Frock Me at Home

A friend of mine encouraged me to visit the Frock Me at Home vintage-fest at the resplendent Chelsea Old Town Hall this Sunday (not that I needed much persuasion, but hey hoe). This is the second occasion the usually fashion-exclusive Frock Me shebang has turned its attention to us homeware lovers, and there were goodies galore. It has to be said, I was slightly disappointed with the amount of homewares on offer as there was still a huge amount of fashion for sale (at least 50%), and the bulk of the homewares were textiles, with probably only about 15-20% 'hard' homewares. Luckily, the textiles were so eye-wateringly glorious that I was kept enthralled for several hours, and even dusted the cobwebs off the ol' wallet and parted with some Serious Cash (£35 for a single item - not a lot to some, but for a car booting/charity shopper rarely crossing over the five pound barrier, this was my equivalent of hitting Louis Vuitton with an AMEX).

There weren't any real bargains to be found, but prices on the whole were fair apart from a few slightly cheeky vendors asking over the odds for mass produced 70's bits. Several of the vendors seemed to source much of their textiles in France, including some gorgeous patchwork throws from the 30's and 50's, plus an abundance of crochet so rich with detail it's a wonder the makers lived long enough to finish it. And Alan Bradbury's stall, occupying the whole stage at the back, featured a huge amount of vintage trimmings, rik-rack and threads, which always make great craft cupboard staples. 

I think the trick to avoid being overwhelmed by such an abundance of treasure (I spent much of the first half hour simply standing still, wide-eyed and gasping like an oxygen-starved fish might behave) is to try and think of how you might use or repurpose whatever it is that's caught your eye. Could those too-short curtains be used instead as a trim on a longer pair? That gorgeous crochet tablecloth used as a decorative wall hanging, or curtain pelmet, allowing the daylight to emphasise its details and trim?

In the end, I picked up the following and plan to use it thus:

A tea towel from 1980, complete with calendar from said year. I love these bold colours and simple, curved illustrations, and as this is the birthyear for both me and the boyf I think it would have simply been rude not to part with the £2 it cost me. I plan to frame it and put it on the kitchen wall of our Future Home (no wall space at the current houseshare abode, so in the meantime this will most likely be confined to the garage full of stuff at my parent's house also awaiting the same fate).

A silk scarf and oversized hankie: The colours on the former were too outstanding to not snaffle this up, and I love the delicacy of the sheer fabric of the latter. I'm thinking... cushion covers?

An old unfinished French tapestry: the unfinished section really sold this for me - I'm a sucker for being able to literally see the handiwork and 'real-ness' of things, and the story it tells. Who was embroidering it, and why did they stop? Again, perhaps a cushion cover, backed with some vibrant red or yellow fabric to pick out the detail?

And finally, my £35 piece da resistance: my hand embroidered, floral linen folksy tablecloth, currently being repurposed as my bed throw. I heart it so much, I've taken to staring at it in awe when I first wake up in the morning. Again, once I'm in the Future Home maybe I'll be able to return it to its intended tablecloth function or even use it to cover a sofa or chair, but I couldn't keep it squirreled away until then.

Crafty updates to follow on how I end up re-using my other finds!

Repurposing Article on Queens of Vintage, and some not-so-sad Sacks

Happy Bank Holiday one and all!

First things first - I have a new article published over at Queens of Vintage! This time, I focus on five ways to reuse vintage in the home - from turning teacups into plant pots and chandelier crystals into tablecloth weights, to repurposing old biscuit tins for storage and framing vintage fabric patterns to create bespoke artwork. 

Above: selected pictures from the article

Also, a musing: I've long been a fan of coffee bean hessian sacks for their texture, prints and olde-worldy feel. But what to do with one? Well, a few options have been catching my eye recently. Firstly, they make a perfect oversized cushion cover (which I saw at a recent craft fair but helpfully now can't find details for) - though my Google search subsequently threw up this alternative on Etsy, by ErnstandThistle (picture credit to them):

A visit to an independent coffee shop in Bristol introduced me to this rather charming artwork - this would be so simple to recreate by stretching some sackage over a wooden frame or box canvas. 

