Search result for: the-last-thing-you-aquired-
| # | Post Title | Result Info | Date | User | Forum |
| greenwashing response 1 | 1 Relevance | 17 years ago | NULL NULL | General discussion | |
| greenwashing response 1 Thought I'd take a mo to respond to your positions. As a member of the team that built the house, I thought I could shed some light on your suppositions. 1. The roof design block all views from the south and removes the possibility of passive solar heating. In fact, these small houses have way too much surface area to require much in the way of passive solar heating. All the homes in the competition that did have PSH elements had to work very hard to maintain a comfortable thermal equilibrium - i.e. they were overheated. Our house was designed to highlight passive cooling and non-thermal load carrying daylighting techniques, as cooling in the summertime is much more of an energy hog (in terms of electricity, anyway) than heating. Most homes have an electricity usage graph that resembles a bell curve, with the highest point at the middle of summer. Our strategies negated virtually all cooling loads. Anecdotally, when we were building the thing in summer 07, even before we closed it in, the inside of the house was much cooler than the surrounding environment. 2. The roof design negates rainwater catchement. A butterfly roof line would have solved this and the above as well. A common misconception. There is no particular shape that is "better" at catching rainwater. All roofs are impervious (hopefully, anyway); rainwater catchment only requires the catchment part. We had originally planned a guttering system on the north side of the building, but due to competition restrictions in terms of total projected footprint, we had to eliminate it. 3. The best possible photovoltaics are only 20% efficient at converting sunlight to electricity. Going off grid is a stupid idea unless you live in the middle of nowhere. A MUCH smarter design would have been to provide heating and hotwater using solar thermal collectors which are 70 to 85% efficient. Another big misunderstanding. First of all, if we are going to talk about efficiencies, we need to work from a level playing field. It is true that the highest PVs on the market work at about 20% efficiency, though the next generation will as much as double that. What most people don't know is that coal-fired power plants - the biggest market share of electricity in this country - only operate at 32.5% efficiency. The rest of the energy is lost as waste heat and transmission line losses. 20% is not that bad, considering. Second, 20% of zero (in terms of actual fuel cost, i.e. conversion of sunlight, which is free and limitless, as opposed to fossil fuels) still equals zero. Our house did have solar thermal collectors, which provided 100% of our hot water needs. I think you can see them in the photograph. In fact, we tied with several other teams for first place in hot water production. Thermal collection, however, does nothing except provide heat. Ground source heat pumps are much better at making heat than solar collectors. | |||||
| Well, Loft, first off, congratulations. | 1 Relevance | 14 years ago | tktoo | General discussion | |
| Well, Loft, first off, congratulations. Your chair appears worth saving. I can't help much dating it, but it has the earlier angular arm pads that I prefer. I think those disappeared around the same time HM switched over to the spring-type cushion clips. As for the panels, they look a bit faded and dry, eh? You said you have disassembled the components. How does the rosewood look under the mounts? Brand-spanking new, I'd guess. That's the look you're after, but fading caused by UV exposure is, unfortunately, permanent. Oil will help, but it won't restore the original color. Pros will often use specialized dyes for this with sometimes surprising results... and sometimes surprising not in a good way. Now is the time to deal with any shock mount issues, too, but you know that already. Watco and most all "Danish" oil finishes are slight variations on a basic age-old formula of solvent, linseed oil, and resins. Technically, the addition of resin makes them "wiping varnishes" in today's parlance. Some versions contain "proprietary" additives like tung oil, pigments, UV inhibitors, drying agents, fungicides, etc. This accounts for the Watco variants, but, for our intents, they're interchangeable. I use basic Watco indoor "natural" and sometimes add my own ingredients to that. The white-ish residue visible in the grain on your back panels is probably old oxidized finish (oil) and/or wax. I'd try VM&P naphtha and a toothbrush on that. Those open pores are typical of the rosewood veneers on these sets and are what make me hesitant to use steel wool. The thought of tiny filaments of metal getting caught in there and breaking off just gives me the willies (talk about overthinking it). It's why I recommend sandpaper instead. One great thing about oil finishes is that they are so incredibly forgiving and easy to repair. The reason for this is that they are microscopically thin. The only real problems occur when they are improperly applied and that usually means too thickly. Avoid using leftover partial containers of gooey product of undetermined vintage. Fresh is best. Here's the basic technique: Sand rough areas and clean all surfaces with mineral spirits or naphtha by rubbing with a wetted rag - I like linen for this step and white is good because it shows any grime or other residue that comes off. Make any repairs and sand and clean up those. Work in a not-too-warm, well-ventilated, dry area out of direct sunlight. Apply oil to entire surface using a saturated lint-free cotton rag - old T-shirts are good. Keep all areas wet for 15-20 minutes. Wipe it all off with clean, dry cotton rags by rubbing with the grain. Really, rub it all off. Inspect every 15-20 minutes and rub off any oil that oozes out of the pores until it stops. Let dry overnight. Very lightly sand any rough areas with 400 grit, wipe with a rag dampened with mineral spirits, let dry, and apply another coat of oil following the same procedure. | |||||
