in a display. The colour red. Be careful how much you use, it can subliminally warn some people away, but is a great tool in small quantities to attract attention. Likewise bright highlighter colours like fluorescent banana yellow and fuchsia pink - use with great care! And untidiness, I know it can be hard sometimes, but try to keep it neat.

Okay, so that's an overview of creating an image, so once you've got an overall vision of that, what about the nuts and bolts of showing off your stock? Obviously how you do this is going to depend on what you make or demonstrate, so I'll talk in general terms. Most people walking past a display won't necessarily look at things that are below waist height or above eye line to begin with, so bear this in mind. Put your most eye catching pieces within that range to attract their attention. You could also use Leonardo Da Vinci's principle - the magic triangle. If you look at his art, there is virtually always a triangulation - in his Madonna and Child paintings your eyes are drawn firstly by the Madonna's face, then down to the child, then to the feet, they are the most detailed and brightest spots in the painting, you are then captivated and start to look around then into the background image. Arranging your stand with this in mind you can draw the customers eyes from one bright piece to another and hopefully gain their interest. So what are the basic essentials for display:

A table. You need a really good one, not a special offer DIY paste table, it will fall over or collapse if someone leans on it, (and they will....). Some organisers provide good solid tables at events, some don't, so when you make your booking ask if tables are supplied and if so, how big they are. Cover your table completely with fabric or something right down to the floor all the way around, then you'll be able to hide overstock or empty boxes underneath. Use drawing pins or self stick velcro to hold the cover in place.

Staging. Shelves, covered boxes, pegboard or any other means of adding height, depth and interest. I've seen some fabulous props used for this, vintage shoemakers wooden lasts mounted onto a base and used to show off jewellery, ornate wooden hat stands adorned with belts and bags, antique plant troughs full of pottery sitting in straw and butchers hooks to hang baskets from the gazebo roof. Just one word of warning though, whatever you do use as a prop make sure it is safe and secure! If you are outdoors use tent pegs into the ground for any tall display, or indoors bungee them to an immovable object, never assume the best case scenario, the one in our dreams where all of the children will be perfectly well behaved and no-one will trip over or lose their balance and all tea cups are non-spill - instead anticipate the worst possible event and make sure that your display can take it

Lighting. Not always a possibility and it usually costs extra to have power on your stand. However, if you have access to electric make the best use of it. Crystal clear directional light can change the look of anything, especially glossy items like jewellery and polished furniture or metal, but it will also show up any imperfections! Be aware that there are rules about using electrical goods at a public event, they have to be very new with a current twelve month guarantee period and safety labels intact or if they're out of guarantee they have to be "PAT" tested and certified for safety. It need not be too expensive to get this done, ask the fair organiser as they may well have a deal going with an electrician for all of their exhibitors. We know this because our son is a certified PAT tester and he arranges equipment tests at a very reasonable cost for our friend who organises antique fairs!

Okay, you've done all of that, so now practice! Set up your stand at home, move things around, look at it from all angles and ask everybody for an opinion. Mess about until you're happy.

Coo.......that was a lot of blabbering.........Next episode, all the other things you need to remember for the big day including how to prepare yourself.

A rainy weekend.

2011-06-21T16:00:00.000+01:00

We're happy to be back in the nice warm workshop, it's Midsummer but no-one seems to have told the weather! The weekend at the Three Counties Show was cold, damp and sometimes very windy which is always a shame when so much effort has gone into organising such a big event. Nevertheless the visitors arrived in large numbers and had a good time. As ever the entertainment in the arenas was stunning, there was pole climbing, highland pipers, jive pony, birds of prey flights....allsorts. Then of course there are the sheds full of cattle, goats, sheep and ......pigs! I love pigs.

We did loads of work, two drop in rush seats, three rush spindle back chairs and four footstools so we were kept busy. The weather was a nuisance. When the wind and rain came at the same time, everything had to be moved right to the back of our stand or else it would be soaked, then the sun would come out and we'd move it all back again. Exhausting! Then I'd be polishing out any water marks and it's not easy to french polish in a field. Anyway the weather did make things interesting, look at this picture of the Malvern hills from Bernard's ramp. The sun had just come out after a heavy downpour of rain, it was suddenly really hot and steamy.

Can you see what looks like little clouds in the hillside? Well here's a close up of those clouds.

It's steam rising from the trees, the whole hill looked like it had caught fire! It only lasted a few minutes but it was surreal.

How to become an exhibitor - Episode 1......

2011-06-13T14:20:00.000+01:00

Okay as promised, (threatened!) a run down on what it's like to get out there and "strut your stuff" to the public at an event. Starting right at the beginning.

You're now really proficient at your craft/skill, you've made plenty of examples of your work, you've had good feedback from family/friends/colleagues and maybe some sales and commissions. You feel ready to take the next step so...., how do you choose your first show, fair or other event?

