to dispose or not to dispose...

That's what many people actualy never think about when it comes to things which look rather used and worn off. And respectless dispose things which many times have hidden beauty casted away in it's years of use.

Maybe you like to see this, because lounching, relaxing and thinking of design and reuse is after all running trough all our vains..

Like this old barber chair i found in a cellar from grandpa Simon after he passed away and we where called to help cleaning out his house. Grandpa Simon was my best friends father and also a little bit my dad and grandpa at the same time.

Nobody wanted this old worn off thing and it stood ready for disposal when i arived at the house. Luckely i was the only one seeing the history, hidden beauty and quality, so took it home with me. It stood at my place for a while, just looking at it and sitting in it and everybody was thinking why the hell is he still dragging this shabby 50 year old thing around the house?

Well what do you know? Finaly it came to me with lounching in this thing and thinking of my times with granpa Simon and what he would like me to do with this. Grandpa Simon was an old sailor and old pioneer serving the marine and we both are Jules Verne fan and liked Captain Nemo very much. So Captain Nemo it became..

It needed a buffing, get rid of some parts, a new jacket and some new shoes..

Took those ugly caps and rubbers off to reveal the hidden true beauty of it's old fashion hydrolic jack i knew it had to be under there.

Started buffing the metal and routing, chiseling and filing it's new wooden oak shoes.





Gave the old black cast iron parts a Captain Nemo like bronze color.. As chrome, bronze and wood combined are things you actualy would find on ships and boats..



Ordered me a wonderfull champange colored Argentinian cow hide to contrast grandpa Simons pioneer spirit.


Brought the seats and the hide to the best upholsterer i could find, because working hide is not a job for everybody to pull of realy nice, i do not have the machinery for that.

And finaly it turned out like this, a nice lounge chair to sit in front of and enjoy my aquascape for hours. And find other inspirations.





That is if i'm allowed to sit in it of course..


There for the question to dispose or not? I say give it a time a better look and a thought first. Some old crap is more beautifull then you might think. Ok it's a matter of taste and still this project did cost me a few hours of elbow grease and +/- €450 material and labor cost for the upholsterer. But it is one of a kind, nowhere to find and next to that not made anymore in this kind of quality. For me it was well worth the work and money.

Some people just throw it away.

Thanks for watching, hope you enjoyed it and maybe makes you think twice before you throw something out as garbage..

Cheers

Marcel..

 

Thanks Ev.. My too i'm mister vintage and if it isn't vintage it needs to look like it.

In the last picture there is a small very early Philips Xray photo lightbox hanging at the wall. I was thinking to turn it in a nano terrarium. But i'm still reluctant to strip it and drill holes in it and distroy it's originalty.

 

thanks guys..

And keith the hardest part was to get the 5 little wooden shoes as identical as possible with just simple tools. Only messed up the first one.. The small routing table came in handy to get it fitting nicely on the metal and not crack them. Actualy the dremel and a 4mm router is somewhat small for that job, it was a lot of routing 1 milimeters at a time, only to get the inside flanks straight. Chisel and file where the most used tools on this. It was an educational project using wood on metal like this for the first time. Without the router i never could pulled it off 5 times. At first i wanted to use Olive wood but couldn't find any, glad i choose oak, any softer wood would have bien a dissaster.

 

Keith,

I gave that a thought, but drilling it out by hand without a drilling stand was a bit to tricky for me. The chisel gave me more control of where i was going. Didn't mind the hours of chiseling, was a good pratice.

I still got an 150 year old oak farmers wardrobe in the house.. I often look at it and image how it must have been like to make it without the advanced tools of today. With all it's kinda barrock style ornaments and blacksmith locksets. It's realy crazy and priceless to make these days or even almost impossible finding people who still can without advanced machinery. looking at that piece makes me realize it aint so special at all hamering out those little wooden shoes. But we all have to start somewhere..

 

Thanks Rodahl.. Actualy, since i made it i sit less in it.. But visitors always do, it's in the living room now and im a kitchen dweller.. Rarely leave the kitchen..

 

Indeed my tanks are in the kitchen at the other end of the room. I still use a bucket to drain and fill, fortunately only 2 meters to go with it..
My next tank is planned in the bathroom . Unheated tank for the gold fish.. And actualy thinking of a buildin syphon with valve to drain it and a mini float valve to fill it again. Just because everything is at hand in there, why not..