Loo Makeover and Utility Footstool

I have been busy in the Button Shop at Red Door sorting stash and checking the sewing machine is running - CHECK

Next 

I turned my attention to the toilet facilities which although freshly painted, are a little bare. It was decided that the Loo would become the Red Door Hall Of Fame so that once 'seated and relaxed' there would be a wealth of stuff to look at!
This is where the old flyers, posters and inspirational paper ephemera will end up - so if you've gigged at Red Door or had an exhibition, you may may be preserved on the walls.

I lined up a few posters to get me started ...

... then simply went at it with the wallpaper paste.

There's still plenty of room for updates too.

Now 

I've turned my attention to the furniture stash - quite a few chairs will be sanded and painted RED by Johnny the Red Door Handyguy, to be used at the studio for events.

Other chairs I hope re-paint and re-cover and I'm starting small by tackling this humble Utility Stool first.

From wiki - Utility Furniture refers to furniture produced in the United Kingdom during and just after World War II, under a Government scheme which was designed to cope with shortages of raw materials and rationing of consumption. Introduced in 1942, the Utility Furniture Scheme continued into post-war austerity and lasted until 1952.

How do I know it's a Utility stool? It had this symbol stamped on the underside (and I didn't photograph it!)

Here she is with the baggy old furnishing fabric removed and the legs sanded and painted with stashed F&B match pots. 

Yes one leg is grey. 

No it's not an undercoat. 

Bear with me.

An interesting fact I learned on my Goodlife Centre course (see previous post) is that match pots contain pigment and carrier only - no 'fixative' or 'varnish' so the legs will have to be sealed with a matt varnish when it's done.

It is my intention as Red Door Craft Wrangler to try and use stashed or thrifted materials wherever possible, so this week I'll look for a chunk of foam and some upholstery fabric to make the stool beautiful once more. 

Finally

My digging unearthed this lovely square of timber.

Guess what I'm going to make from it?

The Christmas Crafty Bits - And I Promised Her An Owl

Earlier in the year I helped transform Red Door Studios in East Ham into a mid century market place with the aid of some plywood, wallpaper and container load of vintage furniture and nik-naks.
A few months on and the same space needed to become an Enchanted Christmas Forest as a setting for the crafters who were selling at the Christmas Market.

I worked with Dolores, Red Door's Creative Director and over a few cups of coffee down at the Cafe In Central Park we hammered out a rough plan design concept for the main selling space - twigs and branches, lots of them and birch wallpaper. We had a budget of zilch quid but Dolores had boxes of baubles from past events, Christmas trees bought in last year's sales and miles and miles of Christmas lights. I was happy to re-paper the retro backdrop that had been constructed earlier.

humble beginnings

The courtyard area where hot drinks and cakes were served would become a ski lodge, complete with log cabin made from donated scraps of timber (which I painted into), a found window and working fireplace. People could snuggle up on fleece covered benches to drink their hot chocolate and admire the view of the Mattahorn.

Moving from the rustic reds and greens of the lodge area into the magical silver ice cave of the selling area was quite breathtaking.
Most amazing of all were the Enchanted Forest creatures - Jason whose skills as a carpenter in a team of wonderful helpers that enabled us to pull this whole thing off - made twiggy stags that became stages for sellers to hang the wares from.

And I promised Dolores an Owl.

All the weeks we worked together on the event I reassured Dolores an Owl would appear in the birch trees before we opened.
Two nights before the grand opening I sat in my workspace and looked around me, what could give me an Owl. This is what I love to do - this is why my blog is called Make It Up - this is how I work best.

I plugged in my trusty glue gun and threw Dean Martin on the (virtual) turntable. I'd amassed an old hanging basket, curtain rings, plastic hook, circular bag handles, clothes pegs, fabric, card and buttons. I pulled from the shelf my battered 'Book of Animals', looked up 'Owl' and began to wire bits together.
The next day Dolores had her Owl sitting in the trees.

