Dropclothdiaries

“Books are awfully decorative, don’t you think?” – Gloria Upson in “Auntie Mame”

Well, Gloria wasn’t the brightest bulb in the chandelier but she did have a point. Books are meant to be read but why can’t they be great looking as well? I will admit to having something of a book fetish. I love walls full of them, the smell of old leather and paper. With that as my set up, let me introduce you to the beautifully recovered books done by  National Quarterly. I had the great good fortune of meeting David Sprague of National Quarterly while at the Atlanta Gift Market. David makes some amazing custom covered books!

As I remember, these are old books that they cover in all sorts of wonderful papers and fabrics – I especially like the comic book covered ones. Purely decorative, though they may be, I can see these put to good use in some of those empty shelves in your home.

So, relocate those ratty paperbacks and the trashed out hardcover spy novels to your bedside table or, better yet, recycle them at a used book store and consider some of these beauties as an upgrade for  your bookshelves – at least the ones in your public rooms.

You can see more of David’s product and contact him through his Etsy shop.

www.etsy.com/shop/NationalQuarterly?ref=shop_name_search_sugg 

Speaking of books, I have a few that I need to get through so I’ll say goodbye for now.

Laters!

As always, I am, your humble Drop Cloth Dude

I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like being the last to know about something, so I was really excited to meet the people at Tronk, www.tronkdesign.com. Tronk is the brainchild of two University of Cincinnati grads (Go Bearcats!) who took their love of design, woodworking and marketing and came up with a great line of wooden furniture and accessories! The Atlanta show was their first market show and they did very well from what I hear!

The Vaughan Dock

Vaughan Dock

What iPad, Kindle, other tablet or smart phone wouldn’t want to get up close and personal with this beauty? It’ is just soooo cool! I’m totally grooving on the 1950′s retro vibe! They’ve made it to dock most, if not all, current models so it’s kind of a “no brainer must have”! As with all their products, its available in three different wood varieties.

Their Franklin Shelf 

Franklin Shelf

is also a must have for some of us! It uses up all those wasted corner spaces and when used in a grouping, creates a great look!  You can use it on either inside or outside corners and the guys hinted that they were thinking of adding matching flat units for greater design and storage flexibility. I can’t wait to use some of these somewhere!

While not a large line, at the moment, I see a great future for these guys! The look is good! The quality is good! And, they’ve priced the pieces right! The Trifecta! We have a winner! So, if you’re a designer or have a furniture shop, etc., contact the guys and help them become a great success! If you’re a consumer, contact them to see who handles the line in your neck of the woods.

Laters!

As always, I am, your humble Drop Cloth Dude

Leather, leather everywhere!

I found this great line of woven leather products at last week’s Atlanta Merchandise Mart’s January show. The line,

Lance Wovens, www.lancewovens.com, consists of beautifully woven leathers and they looked, felt and smelled wonderful! Yes, smelled wonderful! You know that smell of really nice leather!

Pillows anyone?

The pillows initially caught my eye.  The detailing and craftsmanship is excellent and the colors and patterns are great as well! Of course, anytime you put purples, oranges and greens together, I’m buying! The line is pretty extensive so there is bound to be something to catch your eye and make you happy!

Tote that Bag!

Hey, I wish I had tote bags this nice! Their “Ribbons Tote” is made of calfskin with an un-dyed natural canvas lining and looks like you could carry  a day’s worth of “necessities” for the pool, beach, office? The bags aren’t over-sized so you won’t feel like a Sherpa or stevedore (albeit a very fashionable one).                           They also have iPad covers and other smaller accessories as well. Perfect as a gift or keep it for yourself!

Having seen these beauties, I’m thinking of upgrading my pillows and perhaps my sample bags as well. I mean seriously, wouldn’t you much rather have a few of these pillows rather than a leather sofa or chair? And as far as the totes go, you know you’ll make all those other PTA, carpooling, soccer Moms green with envy when you hop out of your minivan carrying of one of these! Yes, it may sound a wee bit superficial and shallow but as a smart man once said: “living well is the best revenge.” (George Herbert)

Thanks for the read! I hope you have a wonderful day!

As always, I am, your humble Drop Cloth Dude

Happy 2013 y’all! Greetings from the soggy South!

This past weekend I had the great good fortune to spend two days roaming the halls of the Atlanta Merchandise Mart complex – 3 buildings covering 3 city blocks, two of which are 17 stories tall!

Building 2

I think I clocked in around 15 miles walked, according to my pedometer. But hey, a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do!

Pleasntly Surprised!

I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as attendance or exhibitors, due to the whole economic debacle occurring right now but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised! Lots of new exhibitors and new showrooms and tons of buyers! That’s always a good sign! Of course, I saw lots of old firends, a few television celebrities (think HGTV) and met some great new people!