| I've worked with Maharam | 1 Relevance | 10 years ago | Spanky | Repair | |
| I've worked with Maharam Pebble Wool quite a bit and it's actually one of my favorite fabrics ever. I think it would be great for your needs! It's not at all itchy (and I find a lot of wools scratchy) plus the texture will help the seams to disappear. Steelcut Trio is nice but it's very smooth and not very forgiving so the seams will be very visible and you may also get little puckers at the curves. Tonus would be fine if you like the solid color look but it sounds like you want more texture and/or color variation. I have made cushions for a couple of Reenskaug rockers. I used 2" extra firm upholstery foam for the seat and 1" firm for the back and the chairs were quite comfortable. The webbing has to be taut for the seat, of course. If it sags, even the best foam won't help. I also think these look best when the cushions have rounded edges. This isn't as hard to do as it might seem, though you do need a steady eye and hand and a certain fearlessness with a razor blade. The simplest, cleanest way to do it is to first cut your cushions to shape, adding about a 1/4" all around on the seat cushion and nothing extra on the back (because it's thinner foam, you will only lose a hair in width and length after you're done.) I use a razor to cut 1" foam and a serrated bread knife to cut thicker foam. Mark the outline with a Sharpie, then hold the knife or razor exactly parallel to the foam surface and start cutting. Don't compress the foam with either the blade or your other hand as you go, just let the blade do the work. If you can find one of those cheap little razor holders that turns it into a thin, flat knife, use that. You can probably cut through most of the 1" foam with one pass. Thicker foam will take at least 2 passes and you'll have to do short little passes to get around the curves. Just be sure to keep the blade straight up and down, not leaning to one side or the other. When you have your foam shapes out out, the next step is to cut a V-shaped channel into the edge. I posted illustrations of this in this forum a few years ago but I have no idea what they're in and the search engine isn't working right now, and neither is the image function. I'll do my best to describe it in words. Hold the cushion on edge so that you are sighting down an edge. Cut a V channel out of the edge with a razor (you might want to start with a fresh razor--i usually change razor blades every 6-8' of cutting. It makes a difference.) Start cutting about 1/4" from the edge and cut at about a 45 degree angle towards the center of the edge. Mark the 1/4" margin along the edge if it will help you stay on course. The angle doesn't have to be perfect and the 1/4" margin doesn't either, just try to keep the original outline. Repeat on the other side of the cushion edge. Gently tear the cut material out of the groove that you've just cut; it will probably not be cut all the way through. You may need another pass on the 2" foam depending on how deeply you went with the razor (the holder thing helps with this). It's ok if the V isn't perfectly sharp at the bottom, Reasonably uniform is fine. NOW---get some heavy duty spray adhesive. 3M Heavy Duty is great and Home Depot and those places always have it. Take everything outside, lay down some newspapers, put on some disposable gloves, hold your breath (or use a respirator), and spray it into the groove. Coat both sides well. Wait the recommended time and then press the sides of the V together. Et voil | |||||
| RE: DA old timers | 1 Relevance | 7 years ago | SDR | Off topic | |
| Oho. Yes, finding unpainted woodwork is always a pleasure. At least they're using gray with the white, out your way. Here every listing I see is white white white. Sometimes the 100-year-old-plus house has retained its unpainted interior woodwork right up until, like, last week. Pitiful. And any Wright house suffers when the subtle ochers, wheats and greens are painted over in dead white ! And every square foot of roofed space in these old houses has been finished and made inhabitable. The mania for "more space" continues, I guess, with some exceptions. Finding a listing with a floor plan is a rare plus. The art glass windows in the 1923 quasi-bungalow is rich, though not likely original. But yes, the built-ins of the period are wonderful. Wright typically did a dining-room piece for the larger Prairie-period houses. Look up the Robie house; two walls have loooong and low built-ins in the dining room. The Boynton house in Rochester has this amazing "hutch," seemingly supported at its ends only. And not only the bungalow had that affair erected between the living and dining rooms, with a pair of round or square columns and low cabinetry on either