Eating off the Floor

Anybody who reads my blog knows that I love the hand-made and the recycled so you can only imagine how much I love our new dining room table that has been hand-crafted right here in Australia from old floor boards.

Our Ravenswood table was purchased from Jimmy Possum, a company that is committed to having a positive impact on the enviroment. Timber used is sourced from demolished building sites in the Central Victorian Goldfields area.

Nothing is mass-produced at Jimmy Possum. In fact, you have to order and wait patiently for your furniture to be especially crafted for you so no two pieces are the same. Now we need to decide what dining chairs to buy. I will definitely keep you posted.

Ah, the joys of good old-fashioned service. We received this adorable recycled timber care pack with the delivery of our table. Even the rag is recycled. It looks like it may have been somebody's underwear. Waste not, want not.

Closer to home, I discovered that Stuart Bywater also designs and crafts furniture in Brisbane from recycled timber. You can find Stuart's designs at Lace and Bark and he also teaches woodworking classes. And my own man upcycled a wooden pallet here.

For more recycled timber, salvaged windows and other reclaimed materials, try The Big Red Shed with locations at Kelvin Grove and Darra.

Would you eat off the floor? Do you know other places for sourcing reclaimed materials?

Images are courtesy of Jimmy Possum, Thea, The Big Red Shed & Stuart Bywater.

The Great Australian Birdhouse

Don't you just love new discoveries at local craft markets?  It's getting more difficult to find originality so I was quite excited when I stumbled across these adorable bird houses at the Peregian Beach Markets last Sunday.



As well as each being a unique creation, the next best thing about them is that they are environmentally friendly, built using salvaged materials such as wood off-cuts, twigs and metal. The appeal of the rusted iron roofs even gives them that authentic Aussie pioneer shack look.

 

The talent behind these hand-made treasures is former flight attendant Tony Lefevre. Like many of us trying to make a living from our crafts, he supplements his income with a "real" job. Tony drives a school bus which still allows him plenty of time to follow his passion.

 

I love this mansion of bird houses.  There are other versions available including some with replica rainwater tanks made of old beetroot (beets) tins.  I'm told that his children are getting a little tired of eating beetroots.

Tony's creations can also be found at the Yandina markets every Saturday otherwise you can contact him to find out how else you can acquire your own by emailing: tonylef5[at]iprimus.com.au  

Let me know what you think of these and if you know of anyone else who is making good use of of salvaged materials.

Recycle Everything!

The hardest thing about running a small business is watching your cash-flow and the never-ending expenses. I really needed something to safely catch my printed fabric as it came out the other side of the textile dryer.


I was thrilled when my partner, Voyt suggested that we recycle the wood from the pallet that the dryer was transported on, to be used as the frame for a fabric-catching box. Yay! Saving the wood, a little of the environment and money - especially when the labour is gratis.


Voyt is not a carpenter but I was impressed with the (simple) box-frame he made.


Emily, our in-house patternmaker/machinist used some discontinued fabric to make a clever, washable slip-cover for the fabric-catching box. And as you can see - it works perfectly as it catches a heat-cured Thea & Sami linen cupcake tea-towel.