I’m often astonished at how similar woodworking is to cooking. You have the knives of course, the ingredients that correspond to the lumber, the recipe that corresponds to drawings or building plans. The table saw of the kitchen might be the stove. The drill press might be the mixer. The planes are the pans, the chisels the knives. You get the picture. If that’s true, then the mise en place is just as important to woodworking as it is to cooking.
Mise en place is a French cooking term that literally means “putting in place.” (I clearly watch too much Food Network. Oh, Giada...) It means having all your ingredients chopped and measured and organized before you start mixing it together. In woodworking I guess it would translate to having a clean benchtop, your tools at hand, your blades sharp, your stock prepared – everything that gets you to the point of cutting joints and putting things together.
I’m pretty much a slob in many areas of life, the workshop prominent among them. (Check out this guy’s shop. Mine isn’t this bad. Ok, maybe it is. This guy has way too many Festool products!!) I often hesitate to show anyone my workspace because it is such a mess. (Shame spiral!) I would have to say that if you aren’t a neatnik, you are at a disadvantage as a woodworker, especially a professional one who depends on efficiency to bring in money. Not being a professional, I have the luxury of not having efficiency as a major necessity.
Having cut-offs stacked haphazardly everywhere is a big disincentive to making anything. Tools can be damaged if they aren’t stored properly. And the energy it takes to clean everything up takes away from the energy of wanting to make something in the first place.
The truth is people are different and work differently. If you measure yourself against what you see online or on tv or in magazines, you’re setting yourself up for failure because people clean up their shops before having them photographed or filmed. So we shouldn’t judge ourselves too harshly.
I would say I aspire to being neater and more organized in the workshop. But going to the extreme of a place for everything and everything in its place is just not realistic for me. (If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: I would have made a lousy Shaker.) If I accept that and even embrace the way I work, I’ll make things instead of worrying about how things look along the way.
2 seater suitcase sofa from recreate
Designed by Katie Thompson..
I love creating functional art from discarded non functional junk
I love the idea of a suitcase as a chair or in this case a suitcase 2 seater sofa.
I think its modern, contemporary and foremost green!
Loads move ideas and great furniture design on the recreate website found here:
http://www.recreate.za.net
Find out more about the 2 seater suitcase sofa here
Home plan and elevation - 2906 Sq. Ft
Plinth Area Details
Total Area-2906Sq.ft
Ground Floor-1636 Sq. Ft
First Floor-1270 Sq. Ft
Architect : Praveen.M
moyacheri (ho)
kottakkal
vatakara(via)
Phone:9645457494,9388744505.04962275234
Email:praveenarchitect.m32@gmail.com
Total Area-2906Sq.ft
Ground Floor-1636 Sq. Ft
First Floor-1270 Sq. Ft
Architect : Praveen.M
moyacheri (ho)
kottakkal
vatakara(via)
Phone:9645457494,9388744505.04962275234
Email:praveenarchitect.m32@gmail.com
Shutters, Benches, and a Lens
I gave you a sneak peek yesterday of the shutters I found. These weren't the cheapest shutters I've bought, but they are the very best (which is saying a lot.)
They are chippy, chalky and this lovely gray color.
The hardware is to die for! I snapped the pictures while they were still in my van, but I'll haul one up tomorrow to give you a proper picture of them.
You will die.
Well, if you're like me.
These are the benches I bought for the wedding. I thought they were a pretty good bargain at $35/piece.
Sorry for the picture of them on my cracked sidewalk and brown grass. They shed paint if you look at them, so there was no way I was going to bring them into my house. I'm going to hose them down, sand them a bit and then apply a clear coat of poly to seal the finish.
Fun stuff. I was giddy.
The other thing that brought joy to my heart (materially speaking) is that I just bought a wide angle lens. I've been dragging my feet on it, but last week I was shooting a tablescape for HGTV.com and I was squished back in the corner of my dining room and I still couldn't get the shot I wanted.
Here's a picture of my living room with my 28-80mm lens. It's a pretty standard lens and the one I use most. I am taking this picture from the back corner of the dining room, just to give you an idea.
(Click on picture to enlarge.)
This picture is taken with my spankin' new 10-20mm lens. I am standing in the front of my dining room with the lens at 10mm.
(Click on picture to enlarge.)
You can see the entire room, practically! It does distort the picture a bit when it's set at 10mm, but that goes away at about 12mm. I was able to take pictures of my dining room table without being squished in a corner. It was glorious!