side. Craftsman and Prairie have one thing in common, at least: tons of woodwork---casework, millwork and trim inside and out, featuring generous widths, thicknesses, and lengths of stock. Prairie is characterized by Wright's generous roof overhangs, a visible base protruding beyond the walls at the ground, geometric art-glass windows, and no curves beyond the occasional Roman-arched entry and (even rarer) fireplace opening. Wright clung to his triangle, T-square and compass; no free-form curves for him ! Both Wright and the Craftsman architects found the banks of windows that their British cousins had been using; they in turn found these in older prototypes---the vernacular influence. Wright was well aware of developments in Europe at the turn of the century when he was hitting his stride: the British "Craft" architects, the Viennese Secession and its Scottish outpost manned by Mackintosh. That and the Japanese example heavily influenced Wright, but he generally disavowed all but his own innate genius, with a generous bow to Japan on occasion. He claimed that the Japanese print was of greater influence than the Japanese house, for him; the evidence might suggest otherwise . . . Attachment: BoyntonDRbuffet.jpg | |||||
| Fellow forumers: how did you get hooked on MCM design? | 1 Relevance | 13 years ago | cadodream | General discussion | |
| Hello all, I've read thoroughly the thread "Why does everyone's house look the same?", and I thought it would be interesting to share our experiences and relationship about this particular era of design. Yes, MCM is hype right now; hence the mainstream catalogues are full of "not so inspired by". Well, it's the first time of my life I'm hype. Regarding my age (mid 30's) and activities, I could easily be pointed as a "fashion victim". But how everyone build its own taste along the years? My first connection wasn't exactly MCM, but, simply, post WWII. As an early teenager, I fell hard into Raymond Chandler's writings, and soon film noirs. Wooden desks, wall panels and sun blinds became part of my life, to the point my family let me use an empty room to set an office in it, as a playground. Later came the discovery of brit pop design (primary colours, abstract graphics- just remember how often the shape of circles is used in the Prisoner : astrolamp, ball chair, balloons, chinese doors); and a little later, the raging modernity of world film new waves of the sixties. As I grew up, I always stayed faithful to these tastes: novels, films, painting, music...all my interest focuses seems to have been created sometime between 1945 and 1970. But its was only when I had the opportunity to arrange my own tiny place with my family that came the idea to gather pieces that we would always be happy to stare at. Part of it we already had (the pieces of my teenage office), part belonged to my grandparents: everyone else just wanted to throw to garbage the pop laminated tables, chrome and enamel kitchen wall cabinets and credenzas, clocks. A few parts we bought: and my interest in Danish design just started when I was searching for a vanity for my wife, and we were just amazed by a Svend Madsen hanging one in teak. So amazed that I wanted to know more about how (historically, technically) this thing was made (I always want to know more about what I love!) And then I came on the forum. And then nice peoples (upholsters, woodworkers) gave me their advices when my stepfather started getting great fun to build a sofa and a wall unit that would be "inspired by", but would fit exactly our tiny flat (but keeping graceful proportions). I can't cut a piece of paper properly with plain scissors, but thanks to you I keep an interest on tools, wood grains, veneer fixing etc. Now I won't collect anymore. (Or hardly ever, because my place is tiny and the landscape before my eyes is just ideal). I don't care about what's iconic and what's not. I can even like it or hate it. That's no criteria. The Tibergaard desk I hunted for my kid has a ten time lower rate than a Paulin one, and I could not care less: we're just fond of the piece. I always hated overly carved furniture, wall pebbledash, overwhelming motives on clothes. And I still like primary colours, warm coloured woods, and simple lines. And you? cheers | |||||
| Top 10 Baby Steps towards a smaller footprint | 1 Relevance | 19 years ago | Olive | General discussion | |
| Top 10 Baby Steps towards a smaller footprint Here are little changes you can do that don't cost much or are free. They work for home owners and apartment dwellers, even renters. 1. Change your light bulbs to CFLs. This is one of the single most effective ways to make an impact- as much as a 40% reduction of your electrical bill. Most of the new bulbs have far more pleasing light and faster warm up times. 2. Remove as many 'ghost' or 'vampire' loads as possible. These are the things that aren't really off when they are off. Anything that has a clock/timer or an indicator light is actually drawing small amounts of power when in the off position. Microwaves, VCRs, and computers are good examples. Another thing to look out for are things that use a transformer or power cube to charge, like cell phones, iPods, cordless power tools, etc. None of these things eats much power individually but the sheer numbers of them in a typical home really add up. Use a switched power strip so you can shut down groups of devices like computer stuff. A 'charging station' for all handheld devices can be used only when you need to charge up. Power tool battery chargers needn't be on 24/7 to keep batteries topped up, so consider using a switched timer to turn the charging station on for a few hours a day. You needn't do this with everything in your home, just tackle the vampires that are the easiest for you to live without...reprogramming a VCR can be really irritating! 