Before you do anything else, step back and impartially analyse your product or service. Who wants it, where do you think you'll find potential clients and just as importantly who wouldn't be interested in what you do? Ask everyone who is prepared to listen for their honest opinion. For example, our products and services cross over at least three different potential markets, antiques, craft and traditional skills, there's also possibly designer/maker events, but we know that we'd be useless at a pamper evening! So having established which categories you can potentially fit into with your work, you can start the process of finding events that will match your criteria. There's no lack of choice, but initially it's more sensible to go for local, smaller events. Why?

A. Because generally smaller events are less expensive therefore less of a financial risk and
B. You won't have wasted too much time and effort if it all goes wrong - but all feedback and experience is absolutely priceless.

Give yourself plenty of time, don't think that just because you've got everything in place you must do a show immediately. Pencil a few events into your diary that you fancy the look of and then go visit them as a customer. While you're there have a chat with other stallholders, see if you can meet the organiser, talk to other visitors - get their reactions. Look at the advertising, are there road signs, what's the access like, where do you park and does it cost, is there a "buzz" in the room, what competition is there for your range of products, how are people presenting their stands, is there a cafe and a toilet, is there FOOD! Boiled down to basics, did you feel inspired and comfortable at the event, was it an enjoyable time, did you buy anything, (or at least want to)? Don't worry if it takes you a few months or even a year to investigate all potential venues, the homework will be worth it. Keep notes, make sure you have the contact details of the organiser, cost of the event, address of the venue visited and the event dates along with a rough outline of what the day was like for you. What was the weather like, (always an important aspect when assessing any event in the UK!) and whether it was very busy, moderately so, or more like a morgue.

A story and a little gem of knowledge that was passed on to us by a great friend and fellow crafter about judging the likely success or failure of an event. We were alongside each other at a big, well attended outdoor fair a few years ago. Our friend was watching intently as the crowds milled around in the glorious sunshine - he was staring at everyones feet. After a while he looked up and said, "You can always tell whether it'll be a good day or not by peoples shoes you know. Today's going to be good."

Meanwhile while you're busy doing all of the above, you can formulate your unique brand "presentation", your look. That will be the topic of Episode 2......

Preparing for the Three Counties Show

2011-06-12T12:48:00.000+01:00

This weekend was meant to be spent in preparation..... rebuilding stands, wax finishing stool and chair frames, cleaning the truck and all the other admin/packing and background tasks that go into making yourself ready to put on a show. However, the weather dictates as always! It's pouring with rain, which according to the forecast is here for the day, so most plans are scuppered. The heavier outdoor prep work will just have to wait until tomorrow. There are a few things I can do, some printing maybe and basket making, so with a bit of luck we may be able to make some headway later today.

We have had a productive week, tedious at times but satisfying. A couple of oak framed chairs have been refinished ready for their new drop in rush seats, another oak cane seated chair has been refinished and recaned, a footstool or two have been done and joy of joys this little treasure is finished.

As predicted it has taken an age, a panel 24" x 17" with a two by two twill weave in 3.0mm wide cane onto bowed rails. If you have ever done any hand knotted close cane work, I'm sure you will know what that means - weeks of work!! Never mind, it will go home in a couple of weeks and the pain will be just a memory.

We should have been at Walford Mill Gallery this weekend for the Wimborne Folk Festival but didn't go because of the Three Counties Show starting on Friday. Such a shame for them that this weather has moved in, it spoils the fun and makes life so difficult if you are trying to put on a show. It started me thinking.....so as a result next week I'll start a sequence of posts about what it's really like to go out there - become an exhibitor and put yourself up to public scrutiny! What it takes in real terms.

(It's possible that I may need someone to censor my posts!).

It's nice to be appreciated!

2011-06-10T16:29:00.000+01:00

We're not very good at joining things.....like clubs, associations and that sort of thing. Partly because we're not able to give them as much time and attention as we'd like to give them and maybe also because we can be quite solitary and private sometimes. So it came as a surprise last week to learn that one of the few associations we are members of had received a note from someone singing our praises! A teacher and professional caner, (we don't know who) had written to the Basketmakers Association just to tell them that they had bought and used all three of our DVDs and wished to recommend them to the membership proclaiming them to be excellent! The Association printed the details in their quarterly magazine this May. We knew nothing about it.

Praise indeed and very humbling, it is so nice when someone takes time out of their day to do something like that. Whoever you are, if you are reading this, I would like to say thank you very much, it is much appreciated!

It doesn't seem like it but it was about five years ago that we finally finished the DVD training "trilogy" and have sold hundreds all over the world since. The filming process took four gruelling years - we spent months finding the right seats to work on - organising venues to film at - voiceovers, (oh how I hated those!) etc. Paul the wonderful film maker, (and now a great friend) has the patience of a saint and a perfect eye for detail. True dedication to a level that I have never encountered before. He is currently self funding and making a low budget British film, it is looking REALLY promising, if you would like to have a look, his facebook page about the film is here On Common Ground. We wish him all the luck in the World and I hope its a blockbuster!! Please give him as much support and encouragement as you can - trust me, there is one Craftsman who TRULY deserves it!

