Amazing!

So in all that time I was supposed to be researching I never came across anything that was very Philly-specific but this weekend I had an explosion of discoveries in Philly design.
I guess first would be the guest post of a Philadelphian on design sponge, which was very timely.
Second was something I saw while flipping through citypaper (yeah, those old methods of communication do still work!) which was an ad for a class on making and using LEDs for yourself or your art at The Hacktory. Unfortunately, I was too late to make it to that class, which is a bummer because I've been really wanting to make some throwies for my friend's birthday, but I'm pretty sure I can figure it out anyway.
In addition to The Hacktory, there is Make:Philly, a group that does fun geeky projects , among so many other amazing things I was pretty embarrassed they hadn't been on my radar sooner. Their next meeting is Sunday March 30 and I am totally going and bringing anyone else I know who wants to come.

Almost flea market time

For the poster project I decided to advertise an event that is not pretend, it's real, and it's just around the corner. The Philadelphia area has a couple flea markets, but the one that is based in center city has a website. They usually advertise in the neighborhoods just before their scheduled markets, so I thought I would come up with my own design.

My Dream Workshop

This is for the assignment to create depth using photoshop to paste an image on a different background. So from my previous posts you may have inferred a few things, 1 that I like projects, 2 that I like to think I will do projects and never actually follow through with them, or 3 that because I am waiting until it is warmer to complete one of the projects outside, all I must need is a great workshop to get all of my projects done. For now we will say that numbers 1 and 3 are correct, in my opinion time is the determining factor for number 2, so we'll leave that alone for now.
So I decided to create my dream workshop where I could get all of my projects done in a timely fashion and make a mess all I wanted without worrying about dust in someone's cookies or getting paint on the floor. (The tools are meant to look like I'm holding them in my hands ready to attack my furniture victim.) I'm sure I am not the only one who would like to have a studio or workshop like this one, with a lot more tools though.

Another project, this one's not so complicated

I bought a table and 4 chairs recently on craigslist for a steal. The table's nice, and the chairs are too, but you can see the woman who owned them before had a VERY strong sense of color. My housemates and I determined green must have been her favorite color (a couple green pillows were thrown into the bargain) so that explains why one chair with arms has a green seat. Her husband, on the other hand, didn't want his seat frilled up with any loud colors so he got the tan chair with the arms. The pink and orange seats therefore must have belonged to the children. We love to show them off to our guests and get some reactions. Most people think they're great and encourage us to keep them the way they are, but this is not going to happen. I have some fabric I can recover the seats with no problem, but I think the wood parts of the chairs may need some sanding and maybe I'll even decide to paint them, in which case I might wait until the weather is nicer to do it outside.

My own diy projects

So I thought that if this was a real diy blog there would be before and after posts of my own projects. Well, here are some before pictures, the first is of my housemate's chair. This chair has been at our house since we moved in, and it used to be just the coat/mail/bag/bike lock holder chair, but we recently re-arranged some things. Now it hangs out in the living room for everyone to see how beat up it is. I would really love to give it a make-over, and I know it wouldn't be hard. I just need to find some time and fabric. The problem is I have the urge to pick crazy prints and it will be hard to decide on something that won't be too extreme.

Martha might be jealous

For the first photoshop assignment I decided it would be pretty awesome if you could take that chandelier I posted and hang it on your christmas tree instead, so this image is what I came up with. They do kind of resemble snowflakes, and I bet Martha Stewart would love to get her hands on some light-up snowflake ornaments like these.

Catching Up

So I haven't been too diligent in my homework, but good thing teachers invent things like presentations to jump start us all to get things done!
The next few posts will be about catching up, fyi.
This one is about this cool diy "chandelier" I found a picture of. I do think it might be a fire hazard, but that danger may be outweighed by how cool it looks.

New Favorites

Continuing my research, I've found a few awesome websites... not exactly about hacks, but about design and do-it-yourself. The first is design sponge, they say they are about store and product reviews as well as feature student and international design. I enjoy this part but what I like best is the before/after posts of people's own projects. This place is full of inspiration.

The second is apartment therapy, also full of inspiration, tours, guides for shopping for home furnishings.

In general both of these sites are much more enjoyable if you have $$$ to spend on furnishings, but they're also great resources for what comfy creative homes should look like.

That's what I'm talking about

Now here's a really cool hacker/home modification project that's more like what I've been looking for. This was a solution to provide more storage space and still allow access to their hot water heater. Here's the blog of the author/architect Simon.

Progress

So I have been researching a lot, not just for this project, but also for inspiration for projects for me to do around my house. I have found a couple of hacker how-to websites, including Ikea Hacker. Some of their projects are really cool, but there also some that are a little weird or strange, like this one that made a Sundae topping cover for an ottoman set.

Background

My interest in the subject of furniture modification comes from growing up in an old house where things broke with some frequency. My parents and aunts and uncles have never been shy about tackling remodeling projects in their homes and I was often recruited to help out.
This experience has combined with my interests in art and sewing and second hand furniture to give me the ability to always see the design potential in old rooms and furniture, but often to bite off more than I can chew.
After witnessing and participating in many projects in my family and in a wood shop class in college, though, I have gained a certain confidence that I can fix most problems or mistakes as I go along and usually produce something that turns out pretty nice in the end.

Hacks

I have decided to change my final project topic to hacks, a new form of do-it-yourself furniture making using out of the ordinary parts and materials. I have an interest in design, organization, and furniture, and I think this growing movement of people who share their projects and step-by-step instructions is really cool and interesting.