Dining room make over.

A few months ago I inherited this beautiful dining table and chairs from my great friend Rebecca. It needed a little TLC. The wood laminate was delaminating and the chair cushions needed an update. But I fell in love with it's beautiful curved legs and vintage lines.

 Kat was having fun playing in the fabric as I reupholster the chair seat in this gorgeous blue canvas.

The base of the table got a good coat of primer and then sprayed with this perfect color that is somewhere between gray and brown.

What do you think? I know I am looking forward to dinner parties!

A concrete knee wall is born.

There are few things more exciting than the process of construction. Yes, the design process is, for me, the source of most of my joy. But, truth be told, when a project leaps from the page to the physical world, it's like a  dream become reality. I was never one for dwelling on the, "It only matters when it's built.". But I do love me a good concrete pour! And today I got just that!
Trillium Brewing Company, a project I have been working on for over a year is being built. Yes, brick and mortar, or in today's case, concrete and rebar, BUILT!
It is just a little knee wall, drawn to accurate detail on paper. And today it was made real, and out of concrete! Exhilarating!!

NOTE: Concrete is the substance that most people refer to as cement.
TRICK OF THE TRADE: Cement is a component in concrete, along with sand and water...if you want to be in-the-know about construction, always refer to it as concrete...and never, ever as cement!
Horay concrete!!

Our studio is coming along..

We are having an OPEN STUDIO in February, and preparations are underway! We are making ourselves at home at the new space, which now has our name stamped on it! Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming event. And...we are working on a new lounge, which our expresso machine is anxious to move in to!! Check out our Make.Good studio site for our new product updated daily.

Little by little

Everyday progress is being made on the new space (and graphics...new banner!).

 

Happy New Year...We're Moving!!!!

It's a band new year and for MAKE.GOOD studio, a new beginning. I am so excited to announce that we will be moving into a wonderful new space!!!!
It's every designer's dream to have a studio (a.k.a. room) all her own, and this year my dream is coming true. Not only am I taking the whole operation to a 1000 sq ft warehouse loft, I also am welcoming an intern, Charles.
Great things are in our future, and I have every one of you to thank for your support.
So, here it is, what do you think!!!

That was the "before".

...and this is progress. I can't wait for the final reveal.

The Airstream Lounge

Oh, who doesn't love an Airstream? The classic lines, the stainless steel wrapped capsule, the history, it's all so nostalgic of that time in american history when road trips and the great outdoors were part of the american dream.
So when I was asked to design the interior of an Airstream for a duo of talented guys I jumped at the opportunity. We met, we discussed, we dreamt about what this iconic object could become. I can't reveal all the details just yet, but the design is well on it's way and I am beyond excited to see this happen!
Until then, here is a little taste of some of the materials we will be using

New seat cushions for VeeVee!

My favorite place to eat in JP is VeeVee. Literally, down the street from my apartment, it's a lovely neighborhood spot always filled with friends and amazing food.
I recently was asked by the lovely owners to make new seat cushions for the tables that occupy the bay windows of the restaurant. Today, I wheels the striped cushions down the street and set them in place!
I love how the striped fabric transforms the space. What do you think?

CRAFTOPIA!

This Sunday, April 10th is CRAFTOPIA! It promises to be a great event.
Of course, having a show means making many new things! Here's a peak at what you'll see in the MAKE.GOOD shop at CRAFTOPIA! Did I mention it's in Pawtucket Rhode Island?
You gotta go!

Sometimes...I make it just for me.

Having a business where I create and make things that I intuit others will love, I rarely find the time to make something for myself, or my home. More often than not, I'm "stealing" something off the MAKE.GOOD studio shelf and calling it mine.

Last night seemed like a good time to change that.

It started with a bench. This treasure lives in my front hall (I use the word "hall" loosely as it conjures up images of a grand entry in an old, perfectly restored Victorian, which is not the current situation). I love this bench, and my entry dearly. This lovely piece comes from a long past. It mostly reminds me of the years it lived in any one of my beautiful friend Alyson's apartments. One of which we shared. Before that it belonged to someone in her family. But this now bench, once a coffee table, is a treasured piece that I have loved since the day I inherited it. It's one of those things I plan to have for a very long time.

