Fun at Fab Lab - new laser-cut basket bases

LASER CUTTING

I've been spending a bit of time recently at a wonderful new venture which has opened up in Cockermouth - BEC Fab Lab, where they have a variety of computer-driven machines such as laser cutters, 3D printers and CNC routers which can be used by the general public. The only cost is the price of materials used plus an hourly rate for use of the machine.

It's a place that fills me with inspiration! I've started with easy things - things that will be of use to our customers.

We're always running out of certain sizes of basket
base, so with the help of the lovely FabLab people I've drawn up computer files and cut out some tray bases 18" x 12", as well as a few smaller, square basket bases - some 6" square and some 4" square. We haven't had square ones before, so I hope they'll be of interest to you. The edges are so much neater than the old ones, sawed and drilled with traditional tools. I really like the results.

The beauty of this is that if you want a basket base of an unusual size, you only have to ask. It may take a little longer, as I'll have to set up the computer file first, but once that's done, it'll be easy for us to make them for you whenever you wish.

Suppose you wanted a long, narrow basket to put on a window ledge to hold plant pots? Easy! Just tell us the size, and we'll sort it. (Up to 12" x 24" - 300 x 600mm) We can just as easily create funny-shaped ones - just tell us your requirements!

FUTURE PLANS
 I am now working on designs for children's chairs that can be rush-seated or cane-seated. The old, traditional chair kits are no longer available - they simply don't make them any more - because apparently, "there's not enough demand". Well, there doesn't have to be a lot of demand for our flat-pack children's chair kits, as they'll be made to order. We'll keep 2 or 3 in stock, and just make more as we need them. So watch this space!

Our customers' work (3)

Mr JB picked up this nice old umbrella stand on eBay for 99p What a bargain! He says: "It was an impulse buy on Ebay and cost the princely sum of 99 pence. The wooden frame looked good, but the cane work was very damaged. I just fancied it as a Winter project, but kept putting it on hold as I couldn’t quite get my head around how to use pre-woven 6 way cane, even though I had previously done 6 way cane work starting from scratch. I found some useful videos on YouTube and followed their advice, with cane supplied by yourselves. I used a water based wood dye to stain the finished cane as near to the colour it was when I originally acquired the stand. It was a lot easier than I’d imagined and I’m delighted with the end result. As an aside, this exercise also caused me to learn how to sharpen chisels. Just need a nice Victorian / Edwardian house to go with it now!"

Mr JB used our 18 inch wide open weave rattan webbing for this project. You can buy it by clicking here

Our customers' work (2)

A nice piece of weaving by our customer Mr I.C.,
using special polycord.

Mr I.C. made this stool 60 years ago when he was a lad of just 11 years old.  Back in those days you could get seagrass in a variety of colours, and he made a nice woven seat with red and cream seagrass, which has lasted very well over the years, but which was recently on its last legs.

He bought some of SitUpon Seats' Special Polycord  in similar colours, and he's done a very fine job of weaving the seat to look almost the same as the original.

He says, "My eldest grandson has volunteered to do the stool again in 60 years. He’ll be 78 then!!"

Special Polycord comes in a variety of colours and thicknesses, and  you can buy your own here: Special polycord.

Our customers' work (1)

RW's stool made from an old copper beech tree

I just had to share this lovely stool made by one of our customers from the remains of an old copper beech tree that had to be felled because of disease. The disease, though, created an interesting pattern in the wood, and RW has skillfully turned the wood to make beautiful legs, and a frame for which he has woven a seat with our seagrass.

We love to see what our customers do with our materials! Would you like to share something you've done?

Kraft paper rush

When I first came across Kraft paper rush, I was a bit suspicious, as I felt it couldn't possibly be a substitute for "the real thing."

Well, certainly it's not made from the leaves or stems of a plant, so it's not truly "rush", but it makes a very good attempt at looking like the genuine article. And it's so easy to use!

An antique chair certainly deserves real, hand-twisted English rush, harvested the same year from the Thames or other southern English rivers. But it's expensive, difficult to get hold of, and even more difficult to learn the correct technique, which involves soaking the rushes overnight, selecting the right rushes as you go, and twisting and pulling them as you work.

Blonde paper rush - new shade

If yours is a straightforward, workaday chair, that needs to withstand children, and real life, you're as well to go for paper rush. It looks great; it's hardwearing, and can be coated with clear varnish to protect it from spills; and it's easy to use.

SitUpon Seats stock a variety of colours, which you can see on our main website here: paper rush.

From time to time we get new colours. We've recently taken delivery of a lovely pale shade, which I'm calling BLONDE. It will work really well in cool, modern interiors.

If you haven't used rush before, our instruction books show you everything you need to know, with loads of photos and diagrams to help you along the way. You can find these on our website here: Instruction manuals - look for the one called The SitUpon Rush Pattern Book.

The Great Cumberland Bag Folk

When we first set up in business here in Cumbria I was making bags under the name of The Great Cumberland Bag Folk. (I really wanted to call it The Cumberland Bag Lady but was dissuaded from using that title.)

These are great bags. They're mostly patchwork, and made from upcycled fabrics, often pieces left over from upholstery or curtain making, or pages from redundant sample books.

Each one is unique, though there's a consistency about the patterns. Most have two shoulder straps, so can be considered as feminine backpacks, if you like.

Anyway, I don't really make many bags these days, apart from one-off projects if I need a container for a particular item. (I made a Kindle case recently, for instance.) There was a boxful of bags hidden away in our storeroom, which has found its way to the top of the pile, and with Christmas on its way, it seemed like a good time to try to find good homes for them.

 The one in the photo above is the last one left from a series made from heavyweight linen fabric, fully lined. This was probably our most popular style.

So I'm in the midst of adding these bags to our website. So far, I've made a page for them, but haven't added all the links from the other pages yet, so now is your chance to grab one before anyone else knows they're there.

Did I mention they make great Christmas presents? Each one is unique!

You can find them by clicking on this link: http://www.marshallmcgurk.com/SitUponShop/shop_bags.htm

Oh, and I forgot to mention - if you live near us, you can save on postage. Just let me know which one you'd like, and I'll put it aside until we see each other.

Cotton cord stools

I used to make a lot of these stools, using the beautifully coloured cotton seating cord that we used to stock, but is no longer made. I still feel sad when I look in the box where I used to store it - odd bits and pieces of gorgeous coloured cord are still there, reminding me of what we once could get. There's probably enough for me to do 2 or 3 more stools, though they might be rather strange colour combinations. There's rather a lot of yellow, I think.

Anyway, two ready-made stools, which I made some time back, have just resurfaced. I really like them. They're both woven in patterns I created myself. I almost want to keep them, but that would be silly.

The one on the left has its frame finished in a cool blue/silver stain, which complements the blue and brown seat rather nicely.

The one on the right has a dark stained and varnished frame.

Please note that colours look different on everyone's computer screen. These photos are just to give you an idea of the colours. They probably look a little different in real life.

If I were making a new one today, the cost would be about £75, but I'm prepared to let these two go to good homes for only £59.99 each (plus postage).

I haven't put them up on the website yet, but if you want to grab one before they go public, just make a comment below and I'll get in touch.