KELLY SWALLOW

"A swatch of vintage fabric is a little piece of history"

Stunning armchair by Kelly Swallow (above & below) - has just been made and the first time this particularly piece has been seen.

I have recently discovered the work of Kelly Swallow. A fantastic source for creatively recycling fabric pieces. Kelly's chairs & Sofas are made by using individually sourced vintage pieces of fabric. Each piece of furniture is a one off and with its own unique charm. The personality of every piece is rediscovered by painstakingly and lovingly choosing an exciting collection of fabrics to create unique pieces with newfound splendour. The fabrics range from vintage to designer including: Kenzo, Zoffany, Liberty, Andrew Martin, Designers Guild, Osborne & Little, Lorca, Mulberry - an eclectic mix with exciting and surprising contrasts.

Kelly has always collected fabrics (in fact, her house is full of fabric pieces!). She says that she cannot pass by a fabric shop without buying a remnant. She loves using vintage fabrics and also pattern books and is a big fan of Designer's Guild. The company Zoffany also now gives her all their amazing off cuts.

Kelly Swallow, based in Hertfordshire, specialises in doing bespoke pieces, involving the client to achieve stunning results which are truly tailor made.

To see more of her stunning work click HERE.

Kelly Swallow's grain sack armchairs.

VINTAGE SIMPLICITY

Have you ever thought of hiring Vintage China to give your party/wedding a real twist? Vintage Simplicity are a company based in South West London and they supply an eclectic mix of unique vintage china and accessories for Weddings, Corporate Events, Garden Parties, Productions & Photo Shoots.

If, like me, you are crazy about vintage china and unusual pieces all mixed together to make up one stunning set, you love this web site. Great photos of past events in their News Page page with yummy pieces of vintage china. It will make you think twice from now on when she see one lovely cup and saucer in your local Charity shop.

Really recommend this company to give your wedding or special party a stylish vintage feel.

For more information on their website click HERE.

LARGEST RECYCLED ARTWORK

In a bid to encourage consumers to recycle their cans and bottles the world's largest recycled artwork was created. 200,000 aluminium cans were used to create this piece in East Sussex to mark Recycle Week June 2009. Transforming thousands of used aluminium cans collected from around the UK, the sculpture, called Precious Metal, took a team of artists a week to complete and can only be fully viewed from the air. The artwork is inspired by a classic 1949 summer poster from the Coca-Cola archives of a swimsuit-clad lady relaxing in the sun. It was led by the award-winning Cornish sculptor Robert Bradford.

MODERN VINTAGE

I have just spotted these great bangles form Modern Vintage in USA. Crafted in a state-of-the-art polyurethane resin, slices of recycled cans have been embedded within each bangle. The cans themselves are made from 51% metal that has been previously recycled,

Each bangle is a unique work of art. No two are identical. When you order, you can expect the overall effect and colors to be the same as pictured, but the details vary.

Completely hand-cast from a custom mold in my workshop, lovingly finished, and polished to perfection.

To see more or to buy, click HERE.

BRISTOL VINTAGE WEDDING FAIR

For those Vintage lovers out there - The Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair is coming soon! 20th March 2011 - at the Pavillion, Bristol Zoo Gardens. For more details click HERE.

MARY QUITE CONTRARY

I love the work of Mary of 'Mary Quite Contrary'. With her scalpel and a pile of papers she creates fantastic cards. I am really impressed with how neatly she uses the scalpel. For the amount of work that goes into each card I think her prices are very good. If you are looking for something different I really recommend her cards. You can buy her cards and artwork from either of her shops by clicking here:

ETSY/SHOP/QUITECONTRARY or FOLKSY/SHOP/QUITECONTRARYCRAFTS

JEMIMA LUMLEY

I love the use here of recycling and it has been done with such a beautiful way. Jemima Lumley who is a silversmith also makes fantastic jewellery out of old watch parts. The combination of of the inside mechanisms of the watches and her silver smith work gives the pieces a wonderfully fresh contemporary feel.

Jemima part owns a shop called Fig on Gloucester Road, Bristol where you can buy her work, or you can buy from her website by clicking HERE. Her particular clock pieces will will on display at the Clifton Rocks during October 2010

DALTON GHETTI

I am amazed at the talent of Dalton Ghetti, a 49-year old carpenter from Bridgeport, Connecticut. Dalton has been carving the most incredible miniature sculptures for over 25 years without the aid of a magnifying glass. His canvas? The tiny tip of a lead pencil.

Dalton started carving tree bark when he was a child and experimented with everything from soap to chalk before settling on graphite. It’s second nature now, and for 90 percent of his work, all he needs is a sewing needle, a razor blade, a sculpting knife and a carpenter’s or No. 2 pencil.

“The pencil tip is great; it’s like a pure, very homogenous material,” he said. “It cuts in the same direction, not like wood, which has a grain. But when I tell people how long it takes, that’s when they don’t believe it. That’s what amazes people more, the patience. Because everything nowadays has to be fast, fast, fast.”

Mr. Ghetti often takes years to complete pieces, especially since pencil carving is only a hobby. A standard figure will take several months however the alphabet carvings below took about 2.5 years!

BAN ON PLASTIC BAGS

San Francisco is debating whether to extend the ban to cancel plastic bags to include all retailers, including bookshops, clothes shops and department stores, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The California Legislature currently is debating a statewide barring of disposable plastic bags and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has expressed his support of the bill.

Current San Francisco law requires large supermarkets, such as Safeway, and chemist chains, such as Walgreens, to give customers only three types of bags at checkout: compostable plastic bags, recyclable paper bags and reusable bags. Single-use disposable bags are banned completely.

MELANIE PORTER

I am loving the work of Melanie Porter. Creator of a stunning collection of contemporary & unique knitted chairs. This knitwear designer has turned her expertise to furniture, creating one-off contemporary designs from chairs sourced from auctions and markets across the UK. The chair is painstakingly stripped back to the frame, before being restored and reupholstered using traditional techniques. This blank canvas is then covered with a series of hand-knitted panels, especially created by Melanie for each chair. To see more of Melanie's work have a look at her website HERE.