Thursday, February 28, 2013

Ziggy Sawdust in the ESPC!

I was delighted to receive a phone call from Lisa at the ESPC, asking if I would be interested in being featured in their paper... and of course I jumped at the chance!



The ESPC is No.1 for property marketing in East Central Scotland and it is the go to paper if you are thinking of moving house in Edinburgh.. or would just like a peek at whats on the market. My mum used to pick up a copy every week when I was little and I would frequently browse the pages, choosing my 'dream home' of the week. It is really exciting for me to now be featured in a double page spread!



If you would like to read the article, or download the PDF, click here!


But not only do I have a double page spread, but Ziggy Sawdust is also mentioned on the front cover...



 And in the 'Editor's Letter' !


It's such a lovely, colourful feature with a selection of 'Before and After' photos of my furniture, along with my Top Tips for up cycling furniture.




Here's a few quotes from the piece: 

"Ziggy Sawdust is all about rescuing pieces of old furniture before it gets to landfill and giving it a new lease of life and a quirky edge, so as it can fit into contemporary interiors and be loved once again.
As David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust was escapism for many during the bleak conservative rule of the 1970s, I hope Ziggy Sawdust furniture will be escapism from the recent trends in generic flat-packed furniture!"

"I think my style, in terms of furniture could be described as being ‘bold’. I like to think outside the box and rework a piece to really stand out, making people take notice of it again rather than dismiss it as being old and dated."

Traditionally, furniture has been bought in suites of stained, varnished wood to keep a neural constant, while colour        is reserved for walls and decorative furnishings. However, I like to flip this around in keeping with the minimalist and Scandinavian inspired trends in interior design, where white walls are a staple, and statement pieces and pops of colour are left to stand out and really shine."
"However, when it comes to working on a commissioned project for a client, the project becomes more of collaboration. I like to consult the client on every step of the way, insuring that I am marrying their vision with my vision and reworking a piece to suit their style and interior; creating a statement piece that is tailored to their own individual requirements."



Lisa from the ESPC discovered what I do from seeing the documentary Future Positive filmed about Ziggy Sawdust and Jakub from Future Positive gave a lovely quote for the article:





Thank-you ESPC and Future Positive! I am one happy chap! ♥






Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Ziggy Sawdust: Most Environmentally Responsible Business!

Last night, I attended the BT Scotland Young Entrepreneur Awards in Edinburgh and I won the award for 'Most Environmentally Responsible Business'! I am absolutely delighted to have received the award alongside  3 other amazing young business owners. 

 Jennifer Semple and Rachel Catherwood from First Class Physiotherapy won 'Best Website', fashion designer Rebecca Torres won 'Best E-Commerce Website' and Natalie Crayton from Hebridean Sea Salt won 'Most Visionary Business'... and to be part of 'an all-female line-up' (as the Scottish Daily Mail put it!) was quite exciting too!


Me, Jennifer, Rachel, Rebecca and Natalie



My business mentor Morag and me


My Granny and me


Me, Rebecca, Natalie, Rachel and Jennifer


Article in the Scottish Daily Mail




We also received some press coverage on allmediascotland.com which can be found by clicking here!


It means a lot to me to have won the award as being environmentally responsible is very important to me. The whole idea behind Ziggy Sawdust is to save beautiful pieces of vintage and retro pieces of furniture from being overlooked and ending up on landfill sites, simply because the are a little scratched or look a bit dated. Here's to future furniture search and rescues!


All photos courtesy of Malcolm Cochrane Photography

Monday, February 4, 2013

Ziggy Sawdust: Future Positive

Today has been a very exciting day, with the launch of Future Positive's first project... which is all about Ziggy Sawdust!

Back in December, Jakub and Igor from Future Positive came out to my garage/workshop to film a little documentary about me and Ziggy. We had a really fun and hard working day, starting at 9am on a Saturday and not finishing until about 5pm!



Future Positive is all about showcasing young creative people in business and highlighting the fact that although the economy is in a sorry state, it is possible to create opportunities for yourself. I am really honoured that they chose me to be the subject of their first interview and I am so happy with the end result!
















There is also a written interview that can be found by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom of the pictures!

Thank-you Future Positive for doing such a wonderful job!

Watch out for their up and coming projects... these guys are going places!