Soda blasting project - gilt chairs

2011-06-07T17:04:00.000+01:00

A bit of an unusual request. These two beautifully made French chairs were originally gilt, but as the years have passed, the gilding has worn off and someone in the recent past has decided to coat them with thick gold paint to try and revive them. Trouble is that paint never has the same look or feel of gilding and the gesso/gilt finish beneath the paint shows through with ugly chips and cracks. So the new owner has requested that we remove the gold paint, re-finish the chair frames in distressed grey Farrow and Ball paint and then replace the cane seats.

The hand carving is top class and very fine, so we will blast the paint off with soda which will leave the gesso undercoat and delicate carved details intact. Imagine how long it would take to strip this by hand with chemicals especially the little crevices around the rose petals where the paint has run into big thick blobs!

First stage in progress, the side rail has been blasted and you can see the intact original surface beneath. More updates to follow......

Wishbones and Tricorns

2011-06-02T10:30:00.000+01:00

Wishbones, or Mr Wegner's "Y" chairs, all eight of them.

But these will be very special when they're restored, the owner is going to have them re-woven in black Danish cord and as the chairs are early oak versions, they have beautiful golden colour, what a contrast that will make!

Meanwhile another unusual piece.

A three legged rush chair. The workshop is full to bursting at the moment, but I am looking forward to working on this one. Which leads me on to the.....

Word of the Week.

Excoriate - scrape layers off. (something we'll be doing a lot of)

Wisdom of the Week.

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing - you're right." - Henry Ford

Soggy.....but successful!

2011-05-31T13:00:00.000+01:00

Of all the days! No rain for weeks, then a downpour.....ALL DAY, it was such a shame. But this is England and we expect adverse weather, don't we? In typical British fashion the supporters of the Sherborne show were not going to let a bit of water stop their fun, oh no! Out with the brollies and wellies, four layers of clothing topped off with a waterproof jacket and away you go - no problem.

The show seemed busier than ever, almost as if everyone had come because of the rain! Jive pony, (website here) were performing in the main ring and even they stoically did their acrobatic equestrian act in leotards despite the pouring rain. They did have to scale down for the second performance when Ronan their gorgeous Highland pony seemed to have a bit of a problem with his shoulder, he was "retired" from the afternoon performance whilst the girls quickly put together a new one horse show, "on the hoof" so to speak!

So here we are drinking tea - lots of it, to keep warm. The lady standing next to my other half is Kath who trades as "Cradle to Grave". She is a highly talented basketmaker and yurt builder who very sensibly was nice and cosy working next to us protected from the weather in two linked yurts!

And the child sized rocker......? Well it still lives with me, for now.

Off to Sherborne

2011-05-29T15:04:00.000+01:00

The horsebox is packed with food, clothes and furniture, just need to get some fuel, (again!) and then we're off to Sherborne Castle. We did finish one or two special little projects for the show, here's one when it was halfway through.

Perhaps someone at the show will fall in love with this little child sized rocking chair and give it a new home, but if not, it can live with me!

Back to the office on Tuesday.

One week to the Sherborne Castle Country Fair

2011-05-23T18:36:00.000+01:00

So....... an update. We now have many restored footstool frames and more importantly, Bernard's fuel gauge and charging systems work, thanks to the fantastic family run commercial vehicle workshop in Poole! So all that's left for us to do now is to weave about five footstool seats, clean and polish Bernard, redesign and build our display stand, re-polish four chair frames, make another egg basket and.......and......

Meanwhile on Saturday amid all of the preparation work, I realised that it had been one year to the day since we lost our beautiful cat Rodney. Time has flown. We were pretty much doing the same things last year preparing for Sherborne when he was suddenly taken ill, that months posts are here http://seatweaving.blogspot.com/2010_05_01_archive.html His mum is still with us, she will be 19 in September, but is a poor little soul now with wobbly back legs, a gammy eye and not much appetite for anything really. She's happy though, just as lovable as ever. So some memories of Rodders.....

Footstool frames

2011-05-19T15:05:00.000+01:00

All week, frame after frame has gone through the restoration process - feels like I've done millions of them! Stripping, re-gluing, re-finishing and we've still got the seats to weave yet. But it is satisfying to look around the workshop now......

Piles of frames everywhere! The soda blasting of the American rocking chair was only partly successful, so I will have to persevere with that one another time. Meanwhile, talking of perseverance............

Word of the Week:

Assiduous -constant in application or effort; working diligently at a task; persevering; attentive.

It's been a good week here for "assiduous".

Wisdom of the Week:

"I think we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labour of the industrious" - Thomas Jefferson 3rd US President!

And he said that over 200 years ago, so what's changed.......?

Progress report

2011-05-16T12:47:00.000+01:00

I've used enough soda to bake dozens of cakes! Who'd have ever thought that under pressure blasted at a piece of wood soda could do this......

Or this.....

