Easy money
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custard
Established Member
It's a sure sign that the "industrial" and "shabby chic" design crazes are close to their sell-by dates, and will soon be as snigger worthy as swirly carpets.
Shabby Chic began with superbly crafted Edwardian artefacts that were starting to look a bit tired and, well, shabby; but still showed their inherent quality and hinted at a genteel rural lifestyle. The industrial look seemed to gather pace around warehouse conversions in the coolest parts of the coolest cities. But now these two interior design movements have been so picked over and cheapened, to the point where a squat MDF side table with a quick coat of Farrow & Ball is "Shabby Chic", and a self conscious oil drum with some contrived scaff boards is "Industrial", you just know the style leaders will soon abandon the whole corrupted mess and move on to something completely fresh.
Shabby Chic began with superbly crafted Edwardian artefacts that were starting to look a bit tired and, well, shabby; but still showed their inherent quality and hinted at a genteel rural lifestyle. The industrial look seemed to gather pace around warehouse conversions in the coolest parts of the coolest cities. But now these two interior design movements have been so picked over and cheapened, to the point where a squat MDF side table with a quick coat of Farrow & Ball is "Shabby Chic", and a self conscious oil drum with some contrived scaff boards is "Industrial", you just know the style leaders will soon abandon the whole corrupted mess and move on to something completely fresh.
shed9
establiSHED member
'Collection Only'.
Does that mean he gets your £349 cash and gets to laugh at you when you pick it up?
Genius.
Does that mean he gets your £349 cash and gets to laugh at you when you pick it up?
Genius.
AJB Temple
Finely figured
In a yard near the station in Paddock Wood (Kent) are some seats. Someone has cut two rectangular slots in a couple of oil drums and poked a length of scaffold board in each drum. Then filled the drums with concrete. Cheap and looks really cr*p. Just like this outstanding table.
petermillard
Established Member
If the seller can get the asking price, then good luck to them. And, if it's such easy money, then there's nothing to stop you doing it too, of course...
Pete
Pete
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
Just think - if it were Tracy Emin's bedside table it could be worth £100s of thousands.
custard
Established Member
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Formula-1-Ret ... SwbdpWYev-
Another gem from the land of wishful thinking
Another gem from the land of wishful thinking
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
I had to laugh the other morning listening to Graham Norton (whom I dislIke, but I couldn't be bothered to change channels.) The female (I don't know who she was) asked if he'd bought anything nice for Xmas and he replied that he'd bought a nice pierced metal lamp. She hesitated for a moment and asked if the shop was called "I Saw You Coming". 
(If I knew how to put in the link, I would. )
(If I knew how to put in the link, I would.
)Rhossydd
Established Member
He's sold over £6k worth of stock so far.....custard":11s4j1e3 said:
I can see the market for this stuff.
If they could add rare provenance to the parts (eg tyres from Louis Hamilton's Mercedes) then prices could really be astronomic.
heimlaga
Established Member
Sometimes a dreamer meets a fool....... and makes plenty of easy money. A few fools a year is enough to keep the dreamer in business.
I wish someone would make this type of furniture trendy again......http://www2.sls.fi/doc.php?docid=221&ga ... y=5........ but for some weird reason a lot of people appreciate China Shabby Chicken a lot more than they appreciate the real old thing.
I wish someone would make this type of furniture trendy again......http://www2.sls.fi/doc.php?docid=221&ga ... y=5........ but for some weird reason a lot of people appreciate China Shabby Chicken a lot more than they appreciate the real old thing.
davin
Established Member
As a wise old cabinet maker told me once, "I'll tell you a secret boy, making furniture is easy, selling it is the hard part".
How true that is.
It's a painful learning experience trudging around shops trying to get them to sell your own furniture, when they are not interested in your lovely stuff they just want to sell some scaffold board tables nailed together.
My take, good luck to them, if I could I would.
How true that is.
It's a painful learning experience trudging around shops trying to get them to sell your own furniture, when they are not interested in your lovely stuff they just want to sell some scaffold board tables nailed together.
My take, good luck to them, if I could I would.
blackrodd
Established Member
custard":jtsl30uh said:
Totally agree but looking at "other items" I do like the engine block coffee table, I certainly don't like the price and
It wouldn't suit my Country cottage, (or 'Er indoors either)!
