Friday, March 15, 2013

The Tale of Elvis, Elton, Doris and Harry



Being kept so busy in the run up to my stint as ‘Maker of the Month’ at Concrete Wardrobe, I realise I haven’t introduced you to the new additions to Ziggy’s collection!
  



Elvis

So first of all, I’ll introduce you to ‘Elvis’, the 1950s chest of drawers!




I found him in his original state, at the back of a second hand furniture depot. He was looking a bit dusty and had lost one of his original handles but I could see his potential!



Inspired by The King, the blues and his blue suede shoes, I decided to paint the body of the chest of drawers navy, refinish the wood on the drawer faces and painting pretty original 50’s drawer to match the inside of each drawer, with each being painted a different shade. And it’s little mid-century legs were each painted a different colour too!







Harry


I spotted this telephone seat in the window of a charity shop as I drove past on the bus. I gave the shop a call and got them to reserve it for me straight away. I thought that with a splash of colour and a new seat cover, it could be transformed into something pretty funky!



When I was getting to work, I discovered a date stamp underneath the seat- 13th March 1979, meaning this is one of the youngest pieces of furniture that I’ve worked on!





And it has it’s original, quirky, pullout memory slide!

I went for blue colours to tie this in with ‘Elvis’ and I chose to reupholster the seat with white fluffy fabric. It’s the same fabric I used on a 1970s ottoman called ‘Debbie’ from my first collection… do you remember her?



She was named after Debbie Harry because of her stiletto heels and peroxide top. And with the telephone seat’s fluffy top, and the obvious references to telephones in Blondie’s big hits ‘Hanging on the Telephone’ and ‘Call Me’, it seems fitting to name another piece after Debs, one of my all time heroes!







Elton

And, for a bit of fun, here’s Elton!



My dad had an old wooden elephant sitting by the side of his sofa, blending in with the décor and not getting much attention and so he gave it to me, thinking it might be fun to Ziggify!



With him being ornamental, I decided to go all out there with colour and pattern! I added polka dots, eye patches and coloured in his tusks… he was largely inspired by Elephants in Indian Kerala culture, but with his eccentric feel, it seemed apt to name him ‘Elton’ after Elton John!





Doris

I’ve been a bit negligent and forgot to take a photo of this wee 1950s chair before I done it up! But it was looking a bit scuffed up and was covered in a yellowing varnish, which I was itching to sand off!


Colour blocked, with a little fluffy pillow, its mid-century character has been brought to life. And being from the 50s and having a touch of glamour and pizzazz about her, I’ve called her ‘Doris’ after Doris Day!




Saturday, March 2, 2013

"Designer's creations aren't from Mars but Ziggy Sawdust is centre stage"





News of Ziggy Sawdust being Concrete Wardrobe's 'Maker of the Month' has reached the STV website, with a fab Bowie-pun inspired headline!



You can have a little read by clicking here!

Friday, March 1, 2013

Ziggy Sawdust and the Concrete Wardrobe!

Today is the day that Ziggy became 'Maker of the Month' at the Concrete Wardrobe on Broughton Street, Edinburgh!




I first met James and Fiona from Concrete Wardrobe at The Fruitmarket Gallery's DesignMarket back in July last year... and plans for me to exhibit as a 'Maker of the Month' have been brewing since then!

Concrete Wardrobe is a wonderful little shop dedicated to showcasing local design-led craft and is known as the go-to place for finding something extra special. Having the opportunity to showcase my work here is a real privilege!

Here are a few images of my exhibit in the shop and all items shown are for sale!







There will be a meet and greet event tomorrow (Saturday 2nd March) from 12-2pm, so pop along if you are free! My exhibit will run until the end of the month, so there is plenty of time to make it along if you can't make it tomorrow, but would still like to browse!





Concrete Wardrobe
50 A Broughton Street
Edinburgh
EH1 3SA


Opening times:
Monday- Friday 11am- 7pm
Sunday 12pm- 5pm