So the result is we now have 13 footstool frames almost re-finished and a further 7 stripped! I've got a more ambitious plan for today, soda blasting an American rocking chair. These chairs are very intricate and normally a complete nightmare to hand strip with chemicals, so I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

The little footstool in the background will be the next candidate.

We had a lovely day yesterday, a friend of ours held an open day at his yard. He is the proud owner of 10 classic commercial trucks and amongst them are 2 handsome wooden horseboxes all of which were on display. We took Bernard and loads of other people turned up with their classic trucks, London taxis, motorbikes and all sorts of old engineering including an "O" guage model railway set. There was even a lady making Dorset buttons. Our friend's wife laid on burgers and salad followed by home made apple pie - she catered for 160 as a coachload of sixty people also turned up! All donations, (and I hope there were lots) are to be given to the local cottage hospital where our friend's wife received treatment recently. A really friendly traditional good time was had by all.

Meanwhile Bernard is now at the doctor's! We took him this morning to have his charging system and petrol gauge fixed. At least we will be able to tell how much fuel we have in future.....hopefully......

Getting the weave wrong

2011-05-11T15:00:00.000+01:00

We've been sorting things out........never a good plan, but it's surprising what you find. As we're getting ready to have a mass soda blasting session, we have trawled through our bits and pieces to see what will and what won't blast. Lo and behold, we came across this pair of chairs:

Nothing wrong with them you may say, until you look more closely:

The weaving is all wrong! The seat on the right looks okay, it is a six way weave but when you look closer....

The diagonals have been woven under when they should be over and vice versa which makes the lines wiggly instead of straight and will also lead to the cane cutting against itself when you sit on the seat. And the seat on the left:

Known as Gypsy weave, named after the travelling weavers who most commonly used it. Still a six way weave, but basically getting it wrong....albeit consistently to form a regular pattern! Which leads me on to this weeks word and wisdom.

Word of the Week:

Assonance - resemblance of sounds, partial agreement or correspondence. (or as Julie Walters said in the film "Educating Rita" - "getting the rhyme wrong")

Wisdom of the Week:

"I am easily satisfied with the very best" - Winston Churchill.

Yes, indeed I am!

Bernard, our project next week......

2011-05-08T15:19:00.000+01:00

Well it's that time of the year again. Bernard our trusty old horsebox needs his annual overhaul. The best news is at least we can move him now thanks to a wonderful friend of ours. Up until the middle of last week the clutch was seized and we had no way of being able to deseize it - our friend came to the rescue. He fiddled and thumped, moved and shook the truck, then suddenly, we heard a click.....the clutch was freed! However, our friend doesn't know how he did it - so none of us are any the wiser how to fix it if it happens again. Hey ho.

So tomorrow I will be soda blasting various bits of furniture and truck. Then we will be cleaning various bits of furniture and truck..... and finally, we will be re-painting or re-finishing various.................!

Not the most exciting prospect in the world is it? But someone has to do it. By the end of the week we will hopefully have a handsome truck AND some footstool frames to work on at our first show of the year at Sherborne Castle at the end of May. It is wishful thinking on my part but it would be great if Bernard looked as good as he did when we spent 800 hours on him 6 years ago:

But to quote one of our sons, "that ain't gonna happen". It's more likely that I'll be making up a sign saying "Please excuse me I'm a Work in Progress"!

I hate cleaning!

2011-05-03T16:23:00.000+01:00

I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays - what great weather we've had and whatever people think about Royal Weddings, the pageantry was pretty impressive and Kate looked stunning didn't she? They look like one very happy couple.

Sadly we didn't get a lot of time to watch weddings or enjoy the sun, we were decorating and cleaning Mother in Law's house! It was over 16 months ago now that she went into a specialist care home following a sudden onset of seriously debilitating demetia, it came as quite a shock, I wrote about it here. But now, finally we have almost finished the total restoration of her house so that it can go on the market. As usual, our timing is awful for selling a house, but it has to be done, how else will the care home bill be paid.....??? So frustrating. Because of her condition the house was in an appalling state. She did employ someone occasionally to do cleaning, but as is often the case with elderly people, the need for company and a good chat got in the way of housework. So I have been CLEANING!!!

Spot the difference. There are two sets of three of these.

My knees ache from scuttling around washing all of the skirting boards, but you have to get this muck off before you can paint don't you? Everything has had to be scrubbed, bleached, polished and dusted to within an inch of it's life!! (...and that's just my hands...) Some restoration job, but nearly done now. Now we're back at work to have a rest, (hahaha).

A propitious weekend

2011-04-27T13:33:00.000+01:00

Half way through the two bank holiday weekends already, hope you're all having a good time. Much to our surprise we were invited to an Antiques fair on Monday, it was organised by a friend of ours that we have known for a long time, she has run fairs in this area for over 20 years. We took along some bits and pieces and two chair seats to work on, it turned out to be a good plan, we achieved a lot!