The Christmas Market would have been a great success even if the sellers had simply turned up with their wares and put out a few tables - there were some fabulous crafted things on sale.

But creating a sympathetic selling space is a nifty bit of ammo to have in your marketing arsenal, it added a wonderful ambiance to our event and made the market more of a happening.

 

It's a good strategy to bare in mind if you're planning an event for the spring - dress the space so that customers feel enchanted, appreciate that extra crafty mile you've gone to and come away with lovely things to say about their visit (hopefully having spent some dosh in the process).

Easter egg anyone?


Photos where indicated were taken by the wonderful Mr Phil Russell, you can find him here.
Red Door Studios in East Ham can be found here.
Thanks to everyone who made the Red Door Studios Christmas Market a huge success!

Red Deco Alcove - With Poinsettia

I finally got around to decorating the alcove in my bedroom this week. The room isn’t big and I like the airiness of neutral colours on the walls, but look what I found on eBay last year - these are the listing photos from the auction.

 the actual dresser is much darker in situ, here with mirror removed ...

... and it needs showing off. In order to do this I decided to create a little Deco nook of colour on one wall, a sort of sumptuous boudoir corner in contrast to the modernist décor in the rest of the room. Do take a look at my stained glass bedroom door which I blogged about here in an earlier post.

I am a sleeves rolled up and go for it type of dame and I love hanging wallpaper. My efforts don’t take close inspection, I’m far too eager to get the stuff on the walls to hold a plumb line or a spirit level to it - I think this comes from having done Theatre Design work where the overall ‘look’ can outweigh perfectionism (I have been known to gaffer tape curtain hems…).

This paper ‘Moulin Rouge’ from B&Q (cheap and cheerful) behaved itself and went up brilliantly - no stretching or snagging, the corner was completed in under two hours with coffee breaks.

Now my little Deco chest of drawers looks really at home and I use it to display my paper ephemera and postcards (so many vintage retailers and club nights are producing wonderful postcards these days). I had a piece of glass cut to size from a local glaziers to cover the rather scuffed drawer top then found some backing for my collage from my paper stash. I have a ‘stash’ for most things…

Very soon the collaged pictures, limed oak and bakelite handles will be obscured by hair products and various cosmeticy bits and bobs - but she looks real classy for now.

And to top if off, how about the kitschiest cheesecake chalk-ware lamp ever, which I found on eBay. 

This one arrived intact unlike the Geisha lamp I bought which arrived smashed, a restore project I will gladly blog when I work out exactly how best to mend it! Any chalk-ware restoration tips anyone?

Best Room In The House

I've been waiting and waiting for a clear day in order to decorate the toilet!
It's such a small room that it really only takes half a day to throw up some paper - all the hard work like painting the woodwork and the ceiling was done by my other half. Bless him, he's a God send. I get to the do the fun bits..

I've gone for the boudoir look with birds. I love birds and would probably have a huge shabby chic white wire aviary affair in the garden if I lived in warmer climes..

The wall paper is suitably kitsch - silver and cerise.


We still have an old chain pull cistern - it's not beautifully Victorian or anything so needs a little dressing. I got this birdtastic fabric on etsy a while ago in readiness, whipped it up into a neat little frou frou number. Goes well with the chandelier.




My sister bought me this 'keepsake picture frame' for my birthday. I think I'd have one in every room - they're so versatile. I bought the 1930's cast metal birds on eBay and decided to trap them behind the glass. They're flying over some flowers and a landscape postcard that I bought when I was a student. I was drawn to the postcard at the time as the picture was so evocative - space and freedom - what every 19 yr old yearns for. Oh and a vintage car driven by a cool dude of course..



Now I can sit on the loo looking at the bird box and daydream.

I have had creative surge recently. The contents of my knitting bag ...


... completed this week. Watch this space for piccies of my Raspberry Circular Bolero!