If you're curious about my camera equipment, here's what I have:
Nikon D50 SLR camera
Nikon 28-80 lens
Nikon 70-300 lens (telephoto)
Sigma 10-20mm lens (wide angle)
If you're planning to splurge on a new lens, here's a tip. Lenses can be really expensive. This newest lens set me back $500...and that was a cheap one. Buy a protective UV filter when you buy your lens and put it on right away. It protects the lens from dust, scratches and drops. I actually dropped my camera a few months ago and was crushed to see this huge crack along the front of my lens. I was glad the camera body was OK, but it was still rough. When I started to inspect the lens, I realized it was the filter that had cracked. That $20 filter saved my lens. I simply replaced the filter and all was right in the world.
Get a filter for every lens you own.
If you want to get some good photography advice, click here to read my friend Kate's recent post about digital SLRs and here to read Donna's advice on getting the most out of a point and shoot. These posts are like gold.
The One That Got Away
I was tracking a table saw on Craigslist -- a pristine Ridgid 3650 -- but the seller wasn’t willing to come down on the price and I decided that it was just too expensive. He said he had only used it a couple of days and from the photos, I believe it. I understand that he wanted to get as much as he could for essentially a new saw, but the price was too close to the price for a new saw. If it’s only $100 or so cheaper than a brand new one, I think I would just rather wait until I can scrape the extra $100 together. The lifetime warranty on the Ridgid saw is probably worth the $100 by itself.
If I see a really cheap 3650, like $200, maybe I would do it. Then again, I don’t want to have a saw that is beat up, rusted and needs a lot of work just to run. I know I would be happier if I could have the saw I want with the features I want and I can handle delaying the satisfaction a bit to get it. To raise a bit more money, I’m actually thinking of selling a few things. You don’t happen to be in the market for a banjo, do you??
If I see a really cheap 3650, like $200, maybe I would do it. Then again, I don’t want to have a saw that is beat up, rusted and needs a lot of work just to run. I know I would be happier if I could have the saw I want with the features I want and I can handle delaying the satisfaction a bit to get it. To raise a bit more money, I’m actually thinking of selling a few things. You don’t happen to be in the market for a banjo, do you??
A New Space
No, I'm not taking on a fourth retail space. I'm not that crazy! I did get to move into a new space yesterday, though. There was a little bit of a shuffle at Wild Rose and I was put in the corner. No, I wasn't naughty. No dunce cap was involved. It was a good thing. I got two full walls to put my furniture on. I was really excited about the switch and it was fun for me to pull all of my things into my own little corner.
Once I did that, I realized I need some more things to hang on the wall and I need a small table or carpet for the middle. It looks a little sparse, but now I know what I need. (By the way, I used my new toy to take this picture. I sucked it up and bought a wide angle lens. I'll share more about it later.)
I also need some more smalls to fill my pantry. I'm looking into carrying some wholesale items, which is so against my nature, but there's some cute stuff out there and it sells.
I found this scale while thrifting in North Carolina with Brittany from Pretty Handy Girl. She actually found it and pointed it out to me. The baby shoes are made by Jami from Freckled Laundry.
I just found this spectacular sunburst mirror and was very tempted to keep it, but I didn't have the perfect place for it right now, so it had to go to the shop. That's the rule.
I stopped by my favorite antique source yesterday to buy some benches for the wedding I'm designing in May. I had just been there two days ago and I had a car full of kids and a husband, so I had no plans to shop. I told the shop owner I was buying the benches and he asked if I had seen their new shutters. He knows what I like.
These were the best shutters I had ever seen. I bought seven of them! There were a few left, but I may go back and buy them. I need to think about it. I'll share them shortly, but just think Restoration Hardware, grey, chalky, cool hardware. Awesome.
To wrap things up today... Everyone else is saying thanks for their referrals and I love that gesture, so I thought I would do the same. These were my top referring blogs for December.
naifandtastic (From Madrid! Who knew?)
Thanks so much ladies!
Don't Be Afraid
I'm sure a lot of people out there are making resolutions about now. Lose weight (amen), exercise, train for a marathon, get a job, start a family, start a blog, stop smoking, no more coffee, etc. I think resolutions can be silly things. As human beings, if we want to do something, we do it. If we don't we either:
A.) don't
B.) wait until the new year, make a resolution, do it for two weeks and then stop
C.) discipline ourselves to do it
So, make whatever resolutions you'd like, but may I be so bold to propose just one?
Don't be afraid.
Just make the resolution that you won't let fear control you this year. I'm not talking about healthy fear...that's a good thing and can keep you out of trouble. I'm not talking about anxiety issues. I'm talking about the fear that prevents you from doing good things.
"I'm afraid to sew and it's horrific to imagine making slipcovers."
"I'm afraid to paint the wood dresser in my guest room. What if I mess it up? Is it even legal to paint nice wood?"