3. Cut back on outdoor lighting. You'll have a better chance of seeing the stars in the sky and nobody is all that impressed with your landscaping anyways. Safety lighting can go on a motion sensors. You can get adapter sockets with built-in sensors at many locations. 4. Improve insulation. First around doors and windows, which is helpful in all seasons. Use strip seals, expanding foam in cracks and insulated drapes. If you have old windows consider using the heat-shrink film seals even if it is less than gorgeous to look at. Drafts account for a huge percentage of energy loss in homes. Also improve insulation around pipes and water tanks. That's easy to do and provides a big impact. About a 30% rate of return, annually. ** If you can get an energy audit from your local utility to look for heat losses at your home it's well worth the effort. 5. Use programmable thermostats that accurately reflects how you use your home. Set the programs accordingly and resist the temptation to fiddle with them. The US government recently removed Energy Star ratings from programmable thermostats because people don't use them properly. The trick is to set them correctly and then leave them alone. If you are a bit chilly put on a sweater; if you are a bit warm have a cold glass of water or lighten up your clothing. Also consider setting the thermostats a couple degrees below what you usually do in winter and above in summer. Even a 1 degree change can mean a noticeable savings. Below is a charging station... a power strip in cabinet works fine too! | |||||
| I'm not sure what you are | 1 Relevance | 8 years ago | Spanky | General discussion | |
| I'm not sure what you are accusing myself or my company of being guilty of? Whatever it is, it is based on assumptions.. I disclosed who I am and what my company is, but didn't realize how deep I needed to go with my disclosures... Wow! You went to my web-site and found the same cross braces in my showroom as in William's pictures. You must be a brain surgeon in your day job! I've been clear that I know William quite well. That was the basis of my support for him in this post.. Once again, jury, judge and prosecutor... Where are your true motivations?? This table and chairs is very large. William lives in an apartment and did not have a space large enough to photograph it. He asked if he could use a wall in my showroom and without hesitation I agreed to let him. If you feel that this information offers anything more to your "case" then now you have it. I am guilty of nothing more than giving a character reference for William. What I do know is that "Leif Ericson" is another made up name. You say your real name is Zephyr Renner and when you're not trying to trick or entrap someone, you use your main instagram account @movablemodern When you are trying to trick and entrap someone you currently use the recently made up instagram account @siyotuvieraunaescobacuantas with the made up name Albert Green. ( we are now at two made up names that we know of) You created this account the day that you contacted William under this alias, made a ridiculously high offer and tried to trick him into accepting this offer so you could tell the World what a horrible person he is. You clearly have way too much time on your hands. In my opinion, what you have done and the way you went about it is despicable and again, I personally think quite sick. William entered into conversations with a fake person who made a fake offer on his table and chairs. The fake person said that his "friend who is big into mid century......said the set was worth $120,000....so that is what I am offering... William is young and he had a moral dilemma to deal with. You put him into a position where he had decisions to make. The discussions with "Albert Green" were on-going and William had not completed those conversations and he DID NOT accept this offer. He has never told anyone a price for this set, so you have made assumptions once again about what he wants for it. You then convicted him, without any crime being committed. All of this because someone blocked you on their instagram.. I'm not sure how old Zephyr is, but trying to trick a young man into accepting a life changing amount of money for this set and putting that young man (32) in a place where he had to decide how to deal with that seems like a horrible thing to do. At 21 years old, I can say I might have taken that offer. At 32, I would have taken longer than William was given to convict, to make that decision. It takes a big man to admit they made a mistake. Zephyr, what you did here was wrong, but I don't expect you to own that. You see yourself as a hero to this community and obviously there will be people who see you as that. What is to be determined is how many of those accounts, are also alias's of yours...(Sorry for making assumptions.. 😉 In response to the above accusation (again, I'm not sure what they or I am being accused of): I don't know who @solidmobler is beyond following their instagram account. Never met them, talked to them digitally or otherwise. They said in their post that they have done business with William and I have no reason to doubt that is the basis of their relationship. They do happen to be in the same business.. I've noticed that you aren't disclosing your relationships with your "supporters" and I'm not asking you to.. In my 34 years in this business, I know a lot of people in the design community and I have never witnessed anything quite like this before. Quite the opposite actually. Carry on with your hate, but please know I will not be responding further to your baseless accusations and assumptions... They don't change the fact that you had it out for William and you used dirty tactics to try and entrap him... He is guilty of being human! Way to go! Cheers, Ross | |||||
