Event Alert – Keg and Furniture Bank

I’m sure you must be aware by now that one of my all-time causes is the Furniture Bank.  Since childhood, I’ve participated in charitable events.  Does anyone remember Variety Villages’ Bike – a – thon?  Did it for years.

Well, now my energy goes to the Furniture Bank.  Right here in Toronto, the Furniture Bank is responsible for redirecting thousands of tons of furniture and household goods that would have ended up in landfills, helps thousands of families make their homes comfortable and liveable by providing items we just take for granted – like mattresses, bedding, sofa’s, chairs, utensils, etc.  I’ve volunteered as a client consultant and this will be the second year that I will be participating in the Chair Affair.  More on that later.

You too can help the Furniture Bank from the comfort of your own home by simply voting for it on the Keg’s 40th Anniversary Thanks a Million Grant program.  Just vote for it every day until June 14th, to help them win a a much needed grant of $25,000.

It’s really easy.  Just click here  every day for the next 2 weeks and vote for the Furniture Bank.

Thanks a Million!!!

Cheers!

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Happy Chair Affair Friday!

Exciting things are happening at the Furniture Bank!

As head of the Design Committee for the Chair Affair this year, I’ve been very busy this month reaching out to the design community.  This year, we are looking for 35 designer/artists to participate in this event. And the enthusiasm and response has been overwhelming.  Within a one month period we’ve had over 25 designers sign up!

Here’s a sneak peak of the list:

Jane Hall

Brothers Dressler

Ange-line Tetrault

Karen Kayne

Neil Johnson – Chapman Designs

Nathalie Nahas

Christine Flynn – Love the Design

Julie Jenkinson

And more…..

These amazing designers will be picking an ordinary donated chair from the Furniture Bank warehouse and transforming them into extraordinary pieces of artistic design.

Here are a few of last years designer submissions:

Karen Kayne Design

Sandra Muscat – Sky Factory Studio

Alex Chapman Designs

All designer submissions will need to be in before May 1st to be eligible for selection. And the final group of designers will be invited to the Designer Pre-Event.

If you are a designer or artist, or know of anyone who would like to participate, simply add your comment to this post and I’ll get back to you with details.

Cheers and I wish you a wonderful weekend!

 

 

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Event – The Chair Affair

I might have mentioned one or two times (especially if you’re following my Tweets) that I am donating a chair for the Chair Affair fundraising event for the Furniture Bank.  Well, I’ve finally finished it!  And I’m thrilled to share with you the process of making my Chair Cozy.

My final decision to make the “Cozy”  originally came for the animated Beauty and the Beast. Remember how the furniture was enchanted?  I love that movie. Since the chair has throughout history been the symbol of support for the human body, I decided to take the concept of the seat a little farther. Like Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree, this chair not only supports you but will embrace and protect you as you snuggle in it’s arms.

Here’s how I did it:

First –  the plans

Then I gathered sweaters at Goodwill Buy the Pound and sorted them out according to the colour palette I had planned.

Then I ordered garment tags, picked up the felt and other supplies and had the word panels made by Wendy at The Wool Mill.

Then I sanded and painted the chair a matte black and fastened the felt to the seat with bolts.

Now the real fun!  Since making a pattern would just be silly, I measured and taped off my dining table to make the panels from.

Sew, sew, sew…  After almost breaking my serger and single stitch machine and 6 needles later…

The Chair Affair will be held on October 21st. So mark your calendars!

If you would like to make a bid for this chair or any other, please go to the Chair Affair.

A humungous thank you goes out to Patty Lowry for the wonderful words, Wendy Mortimer at The Wool Mill for the knit panels & supplies and Dale at macFAB for the felt!

Cheers!

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