Greyhound Guinea Pig

I have to begin by saying thank you to KP for being my “Greyhound Shipping Guinea Pig.”  I shipped her beautiful ikat bench to Austin last week.  What a learning process this has been!  The adventure began with my husband and I attempting to fit the bench into our small car.  Always having SUV’s in the past, the thought of “Will something fit in my car” never has crossed my mind.  I really should start thinking this way, especially after trying 31 different ways we got it in!  Who cares if the windows had to be down.  The bench was wrapped in trash bags and packing tape, as I didn’t want the paint to be scratched; but it still looked pretty ghetto.  Next I was posed with two questions: How do you fit a 56 in long bench into a box; and, Where do you find said box?  Answer:  Buy 3 boxes and a role of duct tape at Staples, of course!  Thankfully we took it up to the White Plains Greyhound Station, knowing that there would be a parking spot (gotta love NYC).  We assembled the box, I guess you can call it a box, and after a bumpy ride from NY to Texas it arrived and put a smile on KP’s face when she walked into the Austin Greyhound station.  Hopefully the expression on her face was a smile and not an “Oh geez, what did I get myself into!”  Thankfully it made in one piece and KP was able to hack through the duct tape and trash bags to find her new bench -- and the two lived happily ever after!  


My newest project is an ottoman for an Upper West Sider neighbor.  I picked up the piece in Connecticut last week and found some fabulous fabric while I was home in Dallas.  I love this fabric so much I bought it in two different colors.  My Mom described it best as tiny little velvet pebbles.  

The main purpose of my trip home on Sunday was not for fabric, but to see my beloved Texas Rangers in the World Series.  What an experience,even though they lost!  And of course I couldn’t resist  fabric shopping all day on Monday with my mom, after taking my husband to the airport at 5:45am so he could get back to work and pay for my fabric shopping adventures.  Needless to say, we found some amazing things that I can’t wait to use!     

 Go Cowboys, just kidding, long live the Rangers!

kendall

royal blue and silver-gray authentic ikat fabric.  silver-gray braided trim.  painted glossy black. 

A girlfriend of mine in Austin had been wanting a chaise to put in her house.  And so the hunt began for a piece we could work with and eventually ship to Austin.  I found this and wasn't quite sure if it would work for what she wanted, but she immediately jumped on board and saw the potential I did.  I forgot to take a before pic (as usual), but the guy I bought it from said it was from Crate and Barrel.  Originally an bench made to go at the end of a bed, wood frame with a rattan seat and arms.  

I had been wanting to use ikat fabric on a piece and luckily KP loved it also!  When I ordered the fabric I didn't pay attention to where it was being shipped from until I received a package from Uzbekistan!  It truly is authentic!  I ordered another pattern that I haven't used yet.  The only problem with my "authentic" ikat is that it's only about 17 in wide.  Not a whole lot I can do with that...I'll find another bench I guess.  

Attempting this "small business" idea of mine, I need to be able to ship.  I had heard from multiple people that Greyhound Shipping is really convenient and cheap.  KP agreed to be my Greyhound Guinea Pig...I needed to use somebody I already knew instead of putting a random client through the learning process.  It's quite a humorous story so I've saved a whole entry for it  : ) 

cheers!