Bernard's Swan Song

It's been eight years and a lot of very beautiful and some not quite so beautiful times since we first bought Bernard. It doesn't seem that long....but there you are! Everyone thought we were mad, why on earth would we want to buy a ropey old horse truck and then even worse, spend loads of money and several weeks of spare time we didn't have converting it into an exhibition wagon? Well I can't really answer that, it was just something that we wanted to do.... a bit like ice skating in Central Park, or snorkeling off the Barrier Reef.

I remember the excitement when we first saw him in the stable yard, oooh so tatty but full of hidden promise, it seemed like an age before he finally pulled up in our front drive on the 9th April 2005 and we could start work on the grand project.

We took him to pieces, literally!

800 hours labour and three months later we had this.

We recycled all sorts of bits and pieces to build the interior living area.

Most of our friends started to understand what we were doing, but it wasn't until recently when "glamping" entered the English language that we started to feel....well, quite normal really! At the shows people would come specially to see the truck, they loved him, still do, but it's time for him to have a new adventure with someone else now.

It has taken us the best part of two years to make the final decision - 800 miles a year isn't enough for this old boy, he needs to do more. So now we're looking for a new home for him next month.

So it was ironic that our final show with Bernard would be at Breamore House, one of our favourite places in the world and also where we started out on the show circuit proper back in the early 90's. Bernard's swan song was magnificent!

So it's the end of an era for us and hopefully a bright future for Bernard and his new owners. Who knows where he'll end up, but wherever it is, I won't be able to stop myself from watching!

The end of the Summer Season

Where did the Summer go? We seem to have had wet, wild weather for months now and it's been punctuated by far too few days of sunshine and warmth. What's the betting we'll have beautiful bright clear skies right through the Winter when it's too cold to go outside and enjoy it.

The bad weather has made a lot of jobs more difficult. We've been trying to "get our house in order" for months, (if not years) now. Clearing out the detritus that seems to accumulate and multiply over time. We are getting there, spaces are beginning to appear and rooms are beginning to look tidier, but oooh it's hard work and the bad weather isn't helping!

There's always another weaving or restoration job in the workshop waiting to be done, which is wonderful, but also means that we are usually under pressure and get very little time off. We keep our diary of work over on Facebook these days,  https://www.facebook.com/FormerGlorySeatWeaving mainly because it is quicker and easier to update. We will still be blogging regularly, but I'll try and choose the subjects or jobs that deserve to be described in more depth than can be done on Facebook.

So....the last few weeks - what's been happening? Well we've had loads of Bauhaus Cesca chair panels to replace, (the 60's are definitely back in vogue). The second of four very large African chieftains chairs needed a new seagrass seat, a couple of sets of Moller Danish chairs needed re-cording and a surprising amount of pots arrrived for cane wrapping of the handles. We also did our last show of the year at Frome. For once, it was a gloriously sunny day! I'll leave you with some pics.....

 The early morning mist

 After the mist burned away it was a glorious day

Quite busy too.

An update on the embargo

I'm sorry, I didn't realise how long it had been since we last blogged. We have been busy on a lot of fronts.

In the last month, we have done our last two weaving demonstrations of the year. It was a strange feeling, demonstrating the craft that we have practised for so long, meeting new people wanting to have a go, their fresh faced enthusiasm, whilst at the same time knowing that the rattan embargo problem hangs over all of us involved in this specialist trade. Should we really be encouraging new blood into the craft when there is the possibility that the necessary materials may become totally unavailable? A difficult dichotomy.

We decided that we couldn't just sit by, watch and wait. So I e-mailed and tweeted a few people with a link to our blog post about the embargo. It took a while, but thankfully people are rallying. Robin Wood of the Heritage Crafts Association has told me that he is "on the case" bringing the Basketmakers Association and other individuals together to see what can be done. One of our customers, a full time professional weaver is so concerned that he has bravely set up an e-petition, thank you. Here is the link:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/rattan-export-ban/

As I write, almost a hundred people have already signed and commented in the first two days. Now other organisations and individuals are adding their weight to the cause by blogging, tweeting or commenting on Facebook. Thank you all, please spread the word!

Whether all of this wonderful support will have any effect goodness knows - but doing nothing isn't an option, hope you agree.