And finally, a quick visit into eco clothing empire Howies unearthed my third find: Used to reupholster a chair, this manages to look both slick and rustic in one hit.

Tin Can Pendant Light

I keep getting told off by the boyf for my inability to throw away empty jars/tins/milk bottles and other items usually befitting the recycling bag "in case they come in useful for something". It seems, however, I'm not the only one, judging by my recent scouring of the design blogs. Dutch blogger Danielle de Lange over at Style-Files highlighted a very craft hack-ey use of tin cans as light fittings (see picture below). Taken originally from (also Dutch) magazine website 101 Woonideeen, the feature includes make-your-own instructions in, yes, you've guessed it, Dutch. Helpfully, Danielle notes the following in English: "To make the lights you need clean empty tins with a printed label (so no paper label) and a fitting with cable and a plug. Create (with a drill) an opening for the fitting through the top of the tin and pull the fitting through this opening. Then you only need to put a bulb into the fitting and your lamp is ready to shine!"

These would look adorable strung several in a row as low pendants over a kitchen breakfast bar (and would also be very appropriate for the setting) as well as gathered like this. I'd be tempted to have a go at spraypainting tin cans in some cheery pastels and even punching some decorative holes in them for an alternative to a printed can.

Thanks to www.style-files.com for flagging this up!

The AA

A little birdy told me that the website for Atelier Abigail Ahern, interior stylist-turned designer, shopkeeper, soon-to-be author and all-round interiors guru, has just been relaunched - so naturally it'd be rude not to take a peek. Abigail's bijou store resides in Islington's Upper Street and, thanks to the dramatically dark colour scheme that fully wraps around its petite proportions, provides a welcome contrast to the bright white showrooms of norm. Showcasing furniture, art, textiles and accessories all curated with a gallery-level eye, this deeply, darkly whimsical space is oh-so-stylishly full of the macabre and the unexpected. Take a look for yourself to get the full picture, or for my Craft Hacker-inspired favourite bits, read on (sadly I can't grab any images off the site so you'll have to link over for these too, but anyhoo...:)

Figurine Collection: These little beauties, cast out of concrete, manage to combine dainty and dangerous in one fell swoop. Love the way a simple colour change gives these usually gilt-laden kitsch ladies a completely different vibe. How about conjuring up your own version by giving a charity-shop figurine a new lease of life courtesy of a can of black spraypaint?

Bus Scroll Wingback Chair: You may have seen vintage wonderland Pedlar's re-use of old bus signs turned into light boxes, art prints and even deckchairs (see below) - now witness the same technique applied to the classic wingback. The sort of hack that requires degree-level upholstery skills so not for the faint-hearted, but inspirational nonetheless.


(picture from www.pedlars.com)

Rejste Side Table: Celebrating our British love of doily/tabletop action, this table cleverly nods to doily heritage in a 21st-Century, laser-cut metal type way. For more doily action, check out my earlier post on Ghost Furniture. I've recently become obsessed with the idea of setting some old doileys into a recessed tabletop with resin. Has anybody seen/tried this? Project being mentally added to the 'to-hack' list now...

Cruelty Free Rugs: Combining witty with pretty, these ingenious rugs by Mancunian designer Jon Male involve craft hacking traditional ruggage into a cowhide outline - subversive and cheeky. Do take a peek at Jon's own website for other inspired hacking, such as these 'A Soupcon of Light' lamps:


(pictures both taken from www.jonmale.com)

Bernard Pye Paintings: If Warhol had cast his eye back a further 200 years, we might now be able to go to Snappy Snaps and have our face recreated in print like this rather than the much-imitated Marilyn Monroe style pop art we all know and love. Yet another fab example of a familiar style we all know and love being reworked to look truly fresh and 'now'. Why not raid the history books yourself and go crazy in photoshop - or keep it old-skool and go to town with a photocopier and some florescent markers?