I guess I worked for about 4 hours, but I'm really pleased to have got this far along with the weaving of this stool. My other half also managed to weave all four stages of another chair seat and he started the diagonals, fantastic!! A lot of folks were interested in what we were doing, a couple of them sat down in front of us and watched for ages - so a good day all round.

And.....as it's Wednesday.......

This weeks word and wisdom:

Propitious - Auspicious; presenting favourable conditions; disposed to bestow favours

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow" - Albert Einstein

Yes, it was a propitious weekend.

The Bluebell Wood

2011-04-26T12:02:00.000+01:00

What beautiful weather - so warm for this time of the year. We decided to make the most of it on Saturday - for years now I've wanted to go to one of the local bluebell woods, but for various reasons the only free time we've ever had was too early or too late to see them at their best. Not this year...........!

The one thing the photo can't give an impression of is the gorgeous smell of hyacinth and fresh earth.

It was wonderful. This wood is a popular spot on the Kingston Lacy Estate near Wimborne. The bluebells were in full bloom and the weather was PERFECT.....one of those days you will remember forever.

Felix Dennis summed it up for me perfectly in his poem The Bluebell Wood. You can hear him reading the full poem here. It is this last section that made me realise that he feels the same way about the woods....

"My mind has marked that afternoon
To hoard against life's stone and sling;
Should I go late, or I go soon,
The bluebells glow- the birds still sing."

Easter and Bank Holidays

2011-04-21T10:45:00.000+01:00

The last full working day before Easter, then next weekend there's the royal wedding and May day. So I hope everyone will get the chance to spend time relaxing in the company of family and friends. The weather here in the UK is promising to be warm and sunny for at least this weekend, so........no excuses....... go out and enjoy!!

We have our usual "to do" list so will be kept busy, but hopefully will get a chance to have some fun too. We'll be answering the phone whenever possible this Saturday then as normal from Tuesday until Thursday next week, normal service will resume as from Tuesday 3rd May. Please bear with us, deliveries will be slower than normal because of these Bank holidays, so if you need something urgently, please tell us, we'll do our best!

Meanwhile........ remember the woven sculpt I did a few weeks back, (here).....? It will be included in the silent auction to raise funds for Walford Mill's project to build a new access bridge to the gallery...... and the egg basket (here).....? This will be in another silent auction to be held at Sherborne Castle Country Fair at the end of May which raises funds every year for local childrens charities.

If you fancy putting in a bid and supporting the sterling work of these two wonderful organisations, please keep an eye on the Walford Mill and Sherborne Castle websites for details. Sherborne Castle already have a long list of items to be included in their sale, some really interesting goodies!!

Have a great holiday, have fun - after all, it's always later than you think.......

Word & Wisdom of the Week

2011-04-20T11:14:00.000+01:00

Okay, okay, I'm sorry Tom I missed out last weeks word! So this week two for the price of one:

Indefatigable:

Incapable of being tired out; not yielding to fatigue; untiring...........(I wish.....)

Pertinacious:

Holding tenaciously to a purpose, course of action, or opinion; resolute......(it helps sometimes.....)

Wisdom of the week:

"The road to success is always under construction" - Lily Tomlin

Absolutely agree with that!

Wonderful weather for weaving...?

2011-04-19T12:50:00.000+01:00

A whirlwind few days.....The weather has been stunning here, we actually spent some time gardening over the weekend! It's taken three years so far, but we have eaten the very first crop off our asparagus plants.

Okay, so we only had two each! In the background you can see that the crop of Jerusalem artichokes was a little bit more successful - we ate those too, roasted with sweet potatoes.

Work continues to mount up because of my shoulder, I'm still being very careful. The double sided seat is virtually finished, it's a most unusual thing to find. This one comes from a commode chair so even when the seat is up, you are still looking at finished canework rather than the underside. Time consuming work in the extreme, completed beautifully by my long suffering other half!

We're feeling a bit worn out today. Yesterday we had a panic phone call from our eldest son, he was driving home when he had sudden severe pains in his abdomen that were so bad he had to pull into a car park and lie curled up on the back seat! I called an ambulance and to cut a long story short, we finally left the hospital A&E department at 9.30pm last night. He's okay'ish now, but still in some pain. It seems it was an attack of acute gastritis - so frightening, it makes you realise just how fickle life can be.

A fancy fender stool

2011-04-14T12:25:00.000+01:00

Light rehabilitation at the moment! The shoulder pain is slowly going away and at least I can use it properly now, albeit with care. I'm trying not to look at the great big armchair that caused the pain with it's torturous seat, (perhaps that should have been word of the week!) and have turned attention to a much more sensible thing.....

The lovely couple who own this said, " make it pretty, you choose the pattern".......oooooh, music to my ears.

Shoulder ache!

2011-04-12T16:10:00.000+01:00

It was all going swimmingly well............until my shoulder REALLY started to hurt. This is the culprit:

It's a huge armchair designed by Hans Wegner known as CH22 and as you work on it, you are constantly reaching over, pulling through or otherwise in an awkward position!! I'll go back to doing something a bit less stressful I think....., even close cane weaving is beginning to look more appealing.

