POUFFOTTS

While the blog may have been quiet of late, Bottom's End has not been. Miss Snupeson and I have been flat-out working on a few new products ranges - here's the first - a pouffie-cum-ottoman with the working-name of Pouffott.
Poufotts surely rate 10/10 on the "upcycle scale", being made from empty cable spools, remnant upholstery fabrics and high density foam offcuts.
Please go across to the SHOP page for more details.
Here's Miss Snupeson (Quality Control Officer) inspecting the first batch:

Wing-chair #2

Following the sale of Rapt!'s first wing-chair, SANTA FE, (now living happily in its new home on the south coast of NSW), Rapt! is delighted to offer for sale wing-chair #2 - 'Patch'.
Please go to the SHOP page for details.

 

Miss Snupeson gives 'Patch' her lick of approval!

Butt work-out chair

The subject this time is a little old chair the client calls a nursing chair. Why any woman in her right mind would want to sit on this while holding a baby I've no idea... it's quite a squat to get down to it (hence the post name). However, whatever its name or design-intention, it's a little charmer.  This has been in the client's family for generations, and will one day be passed on to one of the 3 daughters, so it's very special.

The original fabric was a green watered silk, however judging by the gazillions of tacks in the frame, (previous upholsters had left them ALL in,) it has been recovered many times. The client chose this velvet-like pile fabric (from Wortley) because of the colour, along with ochre-coloured buttons, and piping in an orange and green stripe.


The job was bigger than anticipated, (aren't they all?,) because when the upholstery was removed the frame nearly fell apart... so the joints had to be knocked apart and re-glued.  The finish on the legs was pretty cruddy, but I didn't want to over-restore it, so it got a light re-finish which I hope maintains that lovely patina. 

I reckon it's ideal as a shoe-putting on seat, in a hallway (perfect height).

Maruni Makeover

Here's another mid-century renovation. I made new cushions, using grey felt supplied by client, (with piping in red wool crepe from the Rapt! collection). The client (same one from from past mid-century furniture related posts),  did the timber restoration himself.
The chair is a vintage 'Maruni' and is now for sale/auction on eBay - here's the link.
I just love the shape of this frame - particularly those 'oriental' curvy arms - and yes, it is deliciously comfy.

Surprise Surprise!

One of the joys of upholstering old furniture are the unexpected surprises which pop up. In the case of this old folding stool, with a home-made upholstery covering of someone's lovingly hand-stitched tapestry...

...it was finding this - a numbered piece of crisp(ish) cotton with beautiful stencil logo 'Australia - Sydney - Sheeting'. (Does anyone out there know what it would originally have been used for?)...

... and this - a little scrap of old newspaper (above) dated 1893 which fell out of the flocking,  and the two layers of old fabric underneath, this chintzy one (right), still as bright as the day it was used.








Here's some of the process me and my trusty assistant - my Mum, Viv (my first upholstery teacher!) - went through to bring the little stool back to its former glory... replacing the old planks under the seat with webbing, glueing the loose joints, restoring the timber, very, very carefully hand-washing and stretch-drying the tapestry, and then reupholstering the lot.

As good as new?

old rocker

here's one of this week's projects.... a well-loved but squeaky and slightly crooked old rocker


Before:

During:

 After:

No longer squeaky or crooked, new high-density foam, timber refinished, groovy new covers and the bonus: it's superbly comfortable.  Hope the client likes it!

70's style

Here's the latest makeover...

after

before

These cane chairs, circa 1970, were in great shape, but not the cushions. Even though the top pic was taken in a courtyard (overlooking Little Manly on Sydney Harbour, same client as the Oslo settee,) the fabric isn't actually an outdoor one.
Hopefully this new look is more appropriate to the chair style - using a fabric called Canopy from CLOTH fabrics latest range. This range pays strong tribute to 70's style, which I must admit isn't my favourite fashion era... however I do love what Julie Paterson of Cloth, has come up with here and think it really suits the chairs.

Now for the Not Upholstery News....

Even though this relates to my 'past life', and has nothing whatsoever to do with upholstery, I can't resist posting about this:
Last Friday night, at a 'galah' shindig on the Gold Coast, Jamberoo Native Nursery was awarded the Best Medium Production Nursery in AUSTRALIA award by the Nursery and Garden Industry of Australia.
This is a huge milestone in the nursery's history: we've won this category of the State awards for the past 6 years, always been eligible for the National title, but never quite made it till now. The competition from the other states is always of a very high standard and this year was no exception.
We're all simply frilled with the result. This pic shows me (in a 1960's borrowed lace dress), with my partner Geoff, our Production Manager Nathan Sparkes and Sales Manager Sarah Peacock, after receiving our award.
Woohoo!

Before & After

This recent job involved a major overhaul including:

• stripping of the old mahogany-coloured, scratched and dinged wood and complete re-finishing (done by my clever French Polishing accomplice) 
• complete reupholstery from the frame up (new webbing, foam,etc.)
• re-covering using French linen supplied by the chair's owner.

The turned wood on the legs is one of the interesting features of this chair... I've been trying to learn more about this furniture style. If any of you know anything, I'd love to hear from you.