Health, Peace, Happiness in 2012

2011 Photo Album. 2012 - BRING IT!

Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in. Leonard Cohen

Thank you Maaike Bernstrom Photography for this fun photo shoot.

A Few More Custom Pieces to Wind Up the Year

The ottoman and rocker are upholstered in our New Madeira Vine / citron colorway - hemp herringbone.

These 2 pieces are for a lovely, patient, California customer who I was in contact with today. The red Anemone Chairs turned out adorable, love the double welting and button/tufting. The Ottoman was a bit more challenging. Caitlin backed our Paradise/azure herringbone but there was still a bit of 'puckering' as she described it. We're speaking with our upholsterer here in Bristol to work that out for all future projects. And, as I explained to Caitlin, in early 2012 we'll be adding a 14oz hemp/org cotton canvas to our selection of organic fabrics - perfect for upholstery. We'll add pics as soon as we have them.

 

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot…I know I'm Getting Ahead of Myself...

As we wind down in 2011 I'd like to share some snapshots of previous projects meant to inspire all of you who might be considering a transformative project in 2012! Many of these pieces were upholstered by our friends at 'Chairloom' in Ardmore, PA. who have continued to support Oliveira Textiles by purchasing our sustainable fabrics ever since our humble beginnings back in 2007. Thanks to Molly Worth.

Client - Manchester By The Sea, MA…'Anemone' in seaweed green, with matching pillows - hemp/org cotton twill. This was a great example of the right furniture in the right setting. Lovely seaside New England town.

Bristol clients - 'Wavelength' fabric in verde and ultramarine, 100% hemp.

Chairloom client - 'Shellgame' in moss green -100% hemp

Chairloom client - 'Shellgame' pattern in crimson - 100% hemp

Can't for the life of me remember - but really love the curves of this sweet chair - a little semi gloss red or orange would have made it sing…'Wavelength' pattern in redtide colorway.

Still looking for this one…

Bristol customers - Summer 2011 Deck Chair redo's - Anemone in redcoral and mystic blue, teak chairs painted to match. The fabric used in these chairs was treated with a 'soy-based' polymer for water and stain resistance, found at Green Depot!

Chairloom client, 2 Bamboo chairs done up in high style with our Anemone in redcoral, hemp/org cotton blend.

Chairloom client, victorian setee sold at The Brooklyn Flea…Anemone in redcoral - our all-time best seller.

My office chair - Wavelength in verde, painted green to match…1/2 yard of fabric packs a lot of punch! We have many more finished furnishings to share - stay tuned.

Dawn

Ice Cube on Charles & Ray Eames..gotta love this

Just really appreciate this honest description of 2 legendary designers by a modern music legend. ...on being 'Green' before it was a trend.

And…I've been intrigued by Los Angeles for the same reasons I've always loved New York City - the unbeatable mix of grit and glamour as endless inspiration.

Ice Cube Celebrates The Eames for Pacific Standard Time the birth of the LA art scene. For more info on Ice Cube & The Eames visithttp://pacificstandardtime.org.

DIY - Revamping & Reinvigorating That Old Chair!

So I thought I would share this great up-cycled chair project that my partner and I worked on last year. I share this to inspire all of you out there with an old piece of furniture that's been sitting around just waiting to be loved again and crying out for some fabulous new fabric. And, in accordance with our mission of being a truly sustainable company - revamping this vintage bamboo chair in the greenest way possible was our ultimate goal. The final upholstered fabric is called Madeira Vine (one of my favorite designs) in marigold orange - 100% hemp.

Here we go!First sanding, getting rid of ugly old brown dingy paint color. Lots of elbow grease.

Arms sanded down to a nice clean, smooth surface - more elbow grease.

Final sanded chair - ready for a first coat of primer. It's so rewarding when you get to this point in your project. Seeing your chosen chair down to it's bare bones like this really forces you to appreciate the structure and design.

So, while my partner was doing all that sanding I was measuring and cutting our Madeira Vine fabric for the new cushions, which by the way, I did not sew. Our local lovely Ms. Quigley helped with that part of this project. The fabric is 100% hemp, twill construction, 12 oz; a perfect weight and strength. We wanted a high end looking finished piece so we decided on a 4" thick cushion, gusseted and corded with our 100% organic cotton twill tape. For the interior we went with a 100% latex foam (crazy expensive) It gives a firm, comfortable seat and it's a natural, biodegradable, renewable resource. (Latex is inherently hypo-allergenic, anti-microbial and dust-mite resistant. Because it breathes to remove body moisture, it keeps you warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. latex is not a plastic foam, like polyurethane. It is a denser product made of rubber to last a lifetime)

wrapped in 100% organic wool and notice the inner cover made from our lightweight hemp linen - 6oz. So that's 2 completely removable covers that can easily be cleaned.

Finished cushions, looking lovely with org cotton cording, zipper closure in back.

Ready for painting

First coat of primer - 'YOLO' zero voc white - interior semi- gloss.http://www.yolocolorhouse.com/#2

Painted Chair with YOLO no voc tinted white base, semi-gloss cream to match our fabric. (YOLO paint meets the Green Seal ™ environmental standard for volatile organic compounds (VOC's) and other ingredients. All ingredients are selected as zero-voc.) BTW we will be trying out Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint for our next DIY in an attempt to cut down on prep-time, should be fun. http://www.anniesloan.com/

CHAIR PROUD!

Thank you for visiting. Please e-mail us with any questions or comments you might have. If you are interested in any of our fabrics, just call. A little goes a long way with 54-58" printed widths. And we sell 1/2 yard lengths for smaller projects!

Happy Hunting

Dawn

Oh, and I'm linking up over at Miss Mustard Seed

http://missmustardseed.com/

Furniture Feature Friday – Favorites & a Link Party

OUTSIDE MAGAZINE -THE TOUCHY-FEELY (BUT TOTALLY SCIENTIFIC!) METHODS OF WALLACE J. NICHOLS

Wallace J. Nichols Photographer: Jeff Lipsky

How does a visionary marine biologist convince brain researchers to help him revolutionize ocean conservation? With lots of hugs, a million blue marbles, and one very unorthodox conference.

Since childhood, I have felt the pleasure and exhilaration of spending time on our local Rhode Island beaches. As an adult, I discovered the beauty of Long Island's east end beaches -- and always my visits to the shore were about breathing in that fantastic salty sandy ocean air. It made me feel good. Relaxed and energized all at once. The ocean inspires my work today. In fact I know that I could not possibly live far from a coastline. Ever. Just could not. So, when I read today in Outside Magazine about how this visionary scientist - Wallace J. Nichols - has so eloquently captured that feeling in his research, well, I just had to share his genius. Click here. http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/nature/The-Touchy-Feely-But-Totally-Scientific-Methods-Of-Wallace-J-Nichols.html