All in all, well worth two aching feet and falling asleep on the sofa at 7:30 on a Friday evening!

I’ll be posting photos and info on some of the things I discovered and liked throughout the week.

Hope you’ll check in and see what I found!

As always, I am, your humble Drop Cloth Dude

OK, most of my clients know that on certain projects I can move at lightening speed and on others, well lets just say the term “glacial” comes to mind. For this kitchen redo I had one day! 5 hours later the client’s have a “new” kitchen!

Before:

I’ve seen worse!

Dated, dinged up and dull!

After:

Looking good enough to cook in!

Wonder what’s for supper?

Close up

Not bad for 5 hours work!

Catch y’all later!

As always, I am… Drop Cloth Dude

Greetings and salutations! For those of you who keep up with such things, Lent is upon us. And no, that doesn’t mean its time for a new lint brush and to clean out the dryer trap. I’m speaking of the 40 days of self-denial traditionally observed before Easter. As a Methodist, we’re not notoriously in to major Lenten observations but I like to get into the swing of things by giving up my Coffee and Chocolate- and this year I’m giving up Facebook as well.

Besides the giving up of things, for the past few years I’ve also added or taken up some things. This year I’m challenging myself to 40 days of creativity – where I will make myself do some sort of creative project each day. Needless to say, they will probably be small, quick and not stellar quality but the idea is to get me into a creative mindset rather than  sitting around thinking about coffee, chocolate and Facebook. That said, I’ll either post my projects daily or at the end of each week. Check back to see what, if anything I manage to create!

As always, I am, Drop Cloth Dude

OK, do you ever have those days where if something doesn’t change you feel like you’re going to have a melt down? No? Oh come on! I can’t be the only one!Really?! C’est la vie! Well, rather than painting a room or buying something I don’t need, I’ve decided on a new look for this blog. I think the diary (get it?) theme is kind of fun. What do you think? I’m still figuring out all the buttons and tabs but hope to have it 100% in the next couple days.

That’s it for now. Tomorrow is my birthday so I have to come up with something wonderful to fill my day! Maybe I’ll work on some blog posts… or not!

As always, I am Drop Cloth Dude

OK, I promised myself to start posting weekly in 2012 so I’m counting this as a post for this week! Actually, I’m just posting this so I will be reminded that I promised to do it and guilt myself into completing things. Guilt is a great motivator – just ask any mother!

Hoping we all have a super-duper fabulous 2012!

As always, I am… Drop Cloth Dude

Well, I realize that its been a while since I posted something, so while my new hair color kicks in, I’ll do some posting!

Bad Brick:

I know that guys will think this a blasphemy but brick is not sacred! The client had this very unattractive grey/brown brick fireplace and to tell the truth, the color had to go! Since I was doing a strie’ finish on the back of the bookcases, we decided to use the same color for a wash over the brick. The change was amazing! Gone is the dead grey, replaced by a warmer, more inviting color. Combined with the new carpet, lighting and furniture (grey sofas are gone), the whole room is now inviting and the clients are thrilled!

Worth It?

Time: about 2 hours. Paint used: less than 1 quart. Results: Wonderful!

Well, the hair color is ready to be finished so until next time,

I am… Drop Cloth Dude

Have you ever found something you didn’t know you “just had to have”? Well, I ran into something like that today as I was out looking for fabric for a project.

Groovy baby!

So I’m in the Edelman Leather showroom, just to see what new goodies they have, and I come across the most wonderfully colored leathers and cow hide rugs! OMGoodness! You almost need sunglasses to look at some of the colors! Needless to say, I leave the with several samples – even though I have no current projects in which to use some of them!

"Eat your heart out girls."

Eat your heart out Barbie!

As the original “material girl”, Barbie had it all: cars, clothes, dream houses and a loser boyfriend (sorry Ken). Her world was cotton candy perfection and the only thing missing would have been these wonderful cow hide rugs!(see below) The hides are “winter” hides and have longer, shaggier hair which takes the dyes in a unique way, giving them a shimmery look! I think most little girls, and lots of big girls, would love running around on these babies! These are the times I wish I had daughters! Of course, with my luck, they would be total Tomboys or Death Rocker Chicks! Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Pretty in pink... or purple.

Hell bent for leather…

Most of us, if we’re thinking of leather for interiors, think of browns, black, white, tan: you know, the standard colors. Don’t stop there! Most of the leather providers have wonderful colors, textures and patterns to choose from, so don’t limit yourself to the standard and expected! I’m personally waiting to purchase one of the apple green hide rugs for my living room! Awesomeness!

Coming soon to my living room!

While God may not have made candy colored cows, that doesn’t mean we can’t have them. So, exercise your inner “Barbie girl” and enjoy a little/lot of unexpected color in your life!

Until next time, I am… Drop Cloth Dude