An egg basket, (singular) - for Handmade Monday!

2011-04-11T12:52:00.000+01:00

I know I said last Monday that I wanted to finish at least two baskets by now.... well I didn't, I only managed one - what a disappointment! Why does everything always take longer than you expect? Anyway, I am pleased with it - it's an egg basket.....in the US they're sometimes called "buttocks baskets", (for reasons that will become obvious, see below!) I do enjoy myself when I'm making baskets.

The handle has a design woven into it, a chevron running in opposite directions to the centre. To make the pattern stand out, I dyed the weaving splint blue.

One other target from last week was achieved, the new seat rail for the stool is made and glued in place. That's the easy bit done, just a couple of weeks worth of weaving to go onto the seat now.

We also started a big Danish chair seat and finished four other rush seats last week, so we weren't slacking, honest!

For the second consecutive week I'm taking part in Wendy's Handmade Monday, pop over and have a browse, the page is here. Some lovely things to look at.

Word & Wisdom of the Week

2011-04-06T10:04:00.000+01:00

Word of the week:

Poppycock

Foolish talk or ideas; nonsense. From the Dutch pop (doll) and kak (dung).

That'd be dolls poo then!

Wisdom of the week:

Forgive me my nonsense, as I also forgive the nonsense of those that think they talk sense. - Robert Frost

Amen.

Wendy's Handmade Mondays

2011-04-05T10:11:00.000+01:00

Sometimes you come across people with such rare talent you can only look on in awe........

VW clock by Wendy at 1st Unique Gifts

Wendy is one of these people. Not only is she inventive and highly talented, but she also gives up her time and blog space to promote other craftspeople every week with "Handmade Monday" . The formula is straighforward, if you have a hand made project to share with the world, then blog about it with a link to Wendy's site, then you enter your blog link on Wendy's Handmade Monday post. Simple!

I took part for the first time yesterday and as a result had a lovely time looking around at all sorts of beautiful work by fellow crafters in the blogosphere. There is so much to see, if you're interested in the world of creativity then have a look for yourself, I can highly recommend it!!

This weeks projects.

2011-04-04T11:14:00.000+01:00

Spring has sprung so it's time to, well....just get on with things I suppose! First target for this week - to make at least two egg baskets, it'll be Easter soon after all. I've started - this is the "God's eye" weave that holds the handle and rim together.

I fancy using some bright colours for the body of the basket, so the next step is to dye a load of round and flat reed. Any suggestions anyone?

Second target is to make a new rail and at least start the weaving on this pretty stool. I say "start" the weaving because it's so close and fine I have a feeling that it will take a couple of weeks at least to finish.

This was a great piece to take apart, a true insight into how the experts carried out their craft a hundred or so years ago. They cheated so well you couldn't see the joins, brilliant!!!

Freeform weaving

2011-04-02T11:35:00.000+01:00

Well it has no traditional practical use, so I couldn't really call it a basket! The inspiration for this sculpture was "bridge" and "river". It's not huge only measuring about 17" across but it still took two days to make.

Walford Mill Gallery at Wimborne are fundraising to build a new bridge to give easier access for the disabled to their centre, it is also their 25th anniversary this year. To celebrate, they are planning a "silent auction" of works and an exhibition entitled "Silver". Artists and makers previously involved with the gallery have been invited to offer an item for inclusion in the event, this is my offering! It may not be accepted, but whatever happens, I hope that the auction raises loads of money - the gallery is a great place - full of inspiration.

Word & Wisdom of the Week

2011-04-01T10:43:00.000+01:00

Word of the week:

Contrafibularities:

Obviously from contra - against - and fibula, the smaller of the two bones in the lower leg. Means "pulling one's leg"

Wisdom of the week:

You know why I'm pulling your leg? Because I can't touch it from where I am. - Gene Simmons

It's not Wednesday, have a great April 1st.....................!

Wobbly chairs and french polish!

2011-03-27T12:10:00.000+01:00

Another afternoon course for the lovely folks from the local U3A group. This time their demonstration "wish list" included how to French polish, how to replace little bits of missing veneer and what to do with wobbly chairs!

We went through the processes needed to turn shellac flakes into polish, how to fill the wood grain and then build up a finish using a polishing rubber. Most people had a go and were surprised at just how much hard work it is building up the endless layers needed to get a deep shine to a piece of wood. Then we talked about animal glue and how to reglue loose joints in a chair........ preferably without having to take it apart too much.

It was fun and the time flew by.

Is weaving cane or rush hard on your hands?

2011-03-24T11:37:00.000Z

A question we're asked very often - the answer is only if you let it be!

