MADE TO LAST?

“Oh yeah,” said the hairdresser on some property/antique/lifestyle television show, “furniture was made to last in them olden days” (she was no expert). Well, was it?

Err...not especially. The bulk of ‘old’ furniture that has survived tends to be well built, for obvious reasons.

Was all the furniture from the Middle Ages made from large lumps of oak? It wasn’t, it’s just that those made of oak have survived – a big lump of oak is very durable! The Victorians were industrialised – they churned out vast quantities of cheap, badly made furniture. Where is it?

Of course, some badly made furniture does survive – but in our experience, it tends to be rarer that than the well made stuff!

So...in 2070 will a hairdresser be looking at a 1970s MFI bedside cabinet and saying “oh yeah, they really made things to last in the olden days”. I think not!

WOODEN POSTCARDS? REALLY?!

As you know, we’re always on the lookout for something a little bit unique, and we’re chuffed to be selling a new range of wooden postcards in Nest, now!

They’re based on the original postcards from the early 1900s, and screen-printed on to 4mm birch. Best thing – you don’t need an envelope, just stick a normal first/second class stamp on and they’re good to go.

And in line with our ethical policy, they’re made here in the UK and for every ten cards that are sold, the company plants a tree in Africa...so everyone’s a winner!

A VIEW FROM THE WORKSHOP

Well, it had to happen at some point – a member of staff has written a blog. Nicole, comfortably ensconced in our new finishing shop, does the vast majority of the painted and distressed finished now....and a grand job she does too. Clearly this has inspired her to write a blog entitled ‘view from the workshop’.

I might just add quickly (because we don’t intend to censor her in any way and Nicole will hopefully write some more) that any resemblance to real people, events and locations is simply a coincidence. I think that should cover it! Anyway, here’s Nicole:

Who would know, even me (who does), that a hobbling, sad eyed piece of furniture in need of a bath could become once more a proud and beautiful object with memories and history restored...

Here I am, the alchemists apprentice on my knees in the workshop putting the final touches on the ‘homestuff’ that Nest sources and re-fashions like grandmother in the magic forest, making sure that they retain their wooden souls.

A simple coat of paint it isn’t... I take great pleasure in the transformation of the finished pieces, most of which I covet for myself! Matt restrains me from embellishment, but for my own work I have a free reign for the quirky and the decorative impulse...

Who knows what will come limping into the workshop next week, every week the landscape changes and each item of furniture has its own personality. The solitary workshop experience can fire the imagination in peculiar ways...or is it just the fumes?!

A YEAR OF POSTING!

A year of posting! Is this stuff interesting? Should we keep on doing it?

We’ve been trying to remember why we started writing in the first place. I think, apart from it being our  year of ‘new media’, that it was prompted by an argument with a French sales rep working for a company that specialised in pushing your website profile up the search engine list.

I think he promised about 5 million hits a month and an appearance on page one. We would apparently be stupid not to take up his offer (sailing dangerously close to salesperson of the week award) – being French he was especially good at ‘goading’ and ‘huffing’. Anyway, the ‘discussion’ ended with him saying “you don’t even have a blog” and I said “oh yes, we do, I just haven’t...err...uploaded it recently” and him muttering that we would be begging for his services in about 6 months.

Well, I don’t know where NEST appears when you search for it – I always find it at Burwash Manor in the second courtyard, tucked away in the far corner – and, to be honest, that’s how most of our customers find us. We’re a lovely little secret and I suspect most of our customers would like to keep it that way!

(picture is of one of our French lamp....some French things are wonderful!)

SALESPERSON OF THE WEEK

“Hello, I’ve got an 18 foot pine church pew to sell” he said, on the phone.
“Well, it’s a little too big to fit in our shop” I said.
“Ah, I thought of that – you could cut it in half and then you would have 2 pews” he said.
“Has it got 2 end panels?” I said.
“Yes, indeed it has” he said.
“Then I would have one pew and a plank” I said.
Long silence.

“Yes, yes, I suppose you would, err....that’s not much use, is it?” he said.
“No, not really” I said.
“O.K. sorry to bother you – bye now” he said.
We award him Sales Strategy Man of the Week.

SALE

Okay...I think we might have blogged a short while ago about how Nest would imperiously not be having a sale.

Well...erm...we sort of are but only on paintings! It was a very quiet day, the media having said we were going to get 3 metres of snow in an afternoon and that it wouldn’t thaw until June so I had a bit of spare time....and I thought...I know, I must just re-price a few paintings and then I just carried on – it might have been because I had spent a lot of that ‘quiet’ time eating the shops supply of jelly babies. Anyway, when I finally crashed I think I may have reduced the prices of nearly all our paintings so if you’ve had your eye on one, now might be a good time to pop in...but only if you can dig yourself out of all the snow* that should be piled up in front of your door!

*Obviously there is no snow now...I left this in the shop for Kathryn to look at and, of course, it took her a week to walk in, trudging though shoulder high snow drifts to collect it...or something like that...

STUFF THAT HAS TO GO UPSTAIRS

I once owned a very beautiful old factory shoe rack (think of a big set of shelves on wheels).  It needed to go upstairs – it got stuck halfway up and just wouldn’t budge – I had to saw it in half and rejoin it once upstairs – my wife was cross – so was I, but it was the only solution.

At Nest we’re always looking for furniture that comes apart so that it will get through small spaces and up the stairs. But what I especially like is the furniture that was never originally made to come apart but suffered the same fate as my factory shoe rack.

We’ve had a surprisingly large amount over the years! It ranges from the beautifully dismantled to the ‘where’s my f***ing saw – you will f***king fit’! Furniture that comes apart is commonly known as ‘breakfront’ for obvious reasons.

On the same theme, people often mock the small door on the back of our delivery Landrover – words to the effect of ‘what a daft door’. BUT...it’s the same size as a standard front door...so...if it won’t go in the Landrover, it won’t go in a house – a very hand device!

Now, if some of our customers could just remember that just because something will fit in a space upstairs doesn’t mean it will fit on the way to the upstairs then life would be a little easier and we wouldn’t have to get the saw out!