Tag: London

The Baby Elephant: A Sonic Sofa I’ll never forget!..

Is it just me or has this year just seemed to fly by?- Now we’re in Mid October 2019 and It’s been an incredible year. With social media it feels so quick and easy to post pics and keep followers updated on my most recent projects. However I must include this beauty here.

A rare opportunity to refurbish and recover a modern design classic : The “Baby Elephant “ sofa, Designed by Richard Stump for Sir Terrence Conran.

It was a tricky one because the wings, or elephant “ears” were designed and built with speakers fitted into the wings and there is a space directly under the seat designed for a suitably sized amplifier or sub-woofer.
Reupholstery involved carefully partially dismantling the sound units to ensure the fitted cover , a plain wool/polyamide/lycra mix called “Front 2” by @ludvigsvensson, chosen for its weight, durability and (hopefully), sound-allowing qualities .
My many thanks to Anna F @irreverentsideshows for giving me a hand and to the owners , a lovely and patient couple from Bermondsey, south London, for giving me the opportunity to work with them on such a rare beast!

A Svenskt Tenn Twin Seduction

I fully re-upholstered the first of these two J.C & M.P Smith Ltd Winged Mid-late 20th century armchairs for an award-winning interior designer
Nicola Holden Interiors,

Covered in one of my favourite textile designers, Josef Frank, who designed “Teheran” in the mid-1940’s, however, it’s first print run came in 1991, Available exclusively from Svenskt Tenn

In my perhaps over eagerness to provide the most optimum suspension it had to return to the workshop so I could change the webbing back from Pirelli to jumbo elastic
I guess that chair was so pleased to return, it brought its twin with it!

I totally stripped it back to the frame, and like the first, made sure I fitted the appropriate barrier cloth so the chair met all the UK health, safety and Fire Regs. Finally covering it in another earlier design, circa 1928 called “Aralia”


Re-staining and polishing the show wood , the abundance of colour and the overall finish with nice personal touches from me, like the multicoloured top-stitching on both seat cushions and velvet buttoning in complimentary colours served to deepen my appreciation for this inspirational designers work and gratitude to my client for giving me the opportunity to produce such statement pieces.

My heartfelt thanks also go out to Anna F for assisting me in this process.

A Smart Bavarian Beauty!..

Before: Bavarian Cocktail Chair

This Cocktail Chair, a family heirloom from Bavaria, arrived in my studio workshop (via Erith), at the recommendation of the owner’s partner, a mutual friend who had been following and appreciating my work since we both used to be members of an east London housing co-operative.

Moth-eaten and in need of some love and care, After a fabric and design consultation my client agreed to go with a Herringbone weave from Harlequin, called “Parquet” in colour “Bramble”

Keeping in constant contact with the client during the process of reupholstery was a joy which resulted in some lovely touches, which I feel enhanced the overall new look, including details like the decorative close-nailing in “French Natural” nails and the dark chocolate leather piping detail which gave the chair an air of contemporary though classic elegance.


Pretty in Pink Parker Knoll#2

Hey thanks NicolaIt has been a fair while since I’ve posted on my website (sorry about that- I’ve had alot on!). Longer still since I’ve had an opportunity to work on a Parker Knoll Sofa-bed.
Like waiting around ages for a bus – Then two come at once!

Well in truth, I completed refurbishment and recover of two Parker Knoll sofas at different times last year for the same lovely couple based near Turnpike Lane in North London

The most recent refurbishment and recover , in an eye-catching pink Velvet from @Kobe_interior_design, from their ” Real Velvet”, was in such a poor state on arrival to my workshop that full re-upholstery had to be undertaken.

Once upholstery was completed. I had to change the worn and damaged old mixed pairs of castors to a gorgeous set of brand new Sheperd Kenrick castors, otherwise it would would of looked like the equivalent of shoving on an old pair of battered trainers on a bespoke tailored suit!

As it took me a while to complete both , It also took my customer a while to find the right lighting before sending me some gorgeous photos of it in situ.

Pretty in Pink! (isn’t she?)

My heartfelt thanks to all the valued assistants who have helped me to complete this project :Anna F, Rowena Murphy and Jane Latchford




Turned out “Awight” : A two seater transformation

Before:

Producing work for the show @MonForNothing has been a privilege and a pleasure. As well as the exposure, you never truly know who’s watching.

So it was a massive suprise when a television celebrity whom I used to watch on Saturday evening TV shows like “Strike it lucky” and “Family Fortunes” as a kid, calls me up to tell me how much he enjoyed the show and that he would like me to transform an old 2- seater sofa that needed a little love and attention, going into his fantastic newly refurbished and redecorated west London apartment.

After:

After a great visit to my workshop for a fabric consultation, my customer went for a very classy herringbone weave from Harlequin’s Parquet collection in colour Bramble .

finishing the arm scrolls, piping and buttoning in a dark chocolate leather to compliment the restained and polished legs.

 My customer was so pleased with the sofa he ordered an additional bolster cushion, which I created using a fantastic print from Morris & Co. “Forrest” in colour Charcoal, Designed by Alison Gee in 2013

It was a great pleasure to complete the works for this customer who has been very kind, gracious, patient and supportive of my work. His wonderful home has been a great resource of artitic inspiration and it is an

honour to have my work among his great collection of art & furniture.

My Heartfelt thanks to Rowena Murphy and Anna F for their assistance in helping me re-create a lovely piece.

