Since my last update i have started to make a console table based on the principles of the 'cant' sidetable. i am using reclaimed sapelle which is an exotic wood and hard to come by as well as being quite expensive so i am being very cautious as to how i use this wood and trying not to waste it. i dont think i am using the wood to the best of its ability though, due too the column legs this 'cant' design stipulates. compare this to the bedside table i made early last year out of the same wood and you can see where i am coming from. but the wood was free, seasoned well and does finish beautifully so the end result will hopefully meet my high expectations.
so i started with a mock up of the table before i cut or measured anything to make sure i was happy with the proportions and had enough sapelle wood to make it.
as i have always said this is one of the hardest parts in designing furniture as proportion is everything, it has to work for such a broad range of environments and users. but after much experimenting and playing with dimensions i decided on an overall size and i am now in the process of the cutting the wood and sanding off years of paint and varnish, then its a case of drilling the holes for the dowel pins and carfully constructing the sections and inserting the acrylic top which will be in black, a nice contrast with the dark brown of sapelle. i have also come up with a new way of securing the acrylic into the wood which will hopefully improve the overall strength, so im eager to get this part of the design made and test it out.
whilst i am making this table i am also playing with different designs for chopping boards! not something i want to be doing as i always have ideas for bigger and better things but i needed something to use up all my offcuts and thought this was a relatively easy way to do and it will hopefully push forward some asethetic direction in other designs for me. so expect some odd shaped slabs of wood to grace this blog soon but the shape will show a new direction and will lead to bigger things long term.
on a side note i was contacted by the very talented sebastian cox the other week who also designs and makes stunning furniture, be sure to look him up. he showed me some work that his old university tutor did a few years ago and it was uncanny how similar it was to some of my designs. my heart sort of skipped a beat at that point and made me realise how easy it is to accidently design something that resembles someone elses design. it has certainly made me more aware and has highlighted the need for me to take copyrighting more seriously, but also it made me feel quite proud that a distinguished lecturer had similar designs and ideas to mine, so i must be doing something right. it does make you think how difficult design is becoming now though and how original you have to be these days to stand out and be noticed.
i have finall taken some decent professional photos of my current designs which i ahve been meaning to do for ages now, i am very pleased with the results and finally do my designs justice, these now grace my shop pages on www.stylisticgallery.com and www.folksy.co.uk and will take more photos in the coming weeks of my other designs. its amazing what a few simple changes will make to a photo and hence a designs appeal. very pleasing
the quest continues to get my work in more galleries and shops and i have my eye on a few so i will be busily putting together a sort of press pack for these. And im shortly going to join the 'craft central' website so will have my designs displayed on there which will hopefully be an interesting outlet and give me some more profile in this very competive industry. and when that is all done and the console table is made i can buy some more wood (the stock level is low) and make something else to add to my portfolio! i dont seem to stop really.
