Musings

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June 24, 2011

Spare tires: new uses for old rubber…

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Gadora recently returned from a road trip to Marfa, Texas where the BFF secured us a few nights at Liz Lambert’s el Cosmico for the Railroad Revival Tour – the last vestige of a month-long BIG Four Oh! celebration. A West Texas party where we’d be happy campers a few footsteps away from Old Crow Medicine Show, Mumford and Sons and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. I was especially excited to return to Marfa, with a different group of gals who exercised entirely different perspectives, and to be staying on a Liz Lambert property where I had hoped to finally meet her. I swear everything she touches is gold, and I couldn’t wait to see how she dolled up the desert.

el Cosmico lobby

From U.S. 67, the el Cosmico could look like any other desert dwelling. Not flashy. A blend of the dusty desert’s palette. But Liz’s simplistic treatment of its exterior and interior elements, coupled with an unparalleled editing of furnishings and wares, kept my eyes busy. The lobby of the cinder block structure did not disappoint—it would be a hub for the next few days. The weekend’s festivities attracted more than 1,800 people—practically the same amount of people who call it home—and a line formed outside the lobby’s ladies room. I was in it. And it was after the nervous excitement of my first-ever conversation with Liz Lambert had subsided that I could soak in the rest of my surroundings. Immediately taken by the blue tile floor, I soon found myself mesmerized by the repurposed tire ottoman.

Reflective tire ottoman.

To be honest, I was kind of taken with its reflective top. Hmm, I’m kinda messy in the desert. It was an ingenious idea. It’s no doubt sturdy (though I didn’t put any weight on it), and I suspect it enjoyed an assiduous former life.

RIP - coffee table and stools

Searching for Liz’s coffee table, Gadora instead found the above set, once listed on Viva Terra. With more than 240 million tires thrown out in the United States each year, its high-time we do something with them! While in 2003 the EPA (seriously? are these the latest stats?) reported, in 2003, markets for scrap tires consumed 80.4% of their reported 290 million annually generated scrap tires. Let’s see: 20% of 290,000,000 still leaves 58 million unwanted tires. That’s still staggering, no? Unlimited Resources Corporation tells a more staggering story (January 2011): The United States just completed its ten year population census report and our country has almost 310 million people living in it presently. On average, the number of scrap tires generated in this country annually is about equal to the population. (more…)

 

October 26, 2010

An Ode to Old Shoes…

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It’s fair to say Gadora has been living as a vagabond, albeit a fairly glamorous one, for the last few years. The BFF graciously took me in a little under 2 years ago and her generosity since has been monumental. We have such an exceptional time together, she and I in our adventures, laughing our way through this thing called life. As a result of being slightly disheveled, and in the hopes of securing my next best nest, I’m as slow to unpack here as I have been in the last few spots I’ve hung my temporary hat (a finely crafted fedora is actually a hair more accurate). In the process, it turns out, I can live without quite a lot.

The ONE thing I’ve been sure to cart around are my… shoes. Upon moving in, I took over what was then the office. She let me rearrange furniture and call the space my own. We’ve been peas in a cozy pod until this week’s acquisition of fuchsia Hello Kitty skimmers (below) prompted a reorganization of my entire collection of shoes: reds with same, dressy metallics on the left, black pumps grouped together, flops and sneakers to the right just out of frame and boots (not pictured) paired toe-to-toe and heel-to-heel along the top shelf of my closet. I. Seriously. Love. Shoes.

Shoe closet organizer...

I’ve still not dragged home all of my shoes from my parents’ place, but have managed to fashion my closet after the one I so loved in Park Slope. My former decade in the shoe-biz still provides some of my most heartfelt connections and memories—ones for which I am eternally grateful—and allowed me to amass a rather covetable shoe collection. While the last two years hampered Gadora from adding crisp and fancy footwear to my current library, I’ve had a marvelous time getting back to my boots, errr… roots while hunting for vintage shoes.

Hello Kitty skimmers by Margaret J.

Over the weekend the BFF and I jaunted off to Goodwill for a few Halloween costume ideas, where I returned practically empty-handed… armed with nothing more than a new pair of (old) shoes. Hello Kitty! Ok, they’re not really Hello Kitty, but they boast a kitten, sporting a gold collar, playing with a ball. How cool are they? And besides, I miss mine immensely (see yesterday’s post).

Trying on my skimmers...

They are utterly ridiculous—and that makes them entirely fabulous.

(more…)

 

October 25, 2010

When My Time Comes… revisited.

