ME: The FINAL chair photos!

Okay! No more dilly dallying! The final chairs!

We started with this goldenrod yellow beauty at the local Goodwill...



... stripped it down to this...



... and built it back up to THIS...






We took a 1950's nightmare (with incredibly itchy and possibly highly flammable fabric covered w/ stains, springs popping out, etc) and ended with a fully restored French Country style complimentary pair of slipper chairs. If you want to see the entire process again, take a look at these blog posts...

1. Changing Things Up
2. Breaking it DOWN
3. One of These Things is Not Like the Other
4. The Eight Way Tie
5. Finally Starting to Look Like a Chair
6. Building it Back Up

The reason I decided to make them complimentary was because (if you remember from this post) once I stripped them I realized that the didn't quite match. I decided to go with my gut and make them similar but with slight differences because I knew I could never force them to be identical, no matter how hard I tried. And while others may not see the differences, I would and it would drive me out of my mind. Plus it gave me an opportunity to be slightly more creative and play around with the design a bit. I have caught a bit of flak from somebody who is in the decorative business and thought my choice was poor because you could have put them on 2 different sides of a room and never seen the difference. But the choice was mine, so I decided to go the more creative and playful route.

So... were they worth the wait? You tell me!

Now, the difficult part, I think it's time they find a home that's not mine. Just know, I did not set out to restore these chair with the intention of selling them. But one of the first things you learn in art school is to disconnect from your work so you are able to sell it. And from years of making custom jewelry, apparently I got really good at enjoying the point when I hand something off to its new owners. And while I loved the process of restoring and upholstering these chairs, I feel like they will make somebody out there really happy. And when my work brings somebody joy, well, it makes all the time and effort worth it.

How am I going to sell them? Hmmm, not sure. Etsy? Maybe. SoWa market? Maybe if a friend will let me put them in their booth for a day. But for now, let's see if anybody here would want a pair of French Country Slipper Back Chairs. If you want any information, drop me a note at the Green Spot Studio Contact page. I would prefer not to break up the set, but if somebody really only wants one, I am willing to talk.

Now, I am taking another upholstery class and this time I will most definitely be keeping the chair. The reason, because it was my Grandpa Bonfiglioli's chair. But that is a post for a later date.

ME: Changing Things Up

Sometime we all need to change things up. Whether it's a different brand of cereal or a new haircut or a new car, we all need a something different in our lives once in a while. When I need to shake things up I either move to a foreign country or I take a class. And seeing I'm married now I can't really run away... so, by default, it was time to learn something new.

This may seem odd, but I always wanted to learn how to upholster furniture. While you all know that I love working with my hands, sometimes I just don't want to work in metal (I think that's why I enjoy baking so much) and that's larger than a nickel. So, I signed up for this upholstery class at the Eliot School in Jamaica Plain.

The funny part is the day I signed up for the class I popped over to Goodwill to donate some clothing and I spotted a chair.



Actually, a pair of chairs. Horribly ugly 1950's goldenrod yellow slipper (roll back) chairs. And after having read the restrictions on the piece of furniture to bring to class (no couches or chaise, strongly suggests no arms or wing-backs for your first project, etc) and it has webbing and springs and padding and wood and fabric and so many different parts to fix, I knew this was the perfect match. It was fate! I knew I had to have them. AND they were $15 each! How could I pass that up?!?!

So, today was my first day of class. The first step is to strip the chair of the horrible goldenrod fabric...




... lo and behold it is NOT a 1950's chair! It was re-upholstered in the 1950's but it is actually from the late 1800's or early 1900's. There were many different clues once you started stripping away...



... like multiple layers of fabrics...



... and horse hair stuffing...



... and stitched (not stretched) webbing...



... and layers of straw stuffing...



... and LOTS of tack holes!

I'm at the point of the chair being nearly stripped and so excited to learn what comes next!

The hard part is repeating all the steps on the second chair at home... fingers crossed I don't destroy anything!

GS: Back from the Brink of Death...

I had a client bring me his great grandmother's ring in hopes to use it as an engagement ring. Unfortunately, it was on the brink of death.

A ring normally should be at least 1.5mm thick to be stable. This ring was under .5mm. A platinum ring could possibly survive in the 1mm+/- ballpark, but this ring was a really low carat gold (either 8 or 10K.) To get you to understand how thin this ring is, I actually cut the ring shank off with a normal pair of scissors.



Needles to say, the ring was not wearable. If the client attempted to wear it as is, snagging it and one good tug would destroy the ring. Oh... and there was 4 solder joints in the shank alone. So, my best plan was to use the most important part (the shoulders, head and bezel) and treat it as if I was inlaying it into a whole new ring...




The best way to fabricate the new ring was out of wax. This way I could sink the metal into the wax to start creating the layout...




And then from there, carve the wax ring around the head and shoulders...



Once the wax was complete, I popped the metal out and was left with the ring to be cast in 14K red gold...




The reason I chose 14K red gold was because the color of the head was odd. It wasn't quite yellow and it wasn't quite copper, so the red complimented the old metal without making it look brassy or tarnished. And it looks lovely with the ruby too

The finished product came out really well. It retains the sentimental value by including the most decorative part of the original ring but is now stable and will last one (or more) generations.

GS: A Contemporary Spin on an Antique Style

Sometimes I get to make a surprise engagement ring for a couple that I know personally. And when I get to do this, I can really help bring their personality and style into the design. And this is most definitely one of those rings.

The groom-to-be wanted something slightly classic and antique, but with a hip and contemporary spin. So, my first thought was a rose cut diamond. I ADORE rose cut diamonds! They are an antique cut from the middle ages which has had a resurgence in popularity and are being cut again. Rose cuts have a flat bottom, unlike today's brilliant cut diamonds, and have the total of 48 facets. The flat bottom keeps all the weight on the top of the stone, which makes the stone look larger.

So, this ring has a .60 ct VS/F rose cut diamond in a 14K yellow setting, with a 14K white gold bezel and lining inside the head.






So, there you have it! A bit antique, a bit contemporary, totally fab!

GS: New Life to an Old Ring

Just like any industry, the jewelry/wedding industry has been suffering with the economy and people are looking for ways to save money. Much of the time people come to me asking for me to melt down old pieces of jewelry to make something new, which I am thrilled to do. But what many people don't know is that it is not cheap. A great deal of labor goes into melting precious metals and then making new stock for fabricatin. Depending on the complexity, this process can sometimes cost MORE than purchasing new (recycled) metal!

But this is the perfect example of how to work with old jewelry and on a budget. A client came to me with a pile of antique rings and wanted to see what we could do to 'rework' the pieces and create something new. One of the bands was an old patterned men's 14K Yellow gold wedding band, size 10.



She liked the pattern (which is quite lovely) but wanted to add a bit more to the ring. So, first I sized it to a 4.5 and matched the pattern back up. Next I drilled the center of every other flower and soldered in 14K white gold tubing.





From there, I set diamonds (which again, came from a piece that the client supplied) in the bezels. Here's the final product...





The final product is beautiful and budget friendly.