On a purely selish level I want to be able to continue to restore things, bring stuff back from the brink. It hit me hard when I realised that without rattan peel, splint and reed, this crib would be have been landfill. Is it wrong to feel that way?

Whizzing along

Almost August.....can't believe it! At least it seems to have stopped raining for a while and the ground is finally starting to dry. The legacy of so much rain is obvious here, the drains in the road have sunk down at least four or five inches creating regular pot holes. Every so often you will hear a car or truck bumping it's way through - not good, there'll be some buckled wheels I think!

The good news is we have finished the commission for the National Trust on behalf of the Chapel at St. Michael's Mount in Cornwall. The first batch of 54 rush chairs that were delivered to us in January had to be finished for the Chapel opening at Easter and now the last 12 are due to be returned for a large wedding party next month - phew! It has been a long hard slog.

I still need to work it out exactly, but we've replaced 14 or 15 seat rails and a couple of stretchers to be able to re-weave the seats.

Now we can turn at least some of our attention to the last show of the season, (one of our favourites) the Oak Fair at Stock Gaylard. I found this little crib at the market last weekend, I'm so excited about restoring it and hoping that it will be finished for the show.

It looks very sad and neglected here, but I've got plans for it......progress is being posted over on our Facebook page if you're interested.

Well, must get back to it, lots to do!

Holton Lee Summer Fair

The first thing we did yesterday morning was to look out of the window.....were the weather men right, or please just this once, would they have got it wrong? No such luck, this time they were dead right. The wind was blowing a hooley, trees bending almost sideways under the force, patio furniture all over the garden. Oooh no, not again. We'd already heard on the local news that there had been flooding on the road leading to Holton Lee, and trees down all over the place in Dorset, all in all not a good start to a Summer Fair!

We set off at 10am. All along the dual carriageway the horsebox was swaying like a ship at sea, now and again a huge gust of wind would push us into the grass verge, or worse still, towards the middle of the road - not a good omen. We arrived late, thanks to the heavy traffic as much as the weather and it quickly became obvious that an awful lot of people had decided that staying at home was the best option on such a rotten day.

Yet again we had to say thank goodness for Bernard. Our trusty old truck is the best wind break in the world. We stood in the shelter of his bulk all day and managed to rush seat two chairs without any problems, but for everyone around us sadly it was carnage. Every so often the wind would blow a gale, the stallholders were hanging onto the frames of their canopies - literally - hoping that the wind would drop soon, but it didn't. By the end of the day no less than five canopies were wrecked, mangled heaps. It was so saddening. One couple had parked their car behind the stand and tied their canopy to it. Eventually the canopy frame was so distorted that they had to take it down, revealing two massive dents in the wing and door of their car where the wind had bashed the legs against it with huge force.......There were several standholders left sitting out in the elements with no shelter. I forgot to take the camera, but here's a photo, (not great quality) taken with our ancient phone.

Bleak - almost midsummer and everyone is wearing a coat - it was such a shame. The fair itself was really well attended by the supporters of this lovely place and the ring events, music, activities and facilities were great. The children had a fab time trying on police uniforms and hats courtesy of the local police represented by a lovely lady officer who was parked next to us. She had such patience with the kids, giving them guided tours of the police van and handing out pictures to colour in.

So who'd be an event organiser? No matter how hard you try or how carefully you plan, you can't predict the weather.

The final day of Dorset Art Weeks

Today would have been our last day at Stewarts Garden Centre taking part in the open studios event organised by Dorset Art Weeks but unfortunately when we arrived, there was no space for us to park. We tried a couple of options, but it soon became clear that there wasn't really anywhere for us to go, so we had to come home. Officially tomorrow is the last day of the event, but we know already that the weather is due to be really awful and as we are working outside, it just can't be done in howling wind and rain. So by way of a round up, here's a few photos I took during the two weeks to give you a flavour of some of the hidden talent in Dorset.

This is the work of Tricia Warman. The most beautiful combinations of hand sewn and woven textiles you could ever see. Such careful, delicate work from a lovely lady.