| Bertoia Bird Chair Real or Fake ? | 1 Relevance | 12 years ago | NULL NULL | General discussion | |
| Hi there. I hope someone can help me, or maybe can send pictures of their chrome Bertoia Bird Chair. Yesterday I had a look at a chromed Bird Chair which will be sold by an older wife. She said, she had it around 1980, but didn´t knew it with 100%. But it sounds correct. She got if from an architect friend. No signature or sticker around it. It is a chrome one with orange/red fabric around it. The fabric looks good with some patina in the colour of the sun. What makes me think, that is maybe an older replica is the quality of the metal/chrome and the holder from the wire shell to the base. I had some large Diamond Chairs with Risal in the past, and know, that they often broke at the holder with the base and front of the shell. So my views went in that direction. The first I saw and noticed with my finger when I removed the fabric was the quality from the endparts of the single wires. When I went with my fingers around the ends, it was sharp-edged. At the front some wires needs to be rewelded-but that is no problem. The ends were chamfer as you can see at the picture( Red arrow). I know it from the Risal ones, that they were more rounder. The next was, when I took my view at the wire between the double rim at the sides. Also shard-edged and you could see the marks of the grinding machine. That looked not really nice. It was under the chrome layer, so no repair after the production. Maybe someone with a chrome one with no Risal can have a look or maybe make a picture. That would be very helpful. Another thing which my Risal ones didn´t had, but is maybe a version of the production time is the holder from the shell and the base itself. I knew if from my ones in the past, that it was a flat profile, which is welded to the shell. Here, it was a U-profile with one extra hole beside one shockmount (Blue arrow) and some extra round wires at both sides of the holder which where welded to the shell (green arrows). I haved searched the net, finding a lot of different pictures, but not really detailed ones from the inside. Some shows the extra hole(blue arrow) and the extra wires (green arrows), but there was nothing to say if it was a real Knoll one. The pictures are showing the parts from the inside, the red/orange fabric just lays in the background. The fabric also didn´t have a sticker somewhere which I know from smaller Bertoia Chairs. It would be very helpful, if some one with a chrome bird can have a look or maybe send some pictures of a) the end of the wires (quality of the cutting) b) the double rim at the side/back and the quality of the grinding c) the holder / profile from shell to base Thanks Andi | |||||
| A longer article with more | 1 Relevance | 11 years ago | Spanky | General discussion | |
| A longer article with more details: On the night of Wednesday the thieves stole two unique chairs that stood in a central room in the inn since opening in 1971. For Falsled Kro has lost two chairs that have a special meaning. When a burglary the night of Wednesday's two stolen hunting chairs designed by Børge Mogensen. The chairs have stood in front of the fireplace in a room, you go through to get into the restaurant. The owner and head chef at Falsled Kro Per Hallundbæk says that the chairs have been part of the inn's decor since opening in 1971. For - It has some very special chairs, for they are from before, the chairs were put into production. It is hand-assembled and the first of the first, there is the kind of chairs, he says, and emphasizes that he will recognize them. - It's hard to describe special features, but I can recognize them by the technique. In this way they are collected, and then the leather strong patina. Per Hallundbæk says that hunting chair can fetch a good price at an auction. - The latest hunting chair sold at auction, cost 175,000 crowns, but the price is one thing. Something else is sentimental, as the chair has for us, he stresses. It's certainly not a sudden indskyldelse who have been thieves to break into the inn. Read Per Hallundbæk posting on Facebook here: Sad, sad day on Falsled Kro, our Børge Mogensen hunting chairs were stolen in the night, they've been going there since it opened in ... Posted by Per Hallundbæk on 9th March 2016 tested alarm A week ago, namely an incident which indicates that the break has been planned. - An attempt was made to throw a rock through a window, but the windows are in two layers, and the inner pane has lifted the stone. At first I thought that it was pranks, but now I am sure you have done it to test whether there was alarm, says Per Hallundbæk, which says that the alarm was triggered by the break, but the thieves