Saturday, July 07, 2007

Saturday stuff

Thanks for all the kind words about the studio cleanup. After I posted the pictures I was thinking it is kind of funny that these might well be the "before" pictures for some studio cleanups. My standards for my workspace are fairly low. I need to be able to find things. I need to be able to find a space in which to work. I like a certain amount of visual clutter around me—it energizes me. Threads and snips and schmutz on the floor make me tired, but are a fact of my life. I am in breathless awe of those spotless, gleaming white, light-filled studios I see, but if I had one I know I would be wanting some color and some texture around me.

I love to read designers' blogs and especially those talented young designers who have such great ideas, but a lot of their blogs depict a kind of perfection that I know is simply impossible, or they are aliens from Planet Precious. Their studios have sweet little shabby chic shelves and beautiful baskets and antique desks and chairs and one even has a chandelier in her studio. They are painted chalky pastels and have chintz curtains at multipaned windows where the sunlight pours in. Their bulletin boards, unlike my explosion-on-the-wall, are the French kind with crisscrossed grosgrain ribbon and dear little antique postcards of the Eiffel Tower tucked under the ribbon. I'm not making fun. I absolutely adore looking at these blogs. But, can you believe them? Naaaah.

This morning was a beautiful, summer Saturday morning and put me in the mood to hit some estate sales just for the fun of it. I didn't find much of interest, but in a futile search for one of the advertised estate sales I drove by a moving sale at a huge, palatial home hidden away up in the Portland West Hills. I stopped to see what kind of rummage the rich have out on their lawns. Turns out it was pretty much the same kind of junk we all have. The one thing I did spot, however, was a nice rolling office chair. We have needed another one for Ray's computer desk. He has been using a folding chair and has been known to steal my nice big comfy chair when I'm not looking. The sale chair was very comfortable and very solid and well-built, and best of all, priced at $5. I decided on the spot I would give Ray my big comfy chair and take this smaller one home for myself. The only downside was that it was quite relentlessly BEIGE.


When I figured out I could take it apart and quite easily recover the upholstered parts I searched my fabric stash and found a piece of awning-striped denim I picked up from the remnant box awhile back. It seemed perfect to liven up the chair and I still have enough left to make the tote bag I originally bought it for.


Isn't it just—well "divine" isn't a word I use, but if I did I'd call this divine. You can't have much more fun on a Saturday for $5 than this.

For anonymous, who left the comment on the studio yesterday—If you look to the right, up at the top near my picture you will see "view my complete profile". Click on that and on that page is a link to my email address. That is an excellent way to get in touch with me. Then go back to the blog page and scroll down below the long list of "favorite places" in the sidebar to "other links" and click on "my fusing method tutorial". Click on that and it will take you to a post that shows how I use the lightbox for my work. Thanks for stopping by!

14 comments:

  1. If you won't use it I will -- that chair really is devine! What a great find. (and while I admire those studios you speak of -- I too have very little understanding of that kind of space. Since my "studio" is the kitchen table and gets cleaned off every evening -- ok, stuff gets shoved to one end or moved temporarily -- so we can eat supper, the concept of having a space like that is beyond me)

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  2. Anonymous1:55 AM

    Great find! Kudos to you for recovering it in the same weekend you bought it!

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  3. OMG, I just love it.

    I loved your comment about visual clutter. Fits me too. I need "stuff" around me.

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  4. Terry, l love your chair, just wish they had sales like you have in the uk.
    You would have thought you had bought it new, am going to investigate my leather one as its coming to retirment age and is a bit fragile and if l can get someone to undo it all am going to cover it in red fabric.
    Am so glad you said about beige as if l am doing anything and have brown, beige or any of those muddy colours it brings me down so did my small studio in reds then l can work.
    Jill
    www.jillsmithart.com

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  5. Amen to your comments on the designer studios.

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  6. I understand about the Designer Studios, Your chair is indeed heavenly, looks wonderful!

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  7. Anonymous8:32 AM

    That chair is awesome. Would you come over and do mine? : )

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  8. You did a great job on the chair...what a find! And thanks for the tip about fusible liquid...that's something that will be of tremendous help to me as I bead through the fabric and the tape fusibles make the piece very tough to bead through. Thanks for sharing!

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  9. I think some designers and artists actually think of their studio space as a piece of art in itself. They design the space just like they design their work. To each their own...

    That fabric totally makes the chair!

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  10. MUCH better than the beige! Well done!

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  11. Anonymous1:14 PM

    Oh, my, it's just ... divine. I love a sewing chair with arms. Since I do as much reverse sewing and fiddling as I do actually using the machine, it's nice to have a place to rest the elbows.

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  12. Hi Terry, I thought I would come and drop by for a visit. Your Japanese garden pieces are wonderful. I really enjoyed looking at them. I also thoroughly enjoyed looking at your studio. It is the kind that invites play. I too have seen those really clean places, where I would be afraid to take anything down, because I would make a mess. Yours looks real.

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  13. Love what you did to the 'new' chair, it truly is divine. Also like your sewing room...looks like a 'real' work/play space.

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  14. I am glad that you've changed the color of your office chair into something more UNIQUE. It made your office more dynamic, or should I just say "fit for a queen." =] After all, offices should look and feel that way, so we'll get more inspired and motivated.

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