The Vintage Photograph Lamp
Don’t you feel a pang when you look at old photographs? All those happy, smiling people, playing guitars, modelling caftans and handlebar moustaches. Afro hair, vintage cars, bell bottoms, dressing gowns, old telephones, even the floor tiles in these photographs are fascinating. It’s a shame that these photos should rot inside a little box, only to be seen by us at sentimental occasions. Never discussed, never marvelled at.
Which is why, when HT Cafe asked us to do a little DIY project using old photographs, we thought why not bring these old photographs in the light of the living room.
So we made this funky little lamp.
Pots of Love!
Since you’ve done all the growing up you could, give her something else to nurture this Mother’s Day. Something less demanding and less painful. ;)
These adorable little handmade lace pots with a pretty plant within, make perfect and meaningful gifts.
Loofah di dah!
We had a rather dull weekend. To relieve ourselves of the monotony, we tore our loofah into shreds and crafted this frothily pretty brooch.
Yes, it was as violent as that sentence sounded.
“I can live forever”, El Can
Once upon a time, there was a can that wanted to live forever. So we decided we must make its wish come true. So we drank its insides and then resurrected it in an Industrial Ritual called the Can Upcycle.
Lovin’ Spoonful
Please congratulate us. We may have finally gotten over “neon”. But it is not certain yet. So don’t leap for joy or anything.
So as things stand today, we’ve fallen in love with pleasant pastel shades.
Here’s what our new colour obsession has led to.
Technicolour Tea Cups
Make your chai cups the colour of bubblegum and candy, with these simple instructions.
The Pickle Jar Is Now European
The traditional pickle jar is gorgeous in itself. But to suit the look of our rather English kitchen, we gave it a sweet little makeover.
Things You Will Need:
Pickle jars
Industrial Glue
Fabric for bows or ready-made bows if you have them
It’s All Coming Back
You know those doris on blouses that Madhuri Dixit once rocked in that famous song that no one can really remember but everyone can totally visualize?
Well, we went all 90’s on our Mango top, and lookie what happened!
If you like it, read on to learn how to make it.
How To Make A Store
When The Courtyard Cafe informed us of an available space, we were thrilled! A store seemed like the next thing to do. But once the name was cracked, we realized, one month is a formidable deadline and we would have to kill ourselves to make this happen.
With one of us in Bombay and the other in Bangalore, things were just going to get crazier. And with jobs and no leaves the store was turning into a nightmare of sorts.
But our excitement was matched only by the grey hair sprouting on our heads. Which is to say there was a LOT of excitement and a LOT of stress. :-P
We finally decided the only way to set up a store, with no time, and hardly any capital, was to get back to our DIY roots. Make a store that was as seeped in the “humph! I could make that at home,” philosophy as anything could be.
So each and every product was hand crafted and hand made.
And so was the store.
Day 1:
We had four days to set up our store and we’d managed to get a ladder for a shelf and a teal blue suitcase for charm and nostalgia.
Day 2:
Posters were up…but our work was yet to begin!
There were visibility issues. No one could see the store, thanks to the pastry counter which could NOT be shifted!
We’d most certainly need a signage, we realized!
Day 3:
We had to paint and clean up the store from scratch.
Industrial design to the rescue.
The shelves were finally going up.
Day 4:
We arrived to find the store signage was UP! :)
And so were the shelves, where we personally hammered in nails and toned our arm muscles like crazy in one day!
The store was finally shaping up…
The floors were clean, but we still had a huge problem! Our electrician had gone AWOL on us. And at 12 in the night no one was willing to come in. This meant we had NO lights in the store. And the opening was the next day!
Day 5:
The day of the opening, we used the best of our contacts and managed to get a electrician all thanks to JUST DIAL. :)
The lights went up slowly.
The opening was at 11, and at 10:45, here’s what we were doing…
By 11:30, this,
And finally!
The store was ready! Friends, family and complete strangers poured in and nearly bought the whole store out. By the end of the day, we were exhausted and truly, truly happy. It had been a crazy day and we felt like we’d achieved the impossible in four days. But there’s still a TON of work to do. And we look forward to seeing you.
The Whimsy Store is up and about at The Courtyard Cafe in Double Road Bangalore.
Everything in the store is handmade with instructions on how to make them, on our blog. :)