have been quick . - They have gone targeting the two chairs. There is not stolen second, so it's definitely commissioned work, he says. Insurance and police monitors The theft is reported to the police, and it will be investigated by local police in Faaborg, and Police Commissioner Jens Friis Christensen says that it has not been possible to ensure trace in connection with the burglary. But it does not mean that the chairs are not found. Per Hallundbæk says that the police has notified the theft to the major auction houses and larger antique stores. Therefore, there is a high probability that the chairs are offered at e.g. Lauritz.com. Here you have a series of procedures that will ensure that there will be put stolen goods on auction. Among other things, requires the auction house that the goods can be traced back to the seller, and the seller must be able to explain how he came into possession of the goods. Lauritz.com also has a so-called watch out list, which contains information from the police about the theft cases similar to that of Falsled Kro. There is also not safe, it can manage to sell through the Blue Avis or guloggratis.dk. At least not without being detected. For several insurance companies and the police keep an eye on whether there will be stolen goods for sale via the channels. Denmark is a tiny country so it would be relatively easy to get the news out to resellers and Danes are a pretty honest group of people in general. Seems like all the thieves would have to do, though, is bury the chairs in a container going to someplace in the world where there are buyers who don't care if some hotel restaurant in Denmark wants them back. Jerks! | |||||
| First, have you measured the | 1 Relevance | 10 years ago | Spanky | General discussion | |
| First, have you measured the cushion covers since you washed and dried them? A lot of upholstery fabric isn't made to be washed, especially not in hot water. Yours are probably all wool, which is ok in cold water with no agitation, but it can shrink in hot water. They might be ok, though. A tape measure will tell you if they still match up to the dimensions of the spring unit. I've redone a few of those spring units. Mine had 1/2" to 1" latex foam covering them---cut a panel to cover each of the six sides and glue it to itself at the seams. You can determine the appropriate thickness simply by measuring the sides of the cushion covers. The foam will be somewhat compressed when you put the covers on---they should fit snugly---but not squished down a LOT. Of course if the fabric has shrunk signficantly from washing, measuring won't help much. (Measure in all directtions, too---fabric usually shrinks more in length than in width. Usually. Not always. Fingers crossed!) When covering the box unit with the foam, cut the side panels first and stick them to the unit using the spray adhesive. (They don't have to be super secure.) Then cut the top and bottom panels to cover the unit PLUS the edges of the foam sides. Now for the cotton wrap on the foam. When you sit on a cushion, you invariably slide forward or back a little bit. This drags the fabric along the foam. A lot of fabric will grip foam and not slide back into place when you get up. Eventually the cushion cover will kind of rotate around the cushion---or worse, it will form unsightly creases that can't be smoothed out. SO, what you do is wrap the foam in batting. They used to use cotton batting, because that's all they had. While it has some great properties and is still the best thing in certain applications, it does break down as a cushion wrap. Nowadays there is bonded polyester upholstering batting (do not ever use quilt batting! it's way too wimpy). Poly batting provides a non-grippy surface for the fabric to slide back and forth on, and because it's bonded it doesn't disintegrate over time. You do have to glue it securely to the entire surface of the foam with heavy duty spray adhesive. 3M Heavy Duty is the best that is easily obtainable (big box hardware/lumber stores usually carry it, as do the big chain craft/fabric stores). Don't go for the cheaper brands; they do not hold up, something I know from experience. Tip: thinner upholstery batting is harder to find, but the 3/4" stuff can be split into two layers pretty easily. I do this for most cushions to avoid that poufy, overstuffed look that is all wrong on MCM furniture. I recommend latex foam over urethane for the back. You could get away with urethane on metal springs if you could use thicker foam, but 1/2" or so will get permanently compressed pretty quickly where it is squished against the metal spring edge, especially. Latex foam is a lot more resilient and holds up much better over time than urethane foam. It also costs more but you don't need a lot. Oh, and the fabric covers---if they haven't shrunk, try an overnight soak in COLD water with Dawn dishwashing detergent. Use the clear variety, not the green or blue. (I spot treated some stains on wool fabric once with the blue variety and ended up with permanent blue stains on the fabric.) Use a very strong concentration. Rinse well in cold water and lay flat to air dry. A fan will speed up the drying but don't use heat. The sun could fade the color so don't dry them outside, either. Let us know how it goes! | |||||
| pt 5 | 1 Relevance | 18 years ago | glassartist | General discussion | |
