Tag Archives: table lamp

Anatomic appointments…

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Roller Derby (and the occasional yoga before that) has been quietly transforming my wee little vessel. Hot and healthy bodies are all the rage. Recently Gadora stumbled across a few images of figure-shaped furniture and home accessories. Long ago, I’d entertained thoughts of constructing a jewelry box in the shape of a torso. Nipples for drawer-pulls. A shiny jeweled-navel. It never happened. Other bonafide designers have created furniture using beautiful bodies as inspiration.

Peter Rolfe’s “Gen III” birch plywood figure doubles as a jewelry chest. He’s channeled my subconscious—really—and with decidedly more genius. His “current work is heavily influenced by nature, using shapes that we all recognize but would not be traditionally thought of as furniture forms.” Look.

Peter Rolfe's "Gen III"

Peter Rolfe's "Gen III" close-up

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Juggling the junk we call life…

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NPR wrote a story about the additional 9+ million people who are currently underemployed. That’d be me. As a contract writer who didn’t pay into unemployment benefits, my “situation” has not been counted into the government’s numbers of those looking for work. I count, dammit. Admittedly “Gadora Wilder“ first came alive as a result of the “restructuring” of my last good gig, and now I find myself grateful. I am juggling. Looking for work. Sometimes I cry. I celebrate little victories. And work to market myself. Still without a full-time gig, opportunities are presenting themselves and Gadora is poised to take full, and appreciated, advantage of them all.

After organizing a very immediate To-Do list last night, Gadora googled “Circus 2010″ and Anthropologie’s latest catalog queued up. I’m juggling schedules, projects, friends, skating and The Squeeze. I’m quite inspired by it all. 2010 I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER. And yes, you will be mine.

Anthropologie's Circus

An admission: instead of the ultra chic Anthro girl—clad in dainty dresses and über chic shoes—Gadora often feels a lil like this frizzy-headed girl masquerading in elf slippers (yes, I do own a felted pair with an up-turned toe).

Circus Girl

Circus Girl by Monjojo

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A fresh spin on CD recycling…

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Gadora managed a thorough clean-up yesterday. With a dreary high in the mid-40s it was far from “Spring-Cleaning,” but there was this box, probably in the office, that held this very important stuff. I was thinking. And I was meant to find it. When said box was eventually uncovered, I also discovered a multitude of discs—some in paper sleeves and some in plastic jackets—most of which had been backed up already and were no longer needed.

What to do with those discs? Put them in the curb-side recycle bins? Throw them away? No. They’re sparkly. According to Earth911, “CDs contain three main components: plastic, metals and ink… But when it comes to recycling, only metal and plastic are processed.” So, Gadora has found alternatives… Spanish designer Belen Hermosa received as much press, originally in 2007, for his CD-chair as the number of CDs he used to create it.

http://www.goodcleantech.com/cd-panda-chair.jpg

Back Support Disc Chair

Thanks to Russell A. Jones III for his photo-journal how-to turn a pile of CDs into a snappy tower lamp. While my current collection pales in comparison, had I kept every CD already tossed, I’d have me one of these.

Russell Jones CD lamp

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Round Top antique roundup…

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This week marks the 42nd annual Round Top Antiques Fair, which sits between Carmine, Texas, a town of 230, and Round Top, population 84. Gadora and a new Lady friend, Annie, made the trek an hour(-ish) East from Austin and looked for the promised Big Red Barn sign. While both towns come alive during these antique weekends, it is the original Round Top fair folks come to see.

Not the place for bargains, three large circus tents were filled with well-edited antiques, collectibles, art work and furnishings. There were booths with scoops of a thousand vintage buttons, booths showcasing impressive carved cane collections, cases of turquoise jewels and rows of bakelite bracelets. Spots so full you had to inch in sideways.

48-drawer cabinet at Smokehouse Square

48-drawer cabinet at Smokehouse Square

Hard-pressed to choose my favorite thing, and I wanted to drag something home, there was a recurring theme throughout the day. Besides the creepy doll parts (and what is it exactly about a swap-meet that brings out the odd body parts?), which I’ll blog later… apothecary cabinets were key. This salmon-hued 48-drawer, one-time card catalog, cabinet is the winner. The owner, Cindy from Smokehouse Square Antiques in Amana, Iowa, gingerly offered, “it’s got room for all your things, ribbons, yarn… it’s great if you’re a hooker!” We both snickered.