When you are working with either cane or rush the material is damp, so if your skin is sensitive, then you may find that some areas of your hands can become a bit sore. The answer is not to overdo it, do all things in moderation. A hand cream/moisture barrier will help to prevent chapping and friction damage, so it's well worth considering investing in a good brand if you know you have sensitive skin. Gloves are another option, but I find that I can't work with them on and the latex or vinyl types can cause more allergy and sweaty skin problems than they solve. Cotton gloves are good, but of course they will get wet and grubby so are not really an option.

When you are doing rush work, depending on how you put the strain on the cord, you might notice a sore pressure point on the little finger side of your working hand. We know of quite a few full time rush workers who have made themselves a leather half glove/brace with a pad that covers the pressure point - it works well, but as I said before, it's easier to stop working and rest your hands than to carry on regardless and suffer for longer than you need to. Do yourself a favour, take a break, do something different for a while, have a cup of tea!

The most important thing to watch out for if you do a lot of hand work of any description is carpal tunnel syndrome. This is when the tunnel carrying the main nerves to the hand becomes narrow, causes pain and can make the hand "claw" in. It's a condition that is not unique to weaving - any repetitive action like typing or sewing can cause the problem. To avoid putting yourself at risk, try to vary the way that you clasp, pull, place and hold materials - variety is the spice of life! By doing this you will minimise the possibility of causing "clawing" as well as other potential problems like repetitive stress injury and rheumatism. I have found that glucosamine gel helps my hands when they are tired, but that is very much a personal thing.

So, is weaving cane or rush hard on your hands? NO, provided you are sensible and respect your most important tools - your hands.

My hands - they've served me well! The nails are very useful caning tools.

Word & Wisdom of the Week

2011-03-23T12:39:00.000Z

Word of the week:

Woebegone

Depressed, troubled; crestfallen.

Wisdom of the week:

When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?" - Sydney J. Harris

Now there's a thought.

A quiet weekend?

2011-03-19T14:36:00.000Z

It has been a hectic few weeks, but today the sun is shining so it's a chance to get out into the garden. Spring must be on its way, these are some bulbs that were planted back in the Autumn.

They're much prettier than I expected, after all, a whole box of various purple flowering bulbs cost me about £2 and that included two or three hyacinths, some tulips and anemones - Amazing, fantastic value, don't you just love purple!

This week we've finished the mammoth task of eight huge Magistretti armchair seats and eight cane panels of various descriptions and I've even managed to re-glue five footstool frames.

There's still a lot to do, but at least more space is starting to emerge in the workshop which is good, because I've got a special job to do for a local craft centre, (more info to follow...) and I'll need a decent sized area to work in, (and make a mess in....).

Japan

2011-03-16T12:22:00.000Z

As a follow on to the word and wisdom this week.

Such a frightening and devastating set of events for the people of Japan, I feel totally humbled by their quiet strength and determination to overcome the seemingly endless natural and man-made catastrophes they're suffering - would we be so calm and resourceful in the same situation...hmmmm?

My heart goes out to them, I feel impotent and wish there was something that I could do to help. My fervent hope is that if nothing else, the whole world will at least properly reassess how we do things in the future, especially when it comes to how we generate our power - there MUST be another way. We're one World after all.

Word & Wisdom of the Week

2011-03-16T11:04:00.000Z

This weeks word is:

Cataclysmic

From the Greek kataklysmos, to 'wash down' (kluzein "wash" and kata "down")

A word being used far to often this week...............

Wisdom of the week:

"There are times when the creations of man can have a more cataclysmic effect than those of nature" - This is a quote by me........made this morning whilst watching the telly.

Word & Wisdom of the Week

2011-03-09T12:11:00.000Z

Word of the week:

Larrikin

Originated in the "Black Country" dialect found in the area near Birmingham, where 'larrikin' originally meant 'tongue', thus someone who was outspoken. Commonly used in Australia/N. Zealand to describe a person who disregards conventions, a hooligan!

Wisdom of the week:

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel" - Maya Angelou.

Rush!

2011-03-08T11:25:00.000Z

Another phase - it's all rush at the moment. A set of eight Magistretti drop in rush pads, another William Morris side chair, a bobbin turned corner chair, an oak dining chair, four ladderback chairs.........! My shoulders ache and there are just not enough hours in the day.

The rosewooded chair is finished, so is the big settle, at least we have a bit more room in the workshop.

I can't believe it's March already, the show season is almost upon us and we haven't even started any preparations. Bernard the horsebox has a seized clutch, so for now we can't even move him to the workshop to get all the niggly problems fixed. At the end of last year we had a nightmare time, the fuel gauge, battery charging system and speedometer stopped working virtually at the same time. I had a rant about it here. Well we're no further forward and to compound the problem, Bernard's long serving mechanic, (and the only person we know with a tool to deseize the clutch) is working in the Antarctic as mechanic to the exploration team! We're keeping our fingers crossed that when he visits his family briefly this month, he will be able to find the special clutch tool.....

We also have to restore enough furniture to work on at the show demonstrations because as of today, we have about two footstool frames - that's it! We could definitely do with having 8 days per week.

Variety is the spice of life - antique versus modernism.