| pt 5 These two Saarinen buildings successfully carry Sullivan's work with nature into the future. The Ingalls hockey rink may well owe a nod to Henning Koppel's silver covered fish server for Georg Jensen silversmiths from 1954. This masterpiece of modernist organic silversmithing was widely acclaimed at the time, and its lid, with its elliptical domed form with upturned ends, is a close model of Saarinen's rink. The overall balance and unity of building and lid were achieved through the same devices, smooth organic form with detail that lightens the building visually. The Ingalls structure is elliptical in its footprint with its main support being a single massive concrete arch spanning its length. The roof is suspended in a catenary curve by means of swagged cables from this center arch. The floor of the rink is set below grade allowing the sweep of the roof to dominate over short exterior sidewalls. To alleviate the weighty look of the roof's downward slope, the edges are curled upward at the entrances on either end. This lightens the weight-bearing aspect of its form. The detailing of the curled ends in the Ingalls building is not necessitated by the structure of the arch, but by aesthetic considerations. In his TWA terminal Saarinen also used a project-based approach that helped lead him to an organic design solution. Aside from basic considerations of accommodating airplanes, equipment and passengers, his office conducted studies of the movement of people at airports throughout the country. He discovered that human movement occurred in curving paths rather than linear form. It is this organic movement along with his desire to have this building "soar" that led him to its final biomorphic design. Nature appears in zoomorphic form in the TWA terminal. Like canted clamshell halves, some parts rising dramatically, some dipping almost to the ground, the four lobes of the roof form creases where they meet. These creases run downward till they end at substantial forked piers that support the structure. The visual compound naturalistic form of this building is its dominant feature. There are few right angles here, those being practical necessities like staircase risers, and the eye is led upward giving the massive concrete structure a delicate appearance. That Saarinen agreed with Sullivan's assessment that a skyscraper should be "a soaring thing" can be seen in these two low profile buildings. Their functions both involve pursuits that challenge the temporal (worldly) aspects of everyday existence. Skating and flying can seem to negate gravity. In the Ingalls rink, Saarinen effectively balances the building with its curving form and uplifting ends taking on the function of the feminine by a suggestion of escape from gravity. This is the same visual balancing act found in Sullivan's tree analogy employed here in the Ingall's rink. | |||||
| Finished project: Pair of Eames MSX-5-S | 1 Relevance | 4 years ago | Maber_interior | Repair | |
| Hi, Here a project I'm currently working on. A pair of Eames MSX-5-S side chairs (medium height)One Herman Miller '77 and one Vitra '78 version. When I picked them up they were in a ok condition but still with a lot of work. - scratches in fiberglass- dirt all over - different washers - rust on frames- stained and bad fabric (cats) First thing I did was take them apart and cleaned the shells with soap and water. After that I polished the shells by hand with a fine grain polish and foam pad. Next up are the frames and washers... Attachment: WhatsApp-Image-2022-12-05-at-17.15.29.jpeg Attachment: Screenshot-2022-12-05-at-17.46.17.png Attachment: Screenshot-2022-12-05-at-17.46.09.png Attachment: WhatsApp-Image-2022-12-05-at-17.15.30.jpeg Attachment: WhatsApp-Image-2022-12-05-at-17.15.33.jpeg Attachment: Screenshot-2022-12-05-at-17.34.13.png Attachment: Screenshot-2022-12-05-at-17.41.23.png Attachment: Screenshot-2022-12-05-at-17.50.31.png Attachment: Screenshot-2023-03-01-at-11.39.55.jpg Attachment: Screenshot-2023-03-01-at-11.39.555.jpg Attachment: Screenshot-2023-03-01-at-121.339.555.jpg Attachment: Screenshot-2023-03-01-at-11.339.555.jpg Final result: Attachment: Screenshot-20223-03-01-at-121.339.555.jpg Attachment: Screenshot-20223-303-01-at-121.339.555.jpg Attachment: Screenshot-220223-303-01-at-121.339.555.jpg Attachment: Screenshot-2220223-303-01-at-121.339.555.jpg Attachment: Screenshot-22202223-303-01-at-121.339.555.jpg Attachment: Screenshot-222021223-303-01-at-121.339.555.jpg | |||||
| on luxury | 1 Relevance | 19 years ago | HPau | General discussion | |
| Barrys sofa thread reminded me of an interview I heard yesterday with Dana Thomas, the author of this book... Sunday Times 'Fearless...What this book does is redress the balance in favour of the consumer' Synopsis Once upon a time, luxury was only available to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty; luxury wasn't simply a product, it was a lifestyle. It denoted a history of tradition, superior quality and a pampered buying experience. Today's luxury marketplace would be virtually unrecognizable to the old-world elite. Gone are the family-owned businesses that were dedicated to integrity and quality; the industry is now run by massive corporations that focus only on growth, visibility, brand-awareness, advertising and above all, profits. Quality has long since been replaced by quantity, and almost all of the manufacturing has been outsourced to large factories in places like China, where your expensive luxury brand handbag is being put together right next to a one from a mass-market