UpCycle

I've been getting more and more interested in up-cycling since my bench redesign which I posted a few months ago (which by the way, is still in a sad and sorry state in my garden as I have not yet found someone with a jig-saw and a place for me to work; and possibly (correction: inevitably) cut one of my fingers off).

Since then I have been researching mainly, although I did attack another piece of furniture recently that was lying around my house waiting for a bit of TLC and hopefully one day soon it will feel renewed and loved again - just as soon as I work out how to thread up a sewing machine.

I have found some interesting organisations, companies and websites that I wanted to note here just for your browsing interest. They are:

En Route Studio

Etsy

Green In Mind

'Home' by Impact Arts

Lucy Turner

UpCycle

Doors Open Day in Glasgow

Having woken up at 8:30 on a Saturday morning, also having taken the day off work, intending to see the King's Theatre first, it was very disappointing to get turned away at the door as it should have been listed in the booklet as a ticketed event. Sad faced ticket-less people.

Walking back to the car to get rain jackets as it then started to rain ('oh hurrah' I thought as I looked down at my converses - only owners of converses will appreciate the significance of that piece of information in this sentence) we stumbled across the Scottish Opera HQ so we popped in and although not as magnificent or busy as I imagined, we did see some beautiful stained glass in one of the practice halls.

Then followed a failed attempt to see Traffic Control after a very successful wait in the rain.

The sunshine then came out as we went along to the Glasgow Art Club which was on the original list of must-sees and it was a success. Beautiful townhouse conversion on Bath Street with a secret Mackintosh designed gallery space at the rear and lovely people wanting to show you around and tell you all about it. Nice to see an old interior being loved and used. It was even worthwhile to have popped into the restrooms.

Well the day didn't go as planned but I still saw some interiors in Glasgow that were interesting. I'll just have to be more organised next year. Definites on that list will be Arlington Baths and The King's (if all goes to plan).

Highland Holiday

Hillbilly Coffee Shop in Gairloch

Wool shop in Ullapool

Second-hand bookshop in a garden centre in Poolewe

Sink and pretty stool in the bedrooms in our cottage in Cove

Solitary chimney standing in a field on the road to Cove

I'm not in such an eloquent state today.

© All rights reserved.

Velvet Elvis, 566 Dumbarton Road

© All rights reserved.

It was just one of those moments when you're not really expecting to find something beautiful and, perhaps, even in another situation maybe you wouldn't find this one thing you've found to be as beautiful as you do in this moment. Maybe that doesn't seem like the kind of sentence to begin with when talking about a chair but this chair embodies more than a chair often does, and in any case, I am someone who values their surroundings as having the ability to impact on one's experiences. This chair quietly spoke to me, strangely not looking out-of-place in a converted butchers, and I happened to have my camera (which is very unlike me, at times when I wish I had it most). I'll stop typing now as I managed to appreciate it without someone prattling on in my ear, so I reckon the chair can speak to you itself.

Productive Day

BEFORE:

© All rights reserved.

AFTER:

© All rights reserved.

This is just some proof for myself and the world that I haven't forgotten how to use Vectorworks and the gang.

The basic element of this re-design is simply that I will elongate the wooden slats through the cast iron bench ends which will provide a convenient place to sit you drink (or inevitably: a cat).

Hopefully I will build this in the very near future; but as I am yet to replace a watch battery that has been dead for an entire year, I have my doubts.

How To Be

Maybe I should really limit this sort of stuff to my diary but who knows, it might interest someone:

Don't conform for the sake of conforming and don't be scared to create something different. The most influential people who have existed were influential because they gave something new to the world and were often thought to be strange and at times even worthless.

The internet has helped people share information but people who gather information and inspiration solely from the internet are limiting themselves. Go out and experience for yourself.

Don't worry about trying to impress. Enjoy what you do.

Lodge by Suppose Design Office

I love the use of materials against one another and I love the mirrors that took me a shocking length of time to actually work out. Yeah ok, so it's a hair salon and not exactly the philanthropic (the archaic meaning of the word) area of design that I would rather have exist in the world but it's something I've never seen done with a mirrored surface.

Article on Dezeen.com

Suppose Design Office