2011-03-03T13:21:00.000Z

Fashion is a fickle thing........Two restoration jobs that arrived yesterday bear it out. Top quality traditional antique furniture still has a place it seems in interior decoration, especially if it is a bit out of the ordinary, pretty, small and useable. But the big change over the last few years has been the longing gaze back to the 60's and all that it represented. Danish modern, Ercol, G Plan were all names I would never have associated with the job that I do - after all, I remember them when they were new and "trendy"! I never thought that one day I would spend as much, (if not more) of my time restoring this modern genre of furniture than the classical antique.

So here are the two items sitting together.

Both have their beauty, but could they sit together in the same space? Personally I don't think so, but in separate rooms of the same home, yes. I like both of these designs, but for very different reasons. The Wegner CH22 is masculine, sinuous - built to last and functional, whereas the stool is so delicate and ornate but just as useful. They both stand out and make a statement in interior design.

And from my point of view? There's a lot of HARD WORK there!

A photo to go with the word of the week

2011-03-02T10:58:00.000Z

This photo was one of a few sent to me last week by Willie, a fellow cat lover and blogger.

A pusillanimous puppy! Thank you Willie.

Word & Wisdom of the Week

2011-03-02T10:39:00.000Z

Word of the week:

Pusillanimous

Lacking courage or resolution; cowardly; faint-hearted; timid.

Wisdom of the week:

"Some people have so much respect for their superiors they have none left for themselves." - Peter McArthur.

The Arts & Crafts settle and more "faux" paintwork

2011-02-24T09:47:00.000Z

It's nearly done, but like all big pieces of furniture with large areas of canework, it takes time - a lot of time. Here is the progress so far.

The first set of diagonal weavings are about half way across the seat.

Back to faux finishes, in this post here I was working on a faux rosewood finish and said then that there was another popular faux finish imitating burr walnut. Well by coincidence here's one that came into the workshop last week.

A 1920's cane backed chair with a medallion and very convincing painted walnut finish. The back is now recaned, tinted and sealed.

It's not surprising people believe that this effect is real walnut is it?

A Facebook page

2011-02-23T14:43:00.000Z

Okay, I said I would never do it..............but I gave in and we now have a Facebook page!

It's all a bit new at the moment, but here it is:

Former Glory Seat Weaving's Facebook

Please have a look - leave us a comment, tell us the sort of information you would like us to post about.

Word & Wisdom of the Week

2011-02-23T09:45:00.000Z

Word of the week:

Erudite

Characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly

(Ha - so it's not the two part glue then.....!)

Wisdom of the week:

"Wise men speak because they have something to say,
Fools because they have to say something." - Plato Greek Philosopher

I'll shut up now.

Word & Wisdom of the Week

2011-02-16T09:57:00.000Z

Word of the week:

Circumspect

Watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent.

Feeling like that a lot lately!

Wisdom(s) of the week:

A wise old owl sat on an oak,

The more he saw the less he spoke,

The less he spoke the more he heard,

Why aren't we like that wise old bird?" - Author unknown

"Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold - but so does a hard boiled egg." - Author unknown

Okay, two this week - liked them both and couldn't make my mind up.

Faux Rosewood painted finish

2011-02-14T13:04:00.000Z

The chair frame is now "Rosewooded". This technique was very popular in Victorian times, take a simple beech or birch frame and then make it look super special by giving it a painted finish to make it look like very expensive rosewood or burr walnut. We see a lot of Deco period chairs with a faux walnut burr finish that is so convincing that the owners think that it really is walnut, they're very disappointed when we tell them that it's a painted effect. In the case of the walnut finish, the wood is usually gesso plastered first to give a silky finish, then underpainted before the top fake "walnutting" is applied. Whereas the rosewood effect is usually applied directly onto the prepared wood.

This is what the frame looked like after it was cleaned but before the faux effect was started.

There were lots of areas where the finish was worn through and missing.

It took a little while, but this is what it looks like now.

It's not very often you see a whole chair done in this way.

The split cane seat rail

2011-02-09T17:26:00.000Z

Well I decided to repair the rail rather than replace it. The split was glued using modern permanent resin glue and left clamped all weekend in a warm place. It's now solid so ready for the next phase of repair.

Cane puts an enormous strain on the frame, so you have to be sure that the repair is going to be strong enough. It helps to add some small hidden dowels between the drilled holes along the frame for a bit of extra grip.

Here it is. The holes have been cleared of glue so it's now ready to be fitted back into the frame.

Next job is to restore the original faux rosewood finish on the beech frame - always a bit fiddly.

Here's the remnants of the finish on the back rail that I need to copy. Not much left to go on!

Word & Wisdom of the Week

2011-02-09T09:23:00.000Z

Word of the week:

Prestidigitation:

From French: quick-fingeredness, from Latin praestigiae feats of juggling, tricks, probably influenced by French preste nimble, and Latin digitus.

Wisdom of the week:

The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our attention away from what they are really doing" - Ben Okri

Sad, but probably true....