I was under the impression that Shabby Chic was refinished French painted country furniture, showing some of the previous finish, which I quite like.
Then people started to "upcycle" the horrible, plentiful and cheap brown furniture here in Blighty by just Toshing various thick coloured paint's all over it, quick rub over with a wet newspaper, and this is our version of Shabby Chic.
And it would appear people buy the stuff, which I can't stand, neither the sample's above.
I believe its taking the pi$$ more than simplicity in its design, It also has the Emperor's new clothes feel about it too!
Rodders
custard
Established Member
blackrodd":242lca8k said:
Nowadays it's whatever you want it to be...which is why the term has become devalued to worthlessness.
But to get back to it's original meaning, imagine a beautiful Edwardian rectory, where all the original contents have received a few generations of hard use and are now looking a bit tired, but they still speak to all the pleasure they've given and the superb craftsmanship that went into them in the first place. In other words, beneath the scuffed surfaces and fraying fabric there's abundant evidence of craft, of authenticity, and of grace; plus it's an ambience that allows you to relax without worrying too much if your dog knocks something over! That was the original inspiration for Shabby Chic, and a very compelling and desirable look it was too.
But then a whole army of colour supplement wannabes decided they'd like the look too, but without the expense, skill, and decades of time that went into producing the originals. So now you get carp like this,
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Handpainted-A ... Sw14xWJRzF
Which might be long on "shabby" but is pretty short on "chic"!
Rhossydd
Established Member
But there's an even better example from that seller http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Handpainted-A ... 1679754601custard":61x5v8t4 said:
At least the wash stand had pretensions of age. The telephone seat looks to be just MDF tat with terrible paint, not even the illusion of ever having been old or 'chic'.
user22161
Established Member
This guy seems to make a good living out of what most would call junk, even has a TV series. Can't believe the prices some people are willing to pay - http://www.drewpritchard.co.uk/collections/new-stock?
Rhossydd
Established Member
and many people would describe as antique.GrahamF":mblmwwwr said:
Anyone old enough to remember Barry Bucknell ? The TV DIY 'expert' who went round removing Victorian/Edwardian features that were 'old fashioned junk'. Covering panelled doors with hardboard to make them modern, ripping out cast iron fireplaces, destroying moulded ceilings and painting with Artex etc ?
Phil Pascoe
Established Member
Yes. He must have done my neighbour's house - ripped all the bolection mouldings off the doors, ripped out the coving, picture rails and dados and removed two out of three of the stair spindles and cut them into little bits for noggins for the hardboard. My neighbour then made things worse by having all the doors dipped in caustic. Joy.
In the 80's I knew a guy who job was making antiques, replica's or old designs and then ageing them including battering them with a bit of old chain and adding a few woodworm holes etc.... he supplied a shop in Knaresborough and Ilkley for years and his prize moment was when Antique's Road show were in York and one of the "experts" said his antique hall stand was approx 150yrs old and from one of the top woodcarvers at the time (he actually put some initials on a panel which was infact his postcode lol) they valued it at £800-£1200 on a good day! LOL they weren't very impressed when he said "Great I'm off back to the workshop to knock a few more up"
He never actually sold his work as antique nor did he label the replicas he just left it upto the customers to decide.
I find it very annoying when I can spend 2 months working on an Intarisa piece and sell for £150 and these guys just nail a tabletop onto an old oil barrel and sell for ££££££££ My ambition is to create something that will still be around in 100 years time not something discarded after the fashion has had its day or painted with emulsion paint and then roughed up and waxed! WTF is all that about? I wouldn't have it in my garage let alone have it in a £800.000 London penthouse.
He never actually sold his work as antique nor did he label the replicas he just left it upto the customers to decide.
I find it very annoying when I can spend 2 months working on an Intarisa piece and sell for £150 and these guys just nail a tabletop onto an old oil barrel and sell for ££££££££ My ambition is to create something that will still be around in 100 years time not something discarded after the fashion has had its day or painted with emulsion paint and then roughed up and waxed! WTF is all that about? I wouldn't have it in my garage let alone have it in a £800.000 London penthouse.