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Xray-ted lampshade

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With October lurking around the corner, Gadora spied an opportunity to redress an already fabulous retro Kron® lamp with discarded X-rays: an MRI of one Camille so-and-so and someone else’s pet. Here, lamp before Gadora got a hold of it.

Lamp ~ BEFORE

Lamp ~ BEFORE

Mostly known for TV Lamps popular in the ’50s, this Kron ceramic base is in perfect condition. The gold leaf is intact, and if it’s the original wiring it works too. I’d seen a snappy pendant lamp using the same series of X-rays and asked if I might have a few sheets…

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Mid-Century Modern in Tulsa.

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Recently Gadora traveled to Tulsa to see about her Mom. I like Tulsa (and love my Mama!). T-town is quiet, though Frank Lloyd Wright left an indelible mark with his “Westhope” home. Moments after touch down my Mama beamed, “we’ve got something to show you,” and whisked Gadora off to Mod50s Modern, a busy warehouse shop on East 15th.

50sMod on E. 15th, Tulsa

Mod50s on E. 15th, Tulsa

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KIRK ~ modern design

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Sandra, through GiantNoise!, treated Gadora to a proper reception at KIRK modern design last night. Free-flowing tequila (mmmm!) wet our whistles as we mingled throughout the well-appointed space. With a nicely edited and eclectic mix of vintage modern furnishings and decorative accessories, Jeff Kirk, the store’s proprietor, is Gadorable.

as seen through PIRWI's SAK shelves...

as seen through PIRWI's SAK shelves...

Tonight’s main attraction: PIRWI. Furniture for the home committed to high quality, green manufacturing and good design, and Kirk’s space is the only US store to offer. Emiliano Godoy and Luis Mercado, co-founder and designer  at PIRWI respectively, talked Sandra and I through some of their designs.

PIWRI's pack of perros

PIWRI's pack of perritos

Made from teak, sustainably harvested in Western Mexico, each dog is named after a famous Mexican wrestler. Ven aqui Nacho Libre!!!

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Life in the slow Lane…

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Yesterday was the 3-month anniversary of carting home the Lane Acclaim series side-table. In need of work, ours has been a love-hate relationship ever since. Well, at least until today! Below: the car ride home…

Lane - BEFORE

Lane - BEFORE

What Gadora imagined might be a brilliant and expeditious reno, was actually a laborious lesson in patience and how to best overcome over-simplified project expectations. The original oven-baked lacquer finish had at some point been coated with a shiny lacquer.

Mr. Kemp and Lucky checkin her out.

Mr. Kemp and Lucky sniff it out.

More than 11 hours after beginning, picking up and applying the first container of stripper… we have success!

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Saturday’s score…

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Austin rocks. Besides the fact that it’s the music capital of these here United States, blah blah blah, just when Gadora thought scoring great finds at garage sales was futile… Austin delivers. Case in point…

24" round table with beveled top

24" round table with beveled top

And while the GS matron Maria and I visited amongst her things, her GS partner up-sold the early American mirror. “Ok, I’ll take it!”

Mirror and table - score!

Mirror and table - score!

More loot found on the way to check out a few furniture stores… practically free, Gadora scored a wicker/bamboo magazine rack (which Sandra suggested might suffice as a snazzy album holder!) and this twirly metal light fixture.

The Loot.

The Loot.

Though we weren’t in the market for a box of pigs, we stooped to get our hands on them. “There are 88 of ‘em in that box!!,” says the seller, propped in a garden lounger under the shade. He collected them for years. Was in some sort of secret swine society…

Piggy posse

Piggy posse

Oooooo-kay. But we’re still not paying $100 smackers for your silly sows, Mister. Even IF your cookie jar oinks!

Hog heaven...

Hog heaven...

Thanks Austin, for another great day! You do rock.

The one that got away…

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Gadora worked extra long to give those lamps their lustre. The lengthy transformation was partly due to the rewiring fiasco which took place during last week’s American Idol competition. I’d set up shop on the living room floor and began the tedious task of reassembling the lamps…thread the cord through washer A, “oh that was so the wrong song choice”, through bolt B, through shaft of metal rod, “Simon you are indeed ruthless”, through switch and harp and top bolts, etc. And because my heart was only half into rewiring, I found I’d missed integral components FIVE times and had to disassemble and rewire before each flip of the switch…

Lamp with original shell shade

Lamp with original shell shade

With only ONE of the original Capiz shell shades any good (it even had a nick and a small layered chunk missing), Gadora pieced it back together and turned it on. The scallops gave such pretty shape underneath the light. The shade was in prefect proportion to the base. Gadora is sad to see this one go.