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Gadora’s been making a good go of a great opportunity here in Austin — full-time work is hard, y’all — and sadly it has carved a little into some of my creative mojo at home. While I’m grateful to be exercising certain talents by designing the office’s downstairs lounge, and am proud of our big win at Lifeworks’ recent Home Improvement Challenge (story forthcoming), I find I miss writing. And certainly miss sweating in the shop every day.

I still manage the time to remember cantankerous Harley and the sweetest Peepers. 6 months later, I wrestle with knowing I did the right thing for them. Recently I snugged up on a spunky kitten, and then a perfectly healthy and quite OLD cat, and can’t help but feel We. Got. Robbed. They were supposed to live forever. My cousin is having a hard time with her 16-year-old Schnauzer. Bridgette is her only baby. And they’re dealing with aggressive melanoma. They still have time. My Cuz is relishing it, texted tonight to say Bridgette was enjoying the freedom of her new du. While it wouldn’t make her feel better, I admitted “it” doesn’t get easier once they’re gone. I wholeheartedly understand her. The loss of a pet is quite possibly the most difficult thing a (human) childless parent will face. You are NEVER prepared.

One never knows when the need to deal with a loss that big will come creeping up on you. In fact, I ruined a perfectly lovely concert at Austin’s recent ACL when Dawe’s belted out “When My Time Comes.”  The crowd sang. I did too. But I also cried. Harley hated that song. Well, maybe not the song so much as mine and the BFF’s rendition (we’re not about to try out for American Idol anytime soon). He’d follow us around the house and lunge for the jugular, or ankles, whatevs. Dawes was on the docket, and I knew they’d play it for us. I had to hear it. As if I needed a good excuse to cry in public, I relished this one.

(more…)

 

October 2, 2010

Wood Stools

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Just as rotten wood cannot be used for pillars, so base people cannot become masters. ~ Chinese Proverb

Speaking of wood… the pieces for the 2nd Floor lounge are still coming together. We. Are. Almost. There. Gave a brief presentation yesterday letting the company know about the rooms’ various cool bits. MP3 player and built in speakers. Indeed. Metal car parts-turned-coffee table and bar console. Check. Interactive chalkboard wall. Yep. über durable hand-woven hemp rug. Dude.

Gadora envisioned funky wooden blocks that might serve as extra seating or side tables, and a bar along the back wall for laptops and drinks (keep reading!!). I found a stellar wood resource through a contractor, who then connected me with Lee Edwards of Old Texas Floors. Walking through Lee’s massive warehouse of stacked wood harkened a bit of nostalgia. The smells and infinite hues of lumber reminded me of my Granddaddy Henderson who, among other things, was a wood turner. I’d saunter down to his self-built metal barn and proclaim, “whacha doin?” He’d stop long enough to entertain me for a bit, then would get back to his wood-turned bowls and twisty candelabras. On my way out I’d stir up some sawdust, climb on his old Ford tractor, then skip my way back to Grandma in the house. I was too young to truly appreciate how special those days were.
Lee was excellent to work with, and skillfully interpreted my original ideas better than even I imagined. AND the finished pieces are a PERFECT complement to Joel Hester’s coffee table. I can hardly stand it!!!
Support beams turned stools…

The stools came from 100-year-old beams rescued from a warehouse in New Orleans. They were stacked so neatly and begged for a little attention. He’d normally use them for flooring, but a quick negotiation promised them for the 2nd Floor lounge project.

 

Stools ~ BEFORE

 

I knew immediately they’d turn into something spectacular.

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August 17, 2010

It’s high time for a coffee break…

Posted by gadorawilders under Musings | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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There’s no rest for the weary. Though the suitably roomy L-shaped sofa has arrived, Gadora is still searching for extra seating for the 2nd Floor Lounge. I’m hoping it will be the place-to-be after all, so we’ll want enough space for the work peeps to enjoy it, thoroughly. In search of both a “floating” wall shelf and carved wooden stumps, last week I visited the folks at Delta Millworks, who recommended I meet Lee of Old Texas Floors (there’s a visual story here! but you’ll have to wait for it). Lee’s worked up a pricey quote for 2 stumps-to-turn-stools and to be sure…I surfed the interwebs for comparable items.

Turns out Lee’s wood stools—which were once beams anchoring an old warehouse—will be aaaah-mazing and at more than 100 years old, they are priced just right. While nurturing a cup o’ joe this morning, Gadora found a few items worth percolating over: home furnishings made from reclaimed coffee sacks.

VivaTerra's recycled seat

This hand-built chair inspired by Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Barcelona, is an upholstered version of a Mexican butaca. They’re made of machiche, a tropical Guatemalan hardwood, with well-padded cushions upholstered in reclaimed jute coffee sacks. I. Want. Two.

Close-up.

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