Wednesday 18 December 2013

Bus Stop Cushion at Crai, Powys.


Here's a huge cushion currently softening-up a wooden bench used by bus travllers on the A4067 at Crai.




This cushion took a long time to make, probably a year's worth of waste material stripped from many reupholstered chairs. At 3.2 metres long and 3 inches thick, stuffing it was like wrestling an alligator. The piping was made from lengths of nylon twine collected from Pendine beach. It is stuffed with pieces of waste foam stripped from other chairs which is why it's so bumpy (if I were making a new bench seat it would certainly not have wrinkly edges), the mis-matched piping added to its wonkiness.


Wonky or not, this is seriously comfortable with plenty of room for a proper sleep, so if you've missed your bus after a few pints at the excellent Tanner's Arms, you know where to sleep it off.

Thursday 12 December 2013

Dolaucothi Arms dining chairs in Welsh wool


A mishmash of different dining chairs reupholstered in a variety of Welsh wool fabrics (including Melin Tregwynt and Melin Trefriw) now in the bar and dining rooms at the Dolaucothi Arms, Pumsaint, Dyfed, Wales.





This pub stood empty for years and I would often lament 'another dead pub' as I passed by when all of a sudden the door was open again. Now owned by the National Trust, the pub has had a major overhaul and is now run by young English couple, David and Esther. I went in for a few pints and suggested that their hotchpotch of dining chairs would look superb in a hotchpotch of Welsh wools, they agreed.










They have a simple and excellent menu and some really good ales - I strongly suggest you get up there and try them out. Live too far away? Don't like driving to pubs? No excuse, rooms also available.










Thanks to Jess Jones for the photos. Dolaucothi Facebook page here.

Tuesday 10 December 2013

Wingback Armchairs in Sanderson Wool


A pair of late 19th Century wingback armchairs fully reupholstered and covered in Sanderson Woodford Plaid 100% wool.



Sometimes upholstery is like tailoring, and while chairs are certainly less fidgety than people, they can be just as demanding. Those large checks still have to line up you know.


It's fair to say that this shapely pair took more a fair bit longer than anticipated, but worth it in the end I think.




These are a commission.


Tuesday 3 December 2013

Enormous Bean Bag


I made this huge bean bag floor cushion as a prop for Jem Moore for his new photography studio in Aberaeron. It's 5 feet long and three feet wide.



I'd never made one this size before and getting 30 cubic feet of polystyrene beans into it soon became a family matter. 2 adults, one eight year old and a home-made cardboard funnel did the trick. So if you need a vast floor-lounger, it looks like I'm your man.