Furniture Reporter

With an active young child I am always trying to find ways of organising all the toys. I customised the lid of a storage chest from Argos with some vinyl so the lid also doubles as a play area. The vinyl from John Lewis has roads on it so my son can play with his cars, and the chest is just the right height for a 2-3 year old.

The flat-packed kit I used was: Natural Untreated Pine Storage Box (cat no. 8751911)

Construction Method

1. construct storage box according to instructions.
2. varnish using childsafe water-based varnish.
3. when thoroughly dry, cut piece of “road/map” vinyl to fit lid of box allowing for an extra 1.5 inches all around (approximately 84 cm x 44 cm).
4. once you have established that the vinyl is straight and in line with the dimensions of the box begin tacking around the edge using 13 mm tacks (e.g. buy from Wilkinsons).
5. as you tack fold the vinyl under to create a neat edge.
6. the order of tacking is do three tacks in centre back, then match three tacks in centre front stretching the vinyl, then do three tacks in centre of each side again stretching and making sure it is all even. Finally carry on tacking evenly all around edging out from centre to the corners. At the corners you may need to cut a piece off to prevent unsightly bulges.

Materials recycled weekly in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township include newspapers and magazines, junk mail, office paper, phone books, cereal boxes, cans, glass and plastic. Can leather be far behind?

A New Jersey company, Eastern Textiles, on Tuesday (Oct. 28, 2008) said it began selling a line of recycled leather goods to interior design firms, furniture manufacturers and other producers with leather needs.

Eastern’s Organics brand is made from post-industrial leather material - like trimmings from a shoe maker - and reportedly is stronger than traditional leather. It comes in 10 different colors: black, white, two shades of red, and six light-to-dark browns. Organics is available only through authorized distributors and not to the general public … yet. Depending on the firm’s success, though, you could be sitting on a sofa covered with its reused rawhide sometime in the future.

Professional Minnesota Cleaners!

Fine furniture made of specialty fabrics, such as Haitian and chintz cotton, embroidery, wool, tapestry and silk (among many others), require special chemicals and cleaning procedures that should only be performed by professionally trained cleaners. R&C Carpet Cleaning Specialists employs some of Minnesota’s top upholstery fabric cleaning experts. With 30 years of combined cleaning experience, they can provide the care needed to safely and precisely remove dust, body oils, hair and soil from fine fabrics.

Contact your R&C Cleaning Specialists today! 612-789-9600 or visit our webiste

Professional Minnesota Cleaners!

Fine furniture made of specialty fabrics, such as Haitian and chintz cotton, embroidery, wool, tapestry and silk (among many others), require special chemicals and cleaning procedures that should only be performed by professionally trained cleaners. R&C Carpet Cleaning Specialists employs some of Minnesota’s top upholstery fabric cleaning experts. With 30 years of combined cleaning experience, they can provide the care needed to safely and precisely remove dust, body oils, hair and soil from fine fabrics.

Contact your R&C Cleaning Specialists today! 612-789-9600 or visit our webiste

A few weeks ago I met Critz Campbell at a cocktail party in New Orleans. When I asked him what he does for a living, he said he was a sculpture professor at Mississippi State University. When pressed, he said he designs furniture. When pressed further, he showed me this splendid picture on his iPhone. It’s called “The Eudora Chair,” named after Eudora Welty, modeled after 1930’s armchairs, made out of resin-encased fiberglass, illuminated from within, and completely functional as a chair. You can get it covered in your choice of fabric (yes, that’s any fabric you want), but my mother has a couple of old club chairs that were once covered in this chintz, so this is my favorite. Will update when I figure out exactly where to order.

PS–it’s in the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum