I don’t have the itch to repurpose things like I used to. Not many years ago I’d get positively giddy over a neglected piece of furniture at a thrift store. Last weekend, I completed a job out of necessity, not for the thrill of it.
I found this square table on Facebook Marketplace for $20. A sweet price for solid wood. The pot of Fusion paint I bought for it cost more than that.
Amazingly, it had no gouges or deep scratches. Even those hooks came off cleanly. I gave it a good cleaning and got to work.
Two coats later, I had a good-sized night table for our guest bedroom. It had to be a little bigger to accomodate the chunky lamp. I’m happy with it but it’s just not like it used to be.
By the way, the paint is still curing. I put those things on the table for a picture. It’s sitting naked now for another week or so.
Longtime readers might remember my little online shop called Lisa’s Pieces. We sold refinished and repurposed stuff, live edge tables and lamps made by Derek. Some were also available at various shops around London. After a break, he has been accumulating lamp stuff again. He really loved making them out of everything from beer pulls to vintage phones. Later, he got into Steampunk, using lots of metal, gears and gauges to make futuristic yet retro lamps.
Artisan-made lamps, as opposed to mass-produced, are sold as art without a bulb or it’s a violation of the law. If a customer decides to use it as a lamp that’s their choice.
I have used one of his lamps at my bedside for years. The lampshade is a ladle from a commercial kitchen. And there’s this one, made out of a phone given to us by Erin Davis and her husband Rob.
Lisa Pieces sits idle on Facebook but it might get new life if he starts creating again. I used to get a kick out of the new stencils and drawer pulls at Stan Portley’s in Lambeth. I still love popping in to see Bobbie and John when I need something but it’s not for sport anymore.
Maybe it’s because I am interested in other things now. I think I’ll leave the creative noodling to Derek. It just doesn’t spark the joy that it used to, for me. So, in the words of Marie Kondo, I’ll toss it out. I’ve got better things to do.
If Derek ever feels the need to make another meat grinder lamp, you know I need one in my life! Lol
Of course you do! For obvious reasons! (FYI: Chris is THE butcher at the wonderful Covent Garden Market in downtown London, ON. Chris’ Country Cuts!
Inspirational creativity ebbs and flows much like waves upon a shore. Just washing up upon another shore at this time call podcasts and one day they may return.
I guess you’re right. My mojo isn’t gone, it’s been redirected!
What do you do when you run out of inspiration? Move onto the next thing? Does that work for you, or do you ever get re-inspired and go back to the first thing?
Well, I seem to be in a phase of quitting! I started on another table and have decided it’s not worth the trouble. I got exited by a paint-by-numbers project but I hated it so much, I’m going to reuse the canvas for something else. I even quit a book last week! HA! I won’t be going back to THOSE things, that’s for sure! 😉