Another lucky find – a fat, big fabric sample book no longer in use and left by the rubbish bin of a local designer studio – gave me a brilliant idea for Christmas gifts. Cushions!!! 21 of them, as the book contained 42 full-page samples that could easily coupled in well suited marriages. Few days of frantic sewing and staffing produced a whole pile of cosy fluffy softies. All my friends now have a set of new cushions for Christmas.
One early summer night I was walking home (not perfectly sober) and in the dark almost tripped over something big, bulky and round that was rolling with the wind on the walkway. Closer inspection identified the fat wandering object as an enormous lamp shade. Old, damaged, sad and beyond repare. May be. The owner couldn’t get it in the rather slim rubish bin provided by the local council, so it was left on the wet ground to await quitely its fate in the face of a rubish collector. Oh, the horror!!
Instead Fate crossed its way with mine. I took pity on it, dragged it (with some difficulties) to my home and banged it with the hammer (no, no, no, not a hint of domestic violence, but to straighten the bent metal parts a bit), then lovingly covered it with blue IKEA fabric – the colour of the summer sky, mounted it on top of a lamp stand and …. no it wasn beyond repair after all! It looked rather handsom on top of its elegant long single leg. But something still wasn’t right. Something was missing. My glorious new lamp was lonely and striking – the only blue object in the room.
So-o-o, I had to make friends for it. Three small cushions are the best companion for a handsome tall lamp I recon. Now, together, gossiping and conspiring in their own corner they seem happy and bring the sumer sky in my humble bedroom.
REUSE DESIGN 