label that costs substantially less. Dana Thomas has dug deep into the dark side of the luxury industry, finding out all the secrets that Prada, Gucci and Burberry don't want you to know. She visits the last bastion of old-world luxury - Hermes, which is still based in France, where old-fashioned highly skilled artisans still make their coveted Kelly and Birkin bags by hand. But most of its competitors in the luxury fashion business have outsourced; they've gone corporate, they've gone large scale. Thomas takes us right into the action, from the scent factories in Grasse that manufacture Christian Dior and Prada perfumes, to the crowded factories in China, full of workers gluing together "Made in Italy" bags by the thousands. Thomas goes from duty-free luxury emporiums in Hawaii, packed with tourists clamoring for discounts on their favorite luxury brands, to Japan, the most luxury brand-conscious society in the world. She takes us behind the scenes in the weeks leading up to the Oscars to witness the wheeling and dealing of luxury brands to dress stars for the red carpet. She meets middle-class Midwesterners who spend their entire paychecks on Louis Vuitton bags and Japanese collectors who enshrine hundreds of coveted Hermes and Gucci items in their tiny Tokyo apartments. Thomas has interviewed corporate heads and factory workers, the old-money, old-luxury clients and the new luxury-obsessed middle-class consumer in order to paint a surprising picture of "New Luxury" today. Although I could never have afforded these goods and can't really now it is sad to see the absolute pinnacle of craftsmanship being eroded, I try and do the right thing most of the time but I wonder how much beauty we would never have had if we'd been a more egalitarian lot. Every amber room must have its Tsar. Just found this on something called "veblen goods" ,pretty intersting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good http://www.amazon.co.uk/Deluxe-How-Luxury-Lost-Lustre/dp/0713998237 | |||||
| RE: DA old timers | 1 Relevance | 6 years ago | Big Television Man | Off topic | |
| Thanks SDR for the warm welcome back and apologies for the delay in responding as I have actually attempted to reply on multiple occasions. Each time after hitting the “submit” button I was rebuffed with a message indicating “the site is experiencing technical difficulties” or other messages of denial. Elizabeth at HQ was very helpful in getting me back on. You must have thought I went back into ghost mode. Anyway, no I wasn’t aware that the site was under new ownership, although obviously I have noticed the new overall look of the site. Your turn of phrase; “Patrick and Alex reluctantly and graciously passed on the reins to others” seems slightly mysterious and a little nefarious with the word “reluctantly” almost as if they were forced to give up the site under threat of law. I’m sure it isn’t any such thing, but the “reluctant” part did catch my eye. Are Patrick & Alex now posting as members? They were a big part of what made this place feel like one big happy, if sometimes mildly dysfunctional, family. They were truly generous and gentle souls and all of my interactions with them were always very friendly and personable making a chat forum more like a good friend’s living room at an open house party. With respect to the “old-timers”, though I like the moniker: “long-timers” a lot better, who wants to be reminded that we’re getting older lol :-). But seriously, are you indicating that most of the folks I’ve named in my list, with the exception of you, tktoo2 and Spanky are the only three remaining from that initial group of May 2010? Of course in the time of the pandemic there is always the reality or possibility that some members may have succumbed to the illness. I did lurk back in a while ago to see if Lloyd was still about as I was curious if he still had his mod furniture restoration business and I think I gleaned that he was divorced from what was perhaps either Mrs Lloyd #2 or #3. I do have connections to RISD, albeit tangentially. After graduating High School I applied and was accepted to RISD though I ultimately went elsewhere I dated someone who was a student there and my memories of my time visiting on more than a few weekends were so fantastic that I actually worked a number of campus locations into my book. I will claim “no comment” as to whether the Providence locales and activities are autobiographical. If your curious it is the character, Jordan Brewster who’s story arc takes part in and around RISD. Born, raised and educated in New England I’ve spent a lot of time on campuses in CT, MA, & RI. Thank you for showing an interest in my first book, if you’re truly curious you can find out a bit more about my efforts at the following location: jkduval.com. It sounds as if you have been busy as well, though I am confused by the mention of awaiting national sweepstakes results. I know you are a lot smarter than to count on lottery winnings or the Irish National Sweepstakes as part of your retirement planning. 🙂 Always creating, always moving forward seems to be the keys to a happy and fulfilling life, so kudos on all of your plans moving forward. I will lift a glass of bourbon this evening to all the long-timers, that are still here, missing in action, and or otherwise unaccounted for, my hope is that they are all safe, healthy and happy. Warmest regards, BTM | |||||
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