Jeffrey's Journey: From Donkey to Delightful

Prologue
It's a typically wet, Cornish, autumnal afternoon. An intrepid treasure hunter (the hero of our tale) scans an industrial unit at a secret location in the Tamar Valley. It's the resting place for stuff that no-one wants anymore. In other words, the perfect hunting ground for our hero.

His eye scans the room. A smoked glass coffee table, a military history fan's collection of VHS videos, an unloved rowing machine, a crate of anonymous metal artefacts of unknown provenance, a careworn mechanical donkey with a faintly striped bottom, a 1980s 'vintage' Argos wardrobe.... hold on, a mechanical donkey with a faintly striped bottom.....

The clue is in the bottom

Introducing Jeffrey the Zebra
So the donkey was delivered back to our hero's home in Liskeard, Cornwall, where he adorned the living room for so long that he was adopted as part of the family, and was christened 'Jeffrey'.

Jeffrey dates from the late '50s/early '60s and is made of fibreglass. He was originally attached to floor-mounted machinery so that he could give gentle rides to children on their seaside holidays. At some point in his career, perhaps when his stripes became a little shabby and tired, some bright spark decided to reinvent him as a donkey (a lot easier than repainting his stripes - 'I can understand why!' our hero exclaims). A simple coat of grey paint, and the transformation was complete.

Then about ten years ago he was retired from service, usurped in children's affections by the likes of Postman Pat and Thomas the Tank Engine. So he made what he thought was his final journey to a local refuse tip here in Cornwall, destined for landfill until he was spotted by a certain someone with a discerning eye...

With a huge window space at LASSCO Ropewalk to fill, the time had clearly come for Jeffrey to be take centre stage.

The Restoration Job
After some preliminary 'zebra stripe patterning' research, and construction of the obligatory mood-board, work began on restoring Jeffrey to his former gloriously striped self. He was removed from his defunct mechanical base, and remounted onto a specially commissioned stand.
 

Step one: Get rid of boring old donkey grey 'overcoat'

Sanding and gentle scrubbing revealed Jeffrey's true zebra identity.

Step two: 'Stripe remap' and undercoat application

Some confusing layers of stripes meant a rethink and extensive 'stripe remapping' project. This resulted in both white and black stripes requiring several undercoat layers.

  

Our plucky hero wasn't phased by the challenging working conditions. Neither was Jeffrey.

 

Step Three: Overcoat

Suitable jet black and creamy white paints selected, Jeffrey was ready for his final furlong. A shiny fire engine red paint was chosen for his saddle.

Step Four: Stand back and admire

 

And so we are now at the end of Jeffrey's Journey. He is presently adorning the windows at LASSCO Ropewalk and will undoubtedly be the star at the 30th May launch of Marc Kitchen-Smith at LASSCO Ropewalk. 

But how long can the great buying public resist his charms?

'Come and see me some time.'

Marc Kitchen-Smith at LASSCO Ropewalk

41 Maltby Street,  

Bermondsey
London SE1 3PA

Twitter: @mkitchensmith

Newsletter: www.marckitchensmith.com/newsletter

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Santa has dropped off a whole pile of delightful objects at the Marc Kitchen-Smith Ltd Depot - all perfect for (almost) last-minute Christmas presents!

We have an eclectic range of prints available. These Victorian colour lithographs from an early 20th century children's book are framed up in tulip wood and ready for suitable wall space. These are being sold individually rather than as a set, so shoppers can just choose their favourites!

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If you are into 1960's/70's psychedelia, then make sure you put these great fish plates on your Xmas list. They are great fun, and really deserve to be appreciated as pieces of wall art rather than being covered in a Mornay sauce!

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We tend to buy old children's toys based primarily on their aesthetics, and so this rocking horse is certainly a good example. Made of beech wood, and dating from the 1950's, it has been constructed to create the most beautiful and graceful lines: minimalist and totally functional.

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Traditionally-made, wooden children's toys are immensely popular. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a BIG wooden toy train under it! Or is that just nostalgia? Anyway, it seems most of our customers buying them on a regular basis, are WELL beyond school age, and one particular celebrity chef is using them to decorate his restaurants!

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The original owner of this beautiful home-crafted doll's house was a lucky lady indeed. Dating from the late 19th century, this is a simple and elegant piece of folk art. It oozes bags of character, from the scalloped shingle roof, to the carefully fret-worked staircase, making it totally unique and now elevated from toy to a lovely example of country folk art. We suggest it is adored for its decorative qualities, and played with sparingly!

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This delightful object is for the 'collector' of all things fine and rare. An exquisitely made Victorian miniature doll's rickshaw. Dating from about 1895, and made of a painted hardwood, it is in superb condition and could well have originated from one of the British Colonies such as India or Hong Kong.

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OK, who thinks of Rudolph when they see antlers at Christmas?  This splendid 14pt set of antlers, are ready mounted on an oak plaque, and ready to be hung above the mantlepiece above the stockings. They make the ideal home for your flashing Christmas lights and/or the odd bauble...

 

Browse our stock online or in real life at LASSCO Brunswick House in London or LASSCO Three Pigeons in Oxfordshire.

Merry Christmas!

'Any colour..., as long as it's black'

Prophetic words Mr Ford. Black-finished furniture was a popular aesthetic throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and remains a stylish choice today.

 
These ebonised hardwood bookends were perhaps brought back from Africa as souvenirs in the 1950's. Beautifully carved, and accented with resin tusks, they look like they've arrived straight from the bookshelf of an Art Deco Manhattan apartment.

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This set of collector's drawers would have been a must for your discerning Victorian naturalist, and his collection of rocks, fossils, or butterflies. With eight gradated depth drawers, this is a very elegant and practical item of furniture. Would make a very chic filing cabinet...

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Dating from the 1950's, this large Herbert Terry anglepoise lamp is an essential component to the 'vintage office' look. Although originally produced in other colours, black always looks best as it contrasts so well with the chrome fittings.

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This turned oak table has been repainted to give it a new lease of life. We think that the change of colour has given it a more turn-of-the-century 'Aesthetic' look, even though the table itself dates from the 1930's.

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The 1920s was the era for a resurgence of the 'chinoiserie' style in interiors and furniture. This traditional-lacquered hardwood screen dates from around this period.

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As timelessly stylish and functional now as it was then, the seven narrow leaves of this Art Deco screen neatly fold up for efficient and neat storage when not in use.

See more of our monochrome-inspired stock of delightful objects.

Beautiful bugs

Some of our steady sellers over the past few years have been our boxed collections of butterflies. We've now got our hands on some of these beautiful specimen boxes of beetles and other insects.

 

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Tapping into the Victorian craze for collecting and classifying, these look great displayed en masse in a cabinet or display case.

 

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We've painted this one black with a lighter blue/grey interior to provide a great 'showcase' for whatever delightful objects it contains.

For those less enamoured with having the actual bugs, we have a stylish range of Victorian illustrations of butterflies and moths. All are from late nineteenth century book publications and are framed and strung ready for hanging.

 

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African adventures

We haven't quite ventured as far as Africa, but we have been getting some of our Belgian buys and other African-inspired delightful objects ready for sale.


We picked up these great African wood-carved masks during our trip to Brussels at the end of last year. These modern masks make striking sculptural pieces. We've mounted a few of them on steel stands to emphasise these qualities.






This quirky lamp dating from the 1930s, has an extra-useful bendy metal 'holder' alongside a carved elephant on a marble base. We've had our postcards filed in it for the past couple of weeks. It's a handy combination of letter rack/lamp!


Finally, this African animal hide drum is a surefire way to out-bongo all those park-dwelling bongo players this summer!