My new skirt and other things.

So I have finally finished Studio for the first half of the year, that was why I have been horrendously ignoring the blog, I apologise. I was working on a book to encourage office workers to bring plants into their workspace. My tutors acknowledged I was taking a risk by expressing my idea in book format but apparently I did not pull it off. I have learned from it and am ready to move on.

But at least the presentation looked good. Those colourful piles are copies of the book which I printed and bound.

I finally got around to using some of the fabric I picked up at a Karen Walker (I think it was Karen Walker, please correct me if I'm wrong) charity school yard sale a few years back. I made a skirt, the easiest skirt ever. I think the whole thing maybe took me an hour.

Before you start you will need enough thick elastic to go around your waist + 3cm seam allowance. This will be your waist band. For the fabric, choose something that can be doubled over to create the length of the skirt.

Step 1, measure your waist and add 3cm to allow for a 1.5ch seam.

Step 2, cut thick elastic to the waist+3cm length.

Step 3, measure length of elastic when fully stretched (not including the 3cm of seam allowance).

Step 4, measure and cut a length of fabric to the same length as the stretched elastic and add 3cm for seam allowance.

Step 5, sew the raw edges of the elastic together, good sides facing each other, (remember 1.5cm seam allowance). This will form the waist band.

Step 6, sew raw edges of the fabric together, good sides facing each other, (remember 1.5ch seam allowance) and press (iron) the seam flat.

Step 7, fold fabric in half horizontally to make a double layered doughnut shape keeping the seam on the inside.

Step 8, line up the seam of the elastic and the seam of your fabric and pin together.

Step 9, it is now time to sew the fabric into the waist band, stretching the elastic as you go. This will need some strong fingers depending how tough your elastic is.

There we go, Done! I sometimes like to roll the waistband over a couple of times, this gives it a ruched look, as well as shortening it a bit.

Just needed to share my love of Air Plants.

The little fluffy Owl below is one of my new projects. His body is needle felted and now I'm figuring out how to attach his wings and what to do with the eyes and nose. I'll let you know how he turns out.

I'm going to leave you with this image taken of the reflection in my light-box.

Conceptual Statement for Second Half of the Semester.

The above image found at Tipnut.com.

A type of desk that often gets overlooked is the child's desk. Where "work" (getting a task done, including learning)is usually the centre theme for an adults desk, to a child play is as serious and important as the "work" of an adult. While adults usually limit what they do to separate areas( a space for writing/computer work, another for reading, another for creative pursuits), the child often does not have this luxury of space. For the child many activities will take place in the same space/desk. I want to explore this limited space dilemma to see if I can create a space that caters for all of a child's play/work needs.

(Below) I like the way they guys at Point have created this private space. Actually a bedroom but is more like a reading room and if you got rid of the bed it would make a great play hut.

As well as wood I want to look at other materials for construction. The guys at Nothing managed to create an entire two levelled office from cardboard. Shows almost anything is possible.

Benjamin Hubert.

Benjamin Hubert a bright young designer from Britan. He started benjaminhubertstudio, here are some of his designs.

Heavy Desk Light

Labware

Chimney

They would work well in both private and domestic spaces. I love the solidity and the clean lines.

Houses in trees. Blue Forest.

I have a decent sized Oak in our front yard and I'm sure its purpose is to carry my treehouse. Unfortunately I don't know the first thing about building on trees but these guys do. They are Blue Forest from the UK and they specialise in building treehouses. On their website they group the gallery by price ranging from 20,000pounds to over 150,000pounds. That buys you a lot of treehouse. They are primarily built for he child-at-heart rather than just the kids.

Lakeside Paradise

This is one of the more modest treehouses but i like its simplicity and the all-round deck. I could sit up there for hours, read, write, paint and with an extension cable one could even have an endless supply off tea.

Amberley Castle
Imagine if it was your home office...
"I'm off to work honey" *climbs up a tree* Perfect.

But if you are thinking of taking-on your own tree dwelling here is a website to get you pointed in the right direction The Treehouse Guide. I think I will start with a tree swing, maybe a ladder up the trunk and a sitting platform and see where things go from there.

Crate inspiration.

I have been thinking about shelving recently. I usually favour custom built bookshelves but the crate caught my fancy, they are so modular (and if you are lucky free). If you get board just move them about. The wood has texture and a great variation of colour (you can always paint or stain them too). So here are a few to gaze over and gather inspiration.

Why leave home?

I LOVE small spaces so when I stumbled upon these garden offices I knew I would have to share the love. This is an OfficePOD, designed as a movable offices that are leased out to companies who see the benefits of having their employees work from home. Not only does the company save on leasing conventional office space but they are helping the environment too by getting rid of the commute, and who wouldn't rather have that extra hour in bed.



kitHAUS is also in the work-from-home business. This lovely shed even gives you enough room to invite clients and co-workers over for when you need some good old person to person contact.



This delight from Paris would have to be my favourite. I can't say no to multiple levels and this one has four! It is a convert from an existing garden shed although from the inside you wouldn't be able to tell. It was conceived by H²O architectes and contains a sleeping loft, small office/study and a bathroom. Not to mention a mountain of storage.




And if you were thinking "That's nice but I don't have the room!" well this is the ultimate in solutions. A Cardok. Just pop the shed on top. And talk about car security, those thieves won't be finding it any time soon. All this for a mere 40,000 pounds.


www.officepod.co.uk
www.kithaus.com
www.h2oarchitectes.com/ACCUEIL.html
www.cardok.co.uk