love a job once it's done

Ages ago, we picked up a set of 4 dining chairs - Parker model #26, 1963 - a design we really love, and had not had before.  They came with a table (which we restored and soon re-homed though the shop), but the chairs were in extremely pre-loved condition.

All the frames were pretty loose, the upholstery had holes, and those fantastic 'spade' backrests had serious damage to their veneers.  If they weren't the best-looking chairs in the world, we might have given up ...

We re-glued the frames so they were all as strong as new, but have been totally stuck since then on what to do ... re-covering the seats is no problem, but the damaged backs were beyond our abilities to repair (and the cost of getting an outsider to re-veneer would make the chairs unsellably pricey), so they have been resting in the shed for months.
This week, inspiration struck - refinish the backs in matte-black enamel and see how they look ...

 So we stripped the seats and re-covered them in a nice full-grain leatherette, then got to work on smoothing out the spades ...

And, of course, polishing up the rest of the frames ...

After a whole lot of sanding and smoothing, the time has come.  Found a nice low-sheen black enamel paint, which would conceal the sins of the past, and a big roll of masking-tape to protect what needs it, and set to painting ...

We gave them 7 coats over 24-hours, and were really excited to find that the grain texture of the timber shows through the enamel.  Bit more sanding, and polishing the backs, and it's time to re-assemble.

We're really happy with the result ... now the only problem is going to be parting with them ... still, they're going into the shop today, so we'll see.

Post wall art in Berlin

Sure, it's an ad - but what an ad!
A 'mobile phone event' product launch by LG - with absolutely astounding 3D projections onto the facade of a building in Berlin. Seven minutes of madness ...



Thanks to boingboing for the original post and footage ... wow.
So what's next?  Banksy's holiday snaps as a slideshow on Westminster?

do you do the do's and don'ts?

We do love a cruise thru the Vice mag's archives, and usually get stuck on the DO's and DON'Ts for hours - slice'o'life street photos with captions that sail thru nasty, gross, cruel, and mostly right-on ... this one's not even X-rated, so ...



DO

You think you’re into design but you’re not a true furniture snob until you can say your ass has never, ever touched any of those tacky subway seats.

There you go, fun enough and nobody got hurt ...

 DON'T

 There is nothing worse than bumping into your ex-boyfriend on the train. So bury your head in The Adventures of Petalwink the Fairy and try not to make eye contact with that immature freak.

Anyway, it's mostly fun ... 

Have a spooky night, everyone ...

Cut him open, scooped out his guts and made a fire inside ... and then we made soup with his innards - now that's proper ghoulish.

oh good.

Found in a lake near a nuclear power plant in Argentina - a 3 eyed fish (left) closely resembling Blinky, the fish caught in Lake Springfield almost 20 years ago ...

Plenty of online reports if you want to know more ... 

Not saying the fish would have been any less ugly if he had the standard 2 eye configuration, but it's just not as funny in real life, that's all.

In other news, so far no reports of mutated wildlife in areas of solar power generation.

tim-berrr ...

In a perfect world, your nan would call you up tomorrow and tell you that you're ready to inherit her old 'woody' station-wagon ...

Or was she a van driver?

Either way, it's about time that all these designers coming up with sleek carbon fibre mod cars realized that a boxy vehicle with some wood panels is all the world really needs.
Though there are limits ... eg: Lee Stoetzel's wooden Kombi Van.  Not for the splinter-prone.

cabinet craziness ...

Sideboards are always pretty popular in the shop - seem to be the 'must-have' interior item of this end of the 21st century ... perhaps even more than those repro eiffel-base Eames shell chairs the real-estate agents insist on including in every house photo you see.
This past week we have had a stream (or at least a few) people asking if we had any more tucked away in storage (sideboards, not repro Eames chairs).  Good motivation to dig deep into the shed and take some photos.  Now we just wish we had a few more lounge-rooms so we could fit a few more in at home.

And that's the ones we could get to!
So - if you're looking for something really nice in the way of Scandinavian made vintage storage, please pop by the website or contact us and get us motivated to move 'em on!
Thanks.

mmmm, dark ...

As a 'look' for the interiors of our place, we have been leaning towards the lighter end of the spectrum. 
The main walls are pale mud (mud-bricks made from the clay out of the dam), and this summer we plan to make time to paint out the rest of the place in white.  Most of our furniture is teak, with a mix of olive-greens for upholstery and the ceramics and bits'n'pieces we're collecting up.  We have gradually been stashing away a bunch of chairs in beech and maple timbers to brighten up the front room - which will hopefully give us a pretty breezy feel.
But, gee, seeing this interior makes you think ...

A country house in Nordsjælland, Denmark, the styling is pretty amazing - a timeless sort of 'lodge' look.

You should take a look - the place is pretty nice.  The photos (by Birgitta W. Drejer) are from VartNyaHem, via MyScandinavianRetreat.  We'd live there if we had to ...

thanks steve ...

Love 'em or hate 'em, apple corporation have become the design touchstone of the current generation.  They have made some very beautiful things and stuck to the 'Think Different' commitment Steve Jobs gave.



RIP Steve, and thanks.

tough times

Well then ...

After a few years of rampant and undisciplined chair collecting (we classify most of the collection as 'stock' to help us feel better), we have finally picked up our first 'proper' Featherston chairs ...

Sure, we have had plenty of his Aristoc pieces, which we love, and a few of the crazy 'numero' chairs in various forms, but never anything from the early 1950's 'Contour' range for which he is most well-known.

But this week ...

... a couple of super-cute D350 dining chairs have come into our lives.  So sweet and small, and more usable (to us) than the lounge chairs.  They need a lot of love, restoration and refreshing, but that's pretty much our favorite part of the job.

So here's the problem - from a purist's point of view, the chairs should be left in their original state - worn upholstery, scuffed timber, missing buttons - proper evidence of 60 years of life.  It may masquerade as respect, but there's a bit of cynical 'protect the re-sale value' in that attitude.  If they were oil paintings, I'd say leave them exactly as they are ... but we reckon commercially produced consumer goods should be maintained and refreshed to keep them living on.

But we want them to have a future as well as a past ... AND they do have to fit into the family up at the farm too!

 

So, yeah, one grey chair and one red one are going to look a bit out of place.  We want them to settle in and play-nice with everybody .... so the hunt is on for the perfect vinyl to freshen 'em up.  Promise they will be going to the most respectful and professional upholsterer we know.

We'll keep you posted.