Helen's Chair

A 1960's/70's armchair in the HIgh Wycombe style, covered in Sanderson 'Still Life' and 'Park Life' fabrics.

This was for my friend Helen, a fashion lecturer who insisted that these two fabrics would work together. I wasn't so sure but now I see she was right. Sometimes it's better to bow to the judgement of fashion experts even though they are all slightly bonkers. Bonkers is certainly the way forward if you ask me.

 

 

I used opposite piping on the cushions and arms to bring the two fabrics together.

 

And added piping to the edges of the back panel to complete it.

 

This chair belonged to Helen's Aunty Eileen (or Anti as we say in Wales) and was in a fairly sorry state. Most people would have put it in a skip. Now it's a family heirloom that everyone will talk about. They will smile when they sit in it.

 

And they will love it. 

 

 



Pemrokeshire Bus Stop Chair

It seems they have seat-less bus stops in Pembrokeshire too. I noticed an old lady standing at this stop on the A487 near the Trefin turnoff (between Fishguard and St.David's) while visiting Melin Tregwynt recently and thought I'd better get busy.

I plucked this chair from a skip and quite liked the patination so I just dried it out and rubbed down the rough edges before giving it a few coats of varnish.

I covered the seat in some stitched offcuts from an excellent psychedelic print I had been working with recently.

As always I added a plastic toy - this time a quite remarkable transvestite monster with his hands on his hips, an indignant look and a smudge of very fetching lipstick.

 

In the right hand corner of the bus stop were a couple of smashed cider bottles and a ripped-up copy of Heat magazine. A familiar combination no doubt, although in my day it would certainly have been a nudie-mag.

Psychedelic Armchair

A wing-backed arm chair covered in an astonishing print I picked up in Ikea a few years ago. Certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Perfect for sitting in while listening to The Thrteenth Floor Elevators or The Count Five.

Yours for a fantastically cheap £350. Can't be bad.



One More Bus Stop Chair

Here's another of those Ercol chairs from the dump, this time left at the bus stop on the A40 at Dryslwyn, a busy bus stop with nowhere to sit.

I painted it bright pink with leftover paint from my daughter's bedroom. I had real trouble finding a fabric to match so asked my wife (artist Julie Ann Sheridan) what colours would match it, she reckoned grey or green. Hey Presto, in the scraps box I found this 1980's fluffy draylon and I think you'll agree she was right.

The pink is very similar to Wyndham Lewis's Blast Magazine so as a reference to his time as a bombardier I added a rather scared-looking Tommy figure.

As ever the tag reads 'Take the weight off your feet'.

Another chair, another bus stop

Here's a rather elegant dining chair I left in a tiny bus stop on the A483 at Ffairfach. I often see an elderly couple standing in this bus stop when I pass on Wednesday mornings, now at least one of them will be able to sit down.

Again, the chair is from a skip and is covered in a 1950's sunflower print that I found nestling beneath two other layers on some dining chairs I re-upholstered recently. I painted the chair to kill off the woodworm. The tag says 'Take the weight off your feet'.

The print felt vaguely Spanish or Mexican so I added a mexican bandit underneath. Why not eh?

Arthur's Seat

It's always nice when I get a brave commission. Re-upholstery of this chair was a birthday present from Mrs. Davies to her husband Arthur for his 90th birthday. It was in a sorry state but he wouldn't get a new one because he sits in it every morning to read the paper. This seemed very special to me so I convinced them to go for a hand-woven tweed that would do the occasion justice.

This fabric, handmade on the Isle of Bute is very expensive but I discounted my work quite a bit to bring it in on their budget. As the chair is a 1950's High Wycombe frame, it's pretty solid but I had to change it considerably with very different foam and stuffings and I was quite worried Arthur wouldn't find it comfortable.

But he loved it.
Happy Birthday Arthur.

Lime Green Open Armchair

Here's an early 20th Century open armchair re-upholstered in lime green fabric by Bute.

Quite nice I think.

This was a commission.

Bus Stop Cushion

I saw a lady perched on the undignified and rather stingy bench seat in a local bus stop and decided to make a cushion to ease things a little.

It needed a bespoke cushion so I measured up first - it is just over 3 metres long. I also measured up for some ties to stop it slipping.

I used only waste stuffing and fabrics from other stripped chairs and a few scraps from recent jobs. It's at the Square & Compass roundabout on the A40 near Llangadog - you can see the top of Llyn y Fan Fach in the background.

It rolled-up nicely for the 'quick while no-one's looking' guerilla install.

I added a quote that had been tickling me ever since Roberto Mancini said it on Match of the Day.

Another Bus Stop Chair

Here's another chair for weary passengers to rest upon. This one is now on the A483 at Cynghordy.

This is another Ercol chair painted grey and covered in some offcuts of a 1950's 'Festival' print.

And this time a nice little astronaut on the leg. The tag reads 'take the weight off your feet'.

Hepplewhite Chair

Here's a chair I've had hanging around the workshop for some time waiting for the right material. Last week I picked up a set of four large 1970's Marks & Spencer curtains that suit it perfectly. I hate Marks & Spencer now, they are the epitome of smugness, but back in the '70's they were really on to something.

(This chair appeared on this blog about a year back but I wasn't happy with it - I am now).



This chair is for sale - yours for sixty five quid, can't be bad.

Dining Chairs Everywhere

I've had 16 dining chairs in the workshop this week, here's some.

Set of six oak diners (2 arm chairs, 4 side chairs) now covered in hand woven Bute fabric.

Set of four, again in beautiful Bute fabric.

These were all commissions - I re-upholster dining chairs for between 30 and 50 pounds.

Bus Stop Chair

Here's another chair for the comfort of old ladies at bus stops. This one is now on the A482 Lampeter Road (near Pumpsaint).

I got four of these chairs free from the local tip, I painted this white and covered it with a skirt from a charity shop.

I really liked the pattern, I would call it 'Top Shop Vorticism' as it certainly has something of Percy Wyndham Lewis about it.

To keep up the Robert Thompson tribute I added another rubber mouse. The label is the same also.

1950's 'Festival' Armchair

This is a Parker Knoll wing-back chair from the 1950's appropriately covered in 1951 'Festival' fabric by Sanderson. The print was originally designed by the great Jacqueline Groag and now reissued by Sanderson to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain where this fabric was launched.

This chair is for sale at £375. John Lewis are selling a collapsed-looking chair in this fabric for £1100 no less.

Here's designer Jacqueline Groag, the Czech interloper looking the epitome of cool as if to somehow endorse this chair. I'm sure she'd like it more than the John Lewis one anyway.

Abandoned Chair

There are lots of seat-less bus stops in my area where old ladies have to stand up, I am making it my business to rectify this. Here's the first step. This chair currently sits in the lopsided shelter on the A40 past Llandeilo (on the Pen-y-banc turn-off), how long it stays there remains to be seen.

The chair was given to me and is re-upholstered using waste stuffings and covered in an old jumper.

In tribute to Robert Thompson (the mouseman furniture maker) I included an orange rubber mouse.

Look our for more Guerilla Upholstery in a bus stop nowhere near you.

Bath Chairs

Here's a couple of bath chairs I repainted and recovered in some offcuts for a lady down the road.

Now the backlog of commissions has been dealt with I'm looking forward to getting on with something a little more flamboyant.