Mar 21, 2017 | Furniture & Upholstery
I have lost count of how many of these giant floor cushions I have made and sold in Brighton. A lot of flats and houses in this town are very small, so it can be hard to fit enough seating. These cushions are ideal for those kind of spaces. Plus there is something quite cosy about a pile of cushions on the floor instead of a sofa. I have always wanted a cinema room filled with these… One day 😉
Synthetic stuffing isn’t very eco to produce and the natural ones are very expensive. However if people prefer these they can be used too. My normal method is using recycling duvets. I make sure they are washed and clean before using them of course. The outer covers are made from old curtains, end of roll, or any other fabric that are thick enough. I add a zip so they come of to wash as well. They are generally around 100 x100 cm and start from about £30 each depending on the fabrics used.
Can be found ready to buy in Shabitat depending on stock, or made with your desired fabrics.
If you need some of these in your life get in touch!
Feb 21, 2017 | Furniture & Upholstery
My client had a nest of tables that she wanted painted in chequered black and white. I knew there was going to be a lot of layers of paint and masking tape involved but I took on the job as I like a challenge as well to learn new techniques.
This was a style of furniture painting I had never made before. But I thought, “How hard can it be?” It wasn’t particularly hard, just very time consuming…
I chose water-based matt paint in black and white. I also needed an undercoat, plus a matt varnish to go on top. Ronseal Diamond Hard Varnish came recommended to me.
After two layers of undercoat and having to wait each layer to dry, I finally got the first layer of white paint on all the three tables. Then I had to watch more paint dry…
Now it was the task of measuring out the lines and using masking tape, followed by two coats of black paint. “This is going to well!” I thought, until i peeled off the masking tape and realised the black paint had bled under the tape. Aggghhhhhrr!! I do some research and find a type of masking tape called Frog Tape. I head down to B&Q and grab a roll.
Masking all the lines take two.Paint with white, wait to dry… Peel tape off. Guess what? It does exactly what it says on the tin. No bleed!! Yes! Oh if had known this before it would have cut my workload by half! With all the waiting for paint to dry, correcting mistakes and 3 layers of varnish, it took a week to complete. Luckily Breeda loved them. Phew! And here they are in her home looking very Alice in Wonderlandish.
Would I take on another commission like it? Yes, now I know what I am doing, but with an increase in the price 😉
Sep 12, 2016 | Festivals
Wow! Festival season 2016 is going down in history, and maybe not for the best reasons. The weather gods were definitely playing their wicked little games on us all. Torrential rain, mini tornado, you name it we had it!
We opened the season with Glastonbury where it had been raining non-stop for a whole week before we arrived. Out pitch was literary a lake. We waited 24 hrs with the set-up, but then it rained even more, so half of our shop was submerged. We had to beg borrow and steal some pallets to put down to make it possible to enter. Hay-bails, and tractor loads of wood chip were being delivered for the traders to use which were hardly making a difference. 7 days in that spot was challenging to say the least. I seriously thought I never wanted to trade at another festival!
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Mud fest Glastonbury
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Uh oh! Here it comes!
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Lake inside the shop
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Bye bye Glastonbury 2016
Later on in July we had Latitude which was gloriously sunny which boosted the morale a little. Oh what a difference the weather makes!
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mirrored chockers
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Mikee the magic crew
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Kimono customer
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Hand embellished denim jacket
Straight from Latitude we headed to Secret Garden Party. Still unbelievably sunny and hot. Half way through rigging our marquee big black clouds starts heading our way and within minutes it was raining like mad. That part was kind of nice and felt like we were on a tropical island in the monsoon. Suddenly the sky turned even darker and the wind picked up, we were standing under our marquee that didn’t have any walls yet and looking out over the traders opposite. Some of them started to shake and were being plucked like mushrooms by the powerful wind. Within seconds we were next. We tried to hold on to the marquee but we were lifting with it! We had to let go and watch this 6 by 4 meter structure end up in a tree 20 meters away. Even the empty clothes rails were moving! At this stage I was in the brace position on the ground. After a few more minutes rain and wind the sun came out and it was like nothing had ever happened. 4 other traders lost their marquees, and one person broke their nose by flying objects. Madness! Later on we were told it was actually confirmed as a mini tornado. I guess you don’t really see it when you are in it.
We had to make do with trading out of our 3 by 3 pop up kitchen/storage and another broken marquee we found. Luckily nobody got seriously injured and it was sunny for the rest of the weekend but a new marquee ain’t cheap. Ouch…
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not bad for a make shift shop
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kimonos in the sun
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marquee trashed by the tornado
We finished the season with Shambala, which is always nice no matter the weather. Don’t need a big marquee for that one luckily as I trade as part of Crystal Vintage and the magic horsebox shop that is Gloria. So I guess we finished on a high but it was testing in every way possible. Career change? Hmmmmm…..
Jun 4, 2016 | Tops & Trousers
June is finally here and its officially summer! Not long until Glastonbury, which is our first stop this year. These neon bra-tops are an ideal festival staple for this summer. Flattering and fun! Modelled by the lovely Leah. Hat and feathers by Feathered Fantasy.
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Sep 16, 2015 | Festivals
Another festival season bites the dust! Glastonbury, Latitude, SGP, Boomtown Fair, Shambala and Number 6. This year you might have noticed that we have started trading under our shop name Shaboutique. Which also means we have other makers and designers under our roof.
Glastonbury treated us to its usual al seasons weather with sun, rain, sun and rain. We were in the main market area this year rather than the Dance Field. I’m grateful to avoid the sound clash. We also had the amazing bumbag queen Beksies Boutique with us. Check out her stuff. It’s the best bumbag you will ever own.
Two new ones on the cards this year was Latitude and Boomtown. Very different from each other I must point out. Whilst Latitude is a middle class family affair, Boomtown is as they put it themselves, “a city of wonderment, theatre , escapism and community with breathtaking and intricate stages and streets just waiting to be discovered” We just wanted to shut shop and go and explore!
Feathered Fantasy was on board at Latitude and Boomtown this year. Always a pleasure!
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