Bless this House(Boat)…A Virgin pattern match made in heaven

Producing these saloon-style doors was a challenge. Some pretty nifty shaping and fitting by James and cutting and pattern matching by yours truly was acheived with on these saloon-style bespoke padded doors, covered in a linen print of the Virgin Mary (customer’s fabric choice). All while ensuring that fabrics were made compliant through the use of a flame retardant barriercloth. My Thanks to Alice & James of the “Toady” boat for their custom and support. Stay blessed.

Money for Nothing Project5: Jay VS Ray (Round2) Rocking a Pair of Farmhouse Chairs

Before:

Whenever an opportunity to reupholster furniture comes with a fairly open brief in terms of design  I always meet it with a sense of excitement, anticipation and just a little anxiety.

So when Jay Blades and the Money for Nothing film crew came to my studio with these two sorry-looking farmhouse style rocking and static armchairs, despite my initial reactions I did have a few ideas bubbling up for the cushions the overall look, however, unfortunately, due to time pressures and other projects on the bench, There wasn’t enough time to come up with another of my own completely original fabric designs.

I did, however, have a vision in mind of some types of fabrics I wanted to use. Being a Massive fan of Timorous Beasties work in Scotland I had to get my hands on one of their amazing designs.

How I treated the show wood was a question I pondered on for a while:

With great respect to the growing numbers of upcyclers, hobbyists and others keen to revamp their furniture, I wanted to treat the wood to a  finish which was a bit different than just simply repainting, and consequently hiding the wonderful grain patterns, knots and characteristics of these Beech wood frames.

Inspiration came within a few feet of my cutting bench when I noticed while sewing some offcuts of a Designers Guild fabric under the cutting table I had used earlier on this year. A wool from their Capisoli range which had a vertical Ombré effect. I thought: ” What If I translated that effect into the wood using a wood stain as opposed to a paint?

After:

May I present to you this re-imagined vintage farmhouse chairs, now in a stunning @timorous_beasties #Grand Blotch Damask.

Accented with Tangerine velvet piping from @kobe_interior_design “Real” velvet range and complementary border fabrics made from @sanderson1860 “Brianza” creamy velvet.

These chairs had to be fully restored: All joints, back rails, and broken spindles fully repaired and all suspension systems cleaned and refitted.

I  created a custom wood stain with a “3D Ombré” effect.  Featuring deep forest greens moving through to autumnal moss. enhanced through many polished layers of  Beeswax.
To be honest this project became more a labour of love than money folks. Hopefully, these two lovelies will feature in a future episode of @monfornothing for BBC1
Many thanks go out to Olga Mackenzie and Rowena Murphy for their assistance, and Tom Foy for all his woodworking advice and masterful craftsmanship in replacing the broken inside back wood dowel.

 

 

Cutting the Mustard: A Mid 20th-Century Sofa Makeover

Before:

Completion of this Mid-Century sofa bed in brought it’s own pleasures and heartbreaks:
Producing the cover buttons broke my button pressing machine! Plus removal of the original seat/ daybed fillings revealed hair infested with a particularly vicious dust mite (they bite!)

After:

Many thanks to @rowenamurphyupholstery for her assistance, Master Upholsterer @sjfranklin69 for giving me a replacement button press, and Brisqq for another swift & safe delivery.

Finished and in situ. Client is happy so I’m very happy ….

Do you think this piece cuts the mustard? Leave your comments below. Many thanks!

Frieze London 2017

A wonderful last-minute invitation last Sunday from 3 super-talented friends (L to R: Fantastic Film-Maker/ Editor Ana Godinho Matos, and multi-talented, multi-disciplinary fine, scultuptural and performance Artists Simon Levy & Rita Jones) to spend Sunday afternoon chatting, wandering through exhibits and discussing the current contemporary/modern art scene at this years Frieze Art fair in Regent’s Park.

Some great (and not-so great) work .. Some of the pieces which caught my eye were the colourful, pop , and darkly satirical sculptures and paintings by KAWS, to the absolutely baffling works by Kraupa- Tuskany Zeider , to a fascinating conversation with Simon and Rita on the life and work of Georg Baselitz while studying his Oil on Canvas ” Nest” , 1990 .

Afterwards we enjoyed a lovely pint of guinness (or 2) over a chat in the Greene Man pub afterwards. Inspirational!

To Be Frank, I think Josef is amazing..

Before:

Two sets of  four mid 20th century modern dining room chairs were given a smart refurbishment once they arrived at my studio.

From the look of the show wood they had experienced some water damage and the fillings had completely disintegrated beyond the point from which they could be re-used.

After:

A bit of love and attention to the show wood, some new composite foams protected with skin wadding, and a barrier cloth,

the chairs’ seats were finished smart linen from Svenskt Tenn screen-printed with an original 1930’s design called “Celotocaulis” by Josef Frank.

“Celoto” comes from an asian flower species characterised by a plume-like flower decoration and “Caulis” is the Latin word for flower stalk.

The thing I love about Josef franks’ work is you can clearly see and get a feel of the inspiration that Josef gained through his travels around the world,

which clearly informs the many dozens of designs he left to Estrid Ericson and the Svenskt Tenn company after his death.

A rich and enduring print and textile design legacy that transforms any piece of furniture brave enough to wish to have itself reimagined in.

A great little upholstery project which inspires me to continue to evolve my own sense of design.

With Many thanks To Nicola Holden Interiors

Atelier Ray Clarke Ltd T/A Ray Clarke Upholstery & Design Company registration number :12018355