"I'm afraid of starting a business. What if I fail?"
"I'm afraid of color. What if it's the wrong one?"
"I'm afraid to start a blog of my own. I don't have anything interesting to share."
Sound familiar? These are fears some of you have shared with me over the past few weeks and months. What you need to do is have a little conversation with yourself (or an encouraging spouse, friend or family member) that goes something like this...
"I'm afraid of starting a business. What if I fail?"
For years, I longed to play the violin. Really. It's a beautiful instrument. So, I purchased a student violin off E-bay. I waited eagerly for it to arrive in the mail. I bought a couple of lesson books and I had dreams of being a prodigy. I was really hoping I would remove the violin from the case and just "get it." I would run the bow along the strings and play a beautiful song I had only heard once before and it would be magical. The reality? I remove the violin from the case and screeched out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star just like all other average people who play the violin. You know what, though? I still really enjoyed playing.
The point is, we all want success, perfection and smooth sailing. The truth is, most of us won't have that right off the bat 100% of the time. The beauty is, that's where the good stuff in life can be found. We learn the most, grow the most, and change the most through struggle.
I've been sewing for about ten years, now, and I get better all the time. (My violin is sitting the guestroom closet with only three strings. Not everything works out.)
So, whatever your fears about DIY, home decor, crafting, art, or starting a business might be...
Be bold.
Be brave.
And see where it takes you.
A.) don't
B.) wait until the new year, make a resolution, do it for two weeks and then stop
C.) discipline ourselves to do it
So, make whatever resolutions you'd like, but may I be so bold to propose just one?
Don't be afraid.
Just make the resolution that you won't let fear control you this year. I'm not talking about healthy fear...that's a good thing and can keep you out of trouble. I'm not talking about anxiety issues. I'm talking about the fear that prevents you from doing good things.
"I'm afraid to sew and it's horrific to imagine making slipcovers."
"I'm afraid to paint the wood dresser in my guest room. What if I mess it up? Is it even legal to paint nice wood?"
"I'm afraid of starting a business. What if I fail?"
"I'm afraid of color. What if it's the wrong one?"
"I'm afraid to start a blog of my own. I don't have anything interesting to share."
Sound familiar? These are fears some of you have shared with me over the past few weeks and months. What you need to do is have a little conversation with yourself (or an encouraging spouse, friend or family member) that goes something like this...
"I'm afraid of starting a business. What if I fail?"
"Well, you might. But, what if you succeed?"
"I've never been a business minded person and I don't have a degree in this field"
"So what? Everyone has to start somewhere and a lot of people succeed in fields they aren't educated in."
"I'm scared about taxes and keeping track of finances. I'm clueless about how that works."
"OK, I'm going to hire an accountant and get some software to help me."
"I don't have the money to put into a business."
"I'm going to start small and slow. I don't have to have everything all at one time."
"What if my stuff doesn't sell."
"Some of it won't and that's OK. Even really great stores have to put things on clearance because they were wrong about what they thought people would buy. I'm going to learn the market, but I can't learn if I don't try."
Getting the gist? (This was almost the exact conversation I had with myself!) A lot of fears we have are just silly. Why should anyone be afraid to sew? The worse thing you can do is make something hideous and have to try again. (Well, I guess a needle can break in a freak accident and put out your eye, but I'm guessing that's not the usual fear. If it is, just wear some goggles.) The first set of curtains I made was some quilting fabric I sewed directly over a green cotton valance. They looked terrible, but everyone has to start somewhere. The first chair I slipcovered was horrible. Well, I use the term "slipcovered" loosely, because it was more slipholstered (half upholstered, half slipcover.) I was so proud of it, but it was really bad. All of that to say, it's OK to be bad at something when you first start. For years, I longed to play the violin. Really. It's a beautiful instrument. So, I purchased a student violin off E-bay. I waited eagerly for it to arrive in the mail. I bought a couple of lesson books and I had dreams of being a prodigy. I was really hoping I would remove the violin from the case and just "get it." I would run the bow along the strings and play a beautiful song I had only heard once before and it would be magical. The reality? I remove the violin from the case and screeched out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star just like all other average people who play the violin. You know what, though? I still really enjoyed playing.
The point is, we all want success, perfection and smooth sailing. The truth is, most of us won't have that right off the bat 100% of the time. The beauty is, that's where the good stuff in life can be found. We learn the most, grow the most, and change the most through struggle.
I've been sewing for about ten years, now, and I get better all the time. (My violin is sitting the guestroom closet with only three strings. Not everything works out.)
So, whatever your fears about DIY, home decor, crafting, art, or starting a business might be...
Be bold.
Be brave.
And see where it takes you.
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