Have you heard of HowDo? If not, now is the time to jump on the bandwagon! It's a free social media app which allows you to effortlessly make quick, spontaneous tutorials about anything you fancy.
I have often thought about doing video or blog tutorials, but I have always been put of by how long it would take. HowDo makes it so fun to capture ideas and share your way of doing things. You simply take a series of photographs highlighting the steps of what you are doing, and then record little sound bites to narrate the sequence.
For my first tutorial, I decided to show you how to make a big, fluffy pom-pom!
I had the pleasure of meeting the very inspiring Nills and Sofia from HowDo at the Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire at the beginning of the month. They carried out a little interview with me and posted it onto their blog :)
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!
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!
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! ♥
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
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!
