A Place for Everything

Over the past month, we've been busy working not only on getting new batches of stock ready for sale, but also on completing some essential maintenance work on our workshop. Appropriately enough, a large proportion of some of our most recently acquired delightful objects began their lives as well-loved, and well-used pieces of furniture in other peoples' workshops.

Sourced from farm sales and from house, shed and garage clearances, these handmade items of furniture are unique. Often they are of a bespoke design, made specifically to maintain order in the countless collections of nuts, bolts, screws, nails and prize tools that workshops have the tendency to generate.

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Even in a supposedly 'paperless' office/home, somehow there are still endless bits and pieces that we want to keep out of sight yet in glorious order. Makes sense then, to try to do this as stylishly as possible. How convenient that having lovely sets of industrial metal drawers, pigeon-holes, wooden filing cabinets and banks of drawers will do just the job.

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The design and construction of these pieces makes them reliable and practical, but we maintain that it's their great original paint and colour finishes that really elevates them to being beautiful pieces of furniture. Invariably they were painted, touched up and repainted with the 'odds and ends' of paint found left over in paint cans around the workshop, and it's this patina of 'making do' that we like to hold on to.

Industrial metal cabinets and racks are always popular for their clean lines and modern finish, but we do like to retain some of their original paintwork if possible. Where it isn't possible, they look equally stylish after a light burnish to remove rust and grease.

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We can't think of any practical reason why someone would design, and go to the considerable trouble of building, this unit - we've never seen diagonal drawers before! This quirky design reflects an inventive design mind, and shows how the humble workshop cabinet can be realized as an original, yet simple, piece of furniture.

Each drawer is divided, so it was clearly designed with a specific purpose in mind.

A place for everything, and everything in its place!

Bon Voyage!

First blog of 2011 in February?!? Rather 'slow off the blocks', no?

Not at all - as the country has been dragged reluctantly from the super-long Christmas/New Year break and into 2011, (well done everyone for making it through January, the bleakest month of the year), we have been busy gathering up some excellent ranges of stock, the first batch of which is featured here for your delectation and delight.

High on the list of favourite activities for January has to be planning a whole new set of travels and adventures for the year ahead. Not sure if travel by steam liner is up there on your list, but the travel apparatus of yesteryear doesn't half make for some interesting home accessories.

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Vintage luggage looks great, and whilst may not be totally practical in the 'budget airline weight restrictions' sense, it can still have a whole host of practical uses, namely as extremely stylish storage.

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We couldn't resist these two fantastic ex-Services shipping trunks. They are of American manufacture, and date from the 1940's. And boy were they built to travel. Solid timber, with steel reinforced edges and corners, they come with thick leather carry handles, and a substantial brass lock. Fortunately for us (and for whoever becomes their next lucky owner) we have the keys for both of them.

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The reason they look SO good of course, is down to the patina of age. There's sixty years' worth of wear and tear, evident in the remnants of luggage labels, hinting at some of the exotic locations they have travelled to: Buenos Aires, Paris, Maidstone (?).

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Oh, and did I mention, we managed to fit in a trip to Brussels over New Year, to get our mitts on some eclectic and fabulous treats including a great opaline 'starburst' light, and a range of striking African masks? Watch this space....