Fossicking Road Trip Time

The stack of furniture waiting to be recreated in the garage was getting to an unknown low level, I could actually see the way through to Peters work bench.  Time for Peter and I to set of on a fossicking road trip.  So one foggy morning this week off we went.

 First stop our favourite road trip cafe for a late breakfast in the warm.  I am sure you can guess which cafe it was.

Peter and the dog seemed to be competing for the seat closest to the fire.  I think the dog won.  

Peter had cheese and herb omelettes and as usual I went for the very healthy option of pancakes with berries and maple syrup with yogurt!  I so love the colour combination and feel very inspired by that combination of off white with highlights of dark, dark red and vintage blue.

If you only knew how many photos I have with Peter's grinning face appearing in them, I could almost start a whole blog for them.  I was concentrating so hard on the food did not notice him at all.

Another colour inspiration shot.

As it was its a good job we did stop for a late breakfast as the shop we wanted to visit was just opening up as we arrived.

Here you go have a closer look inside, its full of fantastic bits and pieces from all eras.  There was a sofa I would seriously like.

I think if you know Hawkes Bay you will recognise where we were headed.

 I think I must be influenced by cold winter colours, I seem to be really focusing on whites, grey greens and blues, with hints of red to warm things up.

 I can't wait to get printing and trying to combine these colours in my work.

The aim of the trip was not really to find photo inspiration.  But to find furniture inspiration.

In fact we found some great inspirational bits and pieces, I can't wait to see what appears out of the Reclectica workshop.

Peter seems to be very happy with his new pair of drawers.

Back to Basics - Messing about with Shapes

 At the end of this month Peter and I will be involved in Makertorium, at Te Papa.  We are going to spend a whole day demo-ing what we do.  This has set me to thinking -  for the last six months or so I have been busy chasing my tail I think.  Too much focus on the sewing part and not on the printing bit.  The bit that I enjoy the most, where my creativity can really flow.    I have been so focused on end product and not on why I decided to start printing in the first place.

 So today after I finished printing orders, I had a bit of a play about with new techniques.  Ways I can produce prints with out Peter's carved blocks.  He is far to busy making furniture now (apparently) to carve anything for me and I want to keep all my fingers so no carving for me. These are not my finished fabrics, these are my note book, sketch pad, mess it up type thing.  I have been trying out using a gelli printing plate.  It is a lot of fun and produced some great results.  not sure yet how I will pull it all together but the ideas are percolating.

Almost forgot I have some great ideas for getting people involved in printing on the day with a minimum of mess, I hope.

No more Havelock Jiggle

Apologies for another workroom story.  Peter managed to squeeze in time to put together my beautiful solid oak sewing table.  It has been lying in pieces since for ever.  It has moved house in pieces four times.  So no more jiggling and bouncing sewing table.  This one is heavy and does not budge an inch.  I love the legs they remind me of Robbie the Robot from Lost in Space.

Spot the difference

 The photo above is my stall at February Martinborough, which I decided looked just way to plain and needed to be brightened up.  So I added some bunting, a couple of new table covers and some of Peter's reclectica furniture and voila.

 A much more brighter and interesting stall.  The fair goers seemed to like it too, Peter's furniture was a big hit.  We came home with only two small notice boards.  All the rest are off to new homes.  One little map table is even on its way via suitcase to Christchurch.  Lucky it had removable legs.

What do you think of our first suitcase table?  Especially designed so that the legs can be unscrewed and placed in the case to be carried home.

Peter Has Been Busy Again

 Peter has been busy in the garage again.  First he made me this most fantastic little fantail.  I have been waiting for about three months, I think its worth the wait.  I would like a matching friend for this one little fantail.  Hope it does not take another three months.

 He also had a lot of old offcuts of wood cluttering up the place, which have now been converted......

 .............into this tidy tiny little console/desk tabley thing.  I love it.

 Hopefully all these projects will come together by this weekend and our first unveiling at the Craft and Design market in Havelock North.

 Last but not least a tiny little bird house shaped notice board.  

Peter's been busy again...........

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind here in the Coulter household, we have had lots of family visiting.  Peter has still found time to escape to the garage and get busy with some Christmas ideas.  A little forest of black and white Christmas trees, all made from recycled wood.  The black ones are painted with blackboard paint so you can add your own decorations if you want.  What I want is to keep them all, unfortunately for me and fortunately for you they will all be for sale on my stall down at the Craft and Design market in Havelock North this Saturday.

You never know what Peter will get up to in the garage next ..........

 To make sure my iPad covers are the right size for an iPad, Peter made me a cardboard shape the same size as a real iPad.

 A couple of days ago he disappeared out to the garage and would not let me see what he was doing.  It made me laugh my head off when he showed me.  He has made me a total iPad replica out of cardboard. 

 No more old lump of cardboard for my iPad covers.  I will just have to charge it up - he said and disappearing off out to the garage again.  Back he came a little while later you can see the results below. One day if I sell enough iPad covers I will be able to have a real version, but until then I love my cardboard one.  :)

Life is never dull

 This week I have been making cushions, lots and lots of cushions.  Kiwi flag cushions, Union Jack flag cushions and wordy cushions.  When I am working I make a lot of mess, there is usually thread and offcuts everywhere.  I happened to leave a lump of cushion stuffing on a shelf, turned round to pick it up and somehow it had grown a beak and eyes.  Hmm I wonder who that was, Peter.

Bad Habit or Good Habit

 I have to put my hands up to a small habit of mine, that some people find niggling. Yes, I am a doodler.  I doodle when I am on the phone, waiting in queues, well really just anywhere at all.  I used to get in trouble at school for doodling.  For me its a way of concentrating, if I am doodling I am listening.  If I am not doodling my brain will have wandered off somewhere else.  The doodle above was done in a meeting at work.  I asked Peter if he would make a wooden printing block for me, and two weeks later here it is.

 Below is the first test print before the final tidy up.  Its just how I imagined it would be, can't wait to try printing with it tomorrow.

A brief look beind the scenes

I thought you might like to see what we get up to behind the scenes.

Peter carving a new block

Piles of organic fabric waiting to be printed

Some well used blocks ready to be used again

The mess I make when mixing my printing colours

Nicola printing

Printing butterflies on a vintage blanket

Printing hanging up to dry, the house is usually full of drying fabrics on printing days.

I have left out me standing ironing, fixing the prints, for hours and hours, I am sure you all know what that looks like. 

In among the Olive Groves and Vineyards

 Coulter and Coulter has ventured out on the road again this weekend.  We have stuffed the car full of goodies and headed down to Martinborough, to Martinborough fair.

 We are now installed for the evening among the vines and olive trees in a tiny little batch.  The fire is on and Peter has a cup of tea in his hand.

 Outside the window the sky has turned red at the edges, a great sign for tomorrow's weather.   It looks like its going to be a great day.  A very long day, we will be set up and ready to go by about 7:45, I hope.

Peter is going to spend the day drinking tea and getting pizza ready for me in the evening, I can't wait.

Work in Progress

Peter's Norfolk pine tree is still a work in progress.  He is not happy with it yet and feels that more detail and depth is needed.

It looked good to me, so I managed to get one print of if before he made any more changes.  I can't wait to get printing when he is eventually ready to hand it over.