spending...

I still have nothing very interesting to show you! We have been spending money. Lots of it.

I finally cracked about having next to no comfortable seating in the house (fourteen - yes, fourteen - dining chairs and only one sofa?!), and bought this three seater sofa from Blue Suntree.

I also bought this rather girly antique rug to go around/under a bed in one of the bedrooms from Magic of Orient on eBay. I know I can make it work!

Helfa Gelf is going really well - I sold an original drawing on Saturday, which I was over the moon about, although I will be a bit sad that it will be leaving me. I adored the couple who bought it, though, so I am sure it will go to a good home.

office chairs

Sincere apologies for my absence, and the absence of any new work here lately. I have been preoccupied with studio preparations, namely the refurbishment of this beast of a work bench.


Thoughtlessly, I omitted to take photos of it in its original state. Here you can see I've planed off the dark, sticky goo that was deeply ingrained in its top surface. That job took days. I've just finished waxing the top now, and am prepping the base to be painted. It's been a tough job, but it will be such a useful piece of furniture once it's nice and clean!

The other thing that has been preoccupying me at least for the last twenty-four hours is the pursuit of a half-decent-looking office chair. It's a hard life I lead, I tell you. Now I hate most office chairs as a rule but I need something that is adjustable because I have such terrible posture and spend so much time at my desk that I am in danger of damaging myself. So what am I to do? They are so ugly! Of course I like the vintage printers' style chairs, but I wonder if they are any good for your back. I think I need something at least a little more modern.

There is one that I like: godfather of all modern office chairs, the Fred Scott designed Supporto task chair. It looks terribly ordinary in standard 'office' colours of black, grey, blue, but the coloured versions are a joy. I particularly like the low wide back version. Shame that they start at about £800 for a new one, and less for a battered vintage one. Deary me.


Twenty Twenty One, £990


eBay, starting bid £345


eBay, starting bid £125

Image from Supporto.

Image from Spaceist.

loving

this formica top on this table. It comes with some good PEL style plywood chairs too.

Happy weekend, all!

currently watching on eBay

Industrial wood and metal table from the Netherlands, £599 or best offer.


Vintage German military industrial table £685 or best offer. Ouch!


Vintage painted plaster model of ear, £40 - a good buy, I think!


Another lovely Memlite lamp - Friday's current bid was £1.20. Somehow I think it won't be that cheap for long...


Vintage French school poster £27.50 or best offer - a pretty good price, given how much I've seen them sell for on eBay and in the Paris flea markets! This is the seller.

Sorry, I can't be arsed with eBay links because they expire so quickly, but if you search under the titles I've given the items, they should appear in the listings (unless you're reading this a few weeks after I've posted it, of course!).

Sofa watching again

I have been distracted for the last week with thoughts about sofas, and how I so rarely come across ones that I both like and can afford. Even vintage models are out of my reach a lot of the time once you factor in re-upholstery, but it's that retro, classic look that I seem to be hankering after lately. I know, I know, I've written about some of my sofa favourites before, but I have a few more to add to the list today.

In particular, I seem to have fallen a little bit in love with Ernest Race's unusual, dramatically swooping DA1 chairs, especially the tall armchair (above). What do I like about it? It's kind of tongue in cheek, referencing classic features such as the button back and the wing chair, but with those exaggerated curves and playfulness with scale. These rare chairs and sofas now sell for an arm and a leg on eBay and other online sites. Buy some here, for example.


Ernest Race DA1 sofa from Twenty Twenty One.


Here's one that has a similar tidy, designer feel. This one is a 1920s design, the Round Samsas sofa by Carl Malmsten. It costs just about the same as a second-hand car, though!


Get the straight version for a little less (although perhaps not in the pink!)...

Oh dear.

vintage Christmas light bulbs

So yesterday morning I was watching this set of vintage Christmas lightbulbs on eBay. The auction was ending around 8pm and the current bid was £3.20. I didn't stick around to watch how much they sold for but I never, in a million years, imagined they would eventually sell for £200! Crazy... So here's a lesson. If you find anything that looks like this at a car boot sale, buy it and sell for a stupid profit on eBay.