I had made a cushion for it, which helped it's transformation from holder of coffee, to supporter of humans. And last night I made two little pillows designed just for it, solidifying it's identity as bench.

The pillows are made from old burlap bags used to transport coffee! They have these beautiful markings on them, and a wonderful faint aroma of raw coffee beans that's a constant reminder of their origin and how far they traveled to get here, to live on my little bench.

Coffee bags are closed using a simple stitch made of burlap thread. I modernized the details and used a bright orange cotton thread. Don't you just love the little punch of color!

What treasured pieces do you love in your home? I'd love to hear their story...

Two bathroom renovations, go!

I'm in the middle of design for two projects, both involve a bathroom renovation, addition or both. What do you think of these combinations so far? Don't you just love the linen hand towels in the lower image? I'm ordering some for myself right this moment, and they come in black too!

 PAINT: Benjamin Moore Pebbel Beach
TOWELS: Ralph Lauren
FIXTURES: Kohler
MIRROR: Restoration Hardware
TILE: Ann Sacks

Predictably unpredictable

I rarely set out to make something with a plan in place. More likely, I just start. It can be a fabric, an object, a movie I just saw, or someone I passed on the street, inspiration is unpredictable but, luckily, it is everywhere. It's not always timely, but it is abundant.
But inspiration is just the beginning. For me, inspiration is a blip...and the rest? Well, that's the fun part and it always leads to something completely unexpected. Well, without a plan, what would one expect but a completely unpredictable outcome?
I think this is why I keep doing what I do. The only certainty is that I never really know what the outcome will be. I generally embraced this part of myself, and if you've spent any time with me you know that this makes it's way into most aspects of my life.
But, I have a confession to make. There are those times I wish desperately to be one of those people that has it "all figured out". There is a plan and it gets executed to completion and he/she won't move onto the next thing until it is. You know, the girl who's life and creative process seems so orderly and under control. She just seems to move from one thing to the next seamlessly and with grace.
Ya, that's not me. On most days I'm moving from sewing machine to drawing board and back again tripping over my cat every step of the way.
But enough about that. The real reason for this post is to show you the results of my latest unplanned project. It all started when a very fashionable friend of my donated a few pairs of well worn jeans to the MAKE.GOOD studio collection of random fabrics.
The results...well, here they are! Jeans made into bags.
What do you think? Would you sport this over-the-shoulder bag around town?
What shall I call this new line of bags? I'd love your thoughts on this...cuz I gotta go work on the next completely random and unpredictable thing...whatever that is.

A year in a life...

This post marks one year that I started writing this blog. It doesn't feel like that much time has gone by! When I think, however, about all that has happened this year I realize that my life is completely different.
I was working, then, a 9 to 5 job at an architecture firm and teaching Design Studio part time.

I remember the feeling of waking up every morning and dragging myself to the T station, stopping for an obligatory cup of Starbucks and then sitting for hours at my desk staring at my computer (or the Life Insurance sign out my window) wondering why I was there working on projects I didn't care much about. On some days I got to leave the confines of my corporate workstation and spend 4 hours talking, listening, and learning from a group of 19 year olds who had not yet been jaded by twelve years of waiting for something to be different someday, somehow.
I would arrive home drained from the contrasts of the day with little energy left to do anything but cook food and wait for it to start all over again the following day.
I sit at my laptop this morning smiling. Out my window the blue sky reminds me that all is well. I'm just back from a 2 hour walk with Penny my pretty little Vizsla, the cup of coffee in my Mt. Washington NH mug is my own and the day awaits for my willingness to fill it with what is meaningful to me. These days everything feels meaningful because it is my own.
The best part of all this change is the certainty that it's only the beginning.

Thank you all who read this blog and have been on this journey with me. It means everything to feel supported and know that what I am doing is not just an amazing personal journey, but also somehow significant to the world.
I look forward to another year, and then another after that!