BURRAWANG EASTER MARKET

Looking for something to do this Easter weekend?  Come to the excellent market in the beautiful village of Burrawang in the Southern Highlands (between Moss Vale and Roberston). It's an annual event that attracts top-notch stallholders from all over - most definitely a 'one-off'.

Rapt! will be there for the first time - in the School o' Farts building. Please come and say g'day!
We're 'launching' our Robertson Potato Sack collection there - another one-off!

New collection

Rapt! is participating for the first time in the annual Burrawang Easter Market (Saturday 30th March) in the beautiful tiny village of Burrawang in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
In honour of this momentous occasion I've designed a whole new range of furniture (Potato Couches ?) inspired by the area's rich-red potato fields.
While most of these pieces are ottomans, (made from scratch, from solid timber frames), there are also some upcycled interesting old stools.
The unifying theme is jute - from the woven upholstery webbing (usually this is hidden inside furniture, rather than on display), to the potato sacks I've used as part of the covers.
Here are a few images - this is just the beginning, so there'll be more to come.

arriving at the farm

In order to source the potato sacks I went to the farm of the Donovan brothers (Trevor and Barry), in the stunningly beautiful area called Wildes Meadow, near Robertson.  Naturally Miss Snupeson accompanied me (well, she IS the Quality Control Officer, so we weren't going to accept any shoddy old sacks, were we?).  Here are a few pics of the journey:

harvest was underway

Gene, the friendly potato man, spared us a few (new) sacks 

heading for home with Miss Snupeson guarding our booty

Funky Town

We're very excited to announce a new range of funky retro furniture specially commissioned for Rapt!

This is a reproduction* of the famous Featherstone R160 chair from 1951. 
Grant Featherstone was an Australian designer who, in collaboration with his wife Mary, became world-famous in the middle of last century for their innovative plywood-form furniture. (Click here to read more about the Featherstone brand).

While original Featherstone pieces are highly collectable and well out of the price range of mere mortals, this fully hand-crafted reproduction, which pays homage to the original through its use of high quality materials and excellent craftsmanship, is far more affordable.

The frame is a solid plywood shell, the legs are hand-finished Victorian Ash, and the two covering fabrics are both commercial-grade, making them hard-wearing and easily maintainable. 

The inside back (plain) is pure wool, and comes in an array of 68 vibrant colours, while the outside (this patterned fabric is all one piece with no seams) comes in 12 colours.

The chair is 100% Australian-made and vastly superior to the mass-produced, fibreglass-shell imports (replicas*) elsewhere on the market.  
Most importantly, the chair's curvy contour not only looks sensational, it also is sensationally comfortable.  Combined with the footstool I doubt you will ever find a more comfy chair to relax in.




The chair is fully recoverable, and is available to order in fabric, leather of vinyl of your choice. (Prices vary according to cover material chosen). 

                                                                                                                                                












Turnaround time is fast (approximately 2 weeks from placement of order).

This particular chair and its matching footstool will be at the Old Bus Depot Market in Canberra this coming weekend (Sunday 10th March).
We will also have fabric sample books available to help you design your very own bespoke version.

If you can't make it to the Old Bus Depot market, subsequent versions of the chair will be available at Rapt! HQ (in Jamberoo,) by appointment.

Price: 

Purchased separately 

chair $1,590.00 / stool $690.00

Purchased as pair 

$2,230.00 (saving of $50.00)

* reproduction = reproduced in the style of the original, bringing its own modern take
* replica = a copy of the original, e.g.: photocopy

Atelier de France - Bruno Lopez

This short video shows a master upholstery artiste at work ---  this guy is not only in a different league to me --- I think he's on his own planet!

New Appointment

I'm pleased to announce the creation of a new position in the company, and successful appointment of its first appointee. 
His name is Toot, and the position is Country Store Manager.

As some of you may be aware, there's been a long search for a new home for the Rapt! Orphans (chairs waiting for their turn on the beauty-bench). Finally the search is over, and the new orphanage is on a property in the beautiful countryside of Lyndhurst, in Central West NSW (between Bathurst and Cowra).

here's Toot employing his ear-licking skill, with Carmen looking on in admiration

The move from coastal Jamberoo out to Lyndhurst went well (the orphans were all over the moon with excitement!) and Toot's aptitude for the role was immediately apparent. Only one other candidate was interviewed (his sister, Carmen), but there was no real competition, such was Toot's impressive interview performance. (If any aspiring applicants for future positions are reading this, then all I can say is to brush up on your licking skill - it's a sure winner).

Note: the new position has no impact on Miss Snupeson's role of Quality Control Officer. She has expressed interest in taking Toot on as an assistant at some future time, if he continues to show the promise demonstrated so far.