This is the pottery of Fiona Kelly. I bought one of these soap dishes as a gift for my Mum complete with handmade lavender goats milk visitor soap. Lovely! The fishes are a theme in Fiona's work, they all seem to have their own personality. Once glazed and fired the pots look like this:

So it will be another two years before the next Dorset Art Weeks, will we be part of it then I wonder? A lot can change in that time, it will be interesting to see what happens....! Meanwhile next Saturday we will be demonstrating our work at Holton Lee near Poole for the day.

Dorset Art Weeks at Stewarts Garden Centre

What a start to the two weeks of open studios in Dorset, so sunny and very warm. Stewarts Garden Centre sizzled under a cloudless sky. Bernard's parking space was already reserved when we arrived on Saturday morning, it didn't take us long to set up and start work.

The garden centre is such a beautiful place, tucked away in the village of Holt, just a short drive from Wimborne and the coastal towns of Bournemouth and Poole. Everyone is so friendly and helpful there, the centre is full of gorgeous plants, gift ideas and the food in the restaurant is to die for - proper home cooked and fresh! It's no surprise that so many people visit.

We were in the shade for most of the morning and managed to weave a couple of footstools each day. Here are the first two, a hand made rattan stool we've christened "Wedgwood" and a restored vintage pine stool.

We also finished the "cricket" stool and another hand made taller rattan stool.

Need to make some more frames now, two more weekends to go.....will the weather hold?

Sunshine and the show season begins

After weeks and weeks of rotten weather, Dorset is sunny at last! Up to 25 degrees yesterday with little or no wind - bliss. We're hoping it hangs on for a while, Dorset Art Weeks starts this weekend, a great idea which happens once every two years. Lots of red and yellow signs appear all over the county directing you to studios, workshops and galleries that are participating in the event. It's a great opportunity to see artists at work in their own environment doing what they do.

We took part for the first time two years ago. Stewarts Garden Centre hosts an event. The garden centre is a really inspiring place in a gorgeous location and during Dorset Art Weeks they invite a few local folks to come along to demonstrate and exhibit their work. Last time there was a potter, a textile artist, a furniture maker, a stained glass artist, a sculptor and us! We had a great time.

We were set up with horsebox Bernard in the car park, (the weather was good two years ago too!) It was lovely to be out of the workshop, in the fresh air for a change and we met some really interesting people. If you get the chance, please have a look at the DAW website, there are loads of events all over Dorset for the next two weeks. Come and say hello, or take a leisurely drive around this beautiful county and follow a few of the signs!

We've made some footstool frames especially and will be weaving seats on them during the event. Here's a preview....

The "cricket" stool is recyled from an old child sized cricket set.

We've made a decision about Bernard the Bedford TK horsebox

This year we're doing less shows than ever before. We have only definitely committed ourselves to three - Dorset Art Weeks and Holton Lee in June, then Stock Gaylard Oak Fair in August - that's it.

It will also be our last Summer season with "Bernard" the old Bedford TK Oakley horsebox as a backdrop and living accommodation. It's been a hard decision to make, but the time has come to move on and do things differently. We don't use Bernard enough, he needs to move around and be out and about more often, so in the Autumn he will be up for sale. Sad, but we have to be realistic, it will be a wrench to let him go after all this time, but there must be someone else out there who is looking for exactly what Bernard has to offer.

So this Spring when the weather improves we will bring Bernard out of his Winter sleep for the last time

Let us know if you are interested in becoming Bernard's new custodians. If you would like to see a potted history of our seven years with him, look here.

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

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".

Getting ready for the Woodfair at Larmer Tree.

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!

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

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!!

Stock Gaylard lived up to expectation again!!

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!!

New Stock for Stock Gaylard Oak Fair?!

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 rainy weekend.

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.

Preparing for the Three Counties Show

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!).

Soggy.....but successful!

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.

A propitious weekend

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.

Create! Episode two...

So......, further around the courtyard. I just loved these:

The stunning wire sculpture of the highly talented Helen Godfrey. Here she is with her chickens:

Just gorgeous! Then something else equally lovely this Green Man water spout:

Hand carved in stone by Annie Jeffery:

Then the wonderful jewellery makers, Min Fletcher-Jones, you can see her work here:

and Liz Guilmant-Cush who was holding a very interesting workshop for glass beadmaking.

Some immensely talented people there who were so free with their time and encouragement to the visitors. It all added up to an inspiring weekend, despite the horrible weather.