I for one am rather excited at the prospect of a whole entire book on such matters, and eagerly await the launch of A Girl's Guide to Decorating, out in May.

Repurposing Ideas, Repurposed

Doing my usual internet trawling for design ideas and to avoid the washing-up, I happened upon this article from Real Simple, detailing 14 ideas to repurpose items for a dream-yet-bargainacious wedding. Flicking through, however, many of these ideas are far from nuptually exclusive, and would work for an array of events, dinner parties or just a bit of credit-crunch repurposing fun. Then it occurred to me that I was actually repurposing an article about repurposing and I got rather excited (and a tiny bit smug about the workings of my ingenious little brain). Anyway, do click on the link to peruse in full, or check out the Craft Hacker tidbits below:

1. Use pretty vintage teacups and soup tourines to hold flowers and food nibbles: filling teacups with sugared almonds is great for a wedding, but why not try candy-coloured foil-wrapped chocolates for afternoon tea, skittles or M&M's for a tweenager's party, or - if you're an ambassador and want to really spoil your guests - some Ferrero Rocher to round off your evening soiree in style.


2. Repurposed cake stands - scour charity shops and you can pick up an array of these vintage beauties. Use for holding fun finger foods, or candles - a great idea to stop them dripping onto your tabletop and to allow you to pack more into the same space through clever tiering. My inner Anthea Turner loves the tip also listed about adding a spritz of cooking oil spray onto the area first to allow for easy cleaning of wax drips.

3. Clothespegs as namecard holder - would look very sweet at a rustic summer's barbecue party, or turn up the vintage by substituting for Grandma's old dolly pegs. With either variety, spraypainting would be a quick and easy way to update if the natural wood finish happens to clash with your hordeuvres. For a more masculine affair, a good old bulldog clip would look great teamed with the right placecard, or even a chunky oversized paperclip, bent out of shape to hold the placecard upright.

Let's get things started...

I'm going to try and add a few images and links to get things on the road... have no idea how to do this so let's see if I can figure it out...

Anyhoo, I thought I'd begin with a few pictures from my own archives to illustrate some of my own Craft Hacks. As London Design Week 2008 is getting ready to open its doors to a myriad of new design talent, I'm planning to get some images and reviews up here on my favourites, so seems best to add my efforts in now before I'm completely upstaged...

1. Lampshade Jumper : A friend passed on this rather lovely crochet top to me, but it somehow always made me feel a bit 'bulky', and as such spent much of its life languishing at the back of the wardrobe. One evening I was gazing up with annoyance at my previous lampshade, which served no function other than to obscure most of the light in my already rather gloomy bedroom, when inspiration struck. By using the existing framework from my old lampshade, I hand-stitched the top (pre-cut to below the sleeve) to the upper frame, and allowed the original bottom trim of the jumper to form a rather sweet fringing around the bottom framework (also hand-stitched in place). The result is an original lightshade, me no longer leaving the house with blotchy blusher as I can actually see to apply make-up now, and I even have enough remnants left over for a follow-on project. Hurrah!

2. Oriental Fishtank : When Ben, our antipodean housemate, arrived home with a donated tropical aquarium, much excitement was felt around the homestead. However, excitement soon turned into abject distress when I realised that said aquarium was fully integrated into a black ash-effect melamine base unit. A quick rummage through my ever-increasing collection of unused wallpaper samples, however, turned up this little trump card - a stunning, subtle oriental design picked up in trusty B&Q. By simply taking off the door handles, cutting the paper to size and sticking it down with some double-sided tape, the 1980's throwback is transformed into a bijou little home for our aquatic friends.

3. Quaker Oats Tin : A little example of some upcycling - one of my favourite terms and something we should all aspire to do a little more of - in essence, taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value. This mini-project is a fairly simple interpretation of it, inspired by the wonderful tropical gardens seen on a visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall. I love the idea of repurposing items and using them outside of their original intended use. What else could you use as an indoor planter - an old teapot? A milk bottle? Old bean tins, spraypainted or decorated with some fabric offcuts?