Fashion Forward Friday Furniture Conservation by Leroy Graves

Colonial Williamsburg furniture conservator Leroy Graves (pictured with correspondent Martha Teichner) has revolutionized how museums preserve and protect upholstered antiques. CBS NEWS

One of the most cherished decorative pieces of furniture I have is a Queen Anne sofa my mother purchased when I was in high school (over 43 years ago). While that particular piece is not the same style as my other modern furniture, it is by far an amazing piece of jewelry and a true conversational piece that stands out with a certain seduction and appeal.

I saw an inspiring story about an extraordinary furniture conservator, Leroy Graves, who has kept Colonial Williamsburg’s renowned collection of 18th-century furniture splendidly and correctly attired. Graves can sniff out a fake in a second and know if it has been altered to pass as an antique.

Leroy Graves sews upholstery for an easy chair at Colonial Williamsburg on Friday, May 4, 2018. (Kristen Zeis)

With only a grammar school education from rural Virginia, Graves worked his way from the maintenance crew to being considered the leading upholstery conservator in North America and Europe. He can make reproductions that are used throughout the historic area.

For chairs with no upholstery, Graves fabricates a copper cap. It is covered with firm foam, linen, then a show cover, and decorated with brass nails to form the new seat. For furniture that has some or all of its old upholstery, he builds flexible frames that are upholstered and slipped over the furniture. (Virginia Pilot, May 20, 2018)

He operates like a detective when it comes to repairing and refitting antiques. His work is featured in an ongoing exhibition called “Upholstery CSI.” Click here to watch the recent story that appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, “Upholstery CSI”: Preserving antique furniture at Colonial Williamsburg. Here’s to the fashion of furniture conservation!

A Little Help from My Friends

Image source: TLNT.com

 

Reach down to help pull someone up.

Reach up so someone can help you move up.

When I think about the 1970’s hit by Joe Cocker “With a little help from my friends” that was recorded by The Beetles in 1967, I reflect on the messages of how much we embraced togetherness and camaraderie through music, in spite of the turmoil going on around the world during those tumultuous times.

People come together to help others in their time of need. We don’t however, hear as often about those heartwarming, good stories where people show their humanity through genuine compassion as much as we should. So, instead of pushing someone down or stepping on them on your way up, think about how you would feel when, not if, but when you are on your way down. It could be quite an eyeopener! 

Are We Becoming a Well Without Water?

Some days we are consumed with and overwhelmed by how much our society is in chaos and our world harvests fields of evil. We speak swelling words of emptiness, with hearts trained in covetous practices. We are slaves of corruption, exploiting others with deceptive words and false teachings. We see sky-filled smoke from flame-throwing infernos and our wells are deep with self-fulfilling opinions but lack the living water needed to douse those flames of fire and promote peace.

We think we are experts who know it all and possess all of the scholastic answers. Yet, in our philosophical profundities, we lack an understanding that descends the wisdom of spiritual and divine interpretations. Where are our water-filled wells to quench our souls?

Timeless Tuesday Haiku

Image source: jornalri.com.br

 

Fill an hourglass

to count those small grains of sand

who was that obsessed?

 

Time goes on. It never stops even when we do. From watches to clocks to hourglasses to sundials, we tell what time it is based on these apparatuses. There is no stopwatch to suspend our time of life or our lifetime. We must simply use it productively and wisely.

Image source: eBay

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Devoid of Human Emotion?

Have you ever felt like you are watching the brains and hearts of humanity be extinguished by some alien force? Sometimes the crazy and toxic things we hear and watch nowadays feels like we are living in a real-life episode of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” It can literally drive you bananas!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this 1978 science fiction horror film, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” which was a remake of the 1956 version based on the novel, The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney, here’s a brief description of the plot. A San Francisco health inspector and his colleague discover that humans are being replaced by alien duplicates. Each duplicate is a perfect copy of the person replaced but is only ‘devoid of human emotion.’ People are oblivious as to what is happening right before their very eyes until its too late to do anything.

Are we witnessing people becoming devoid of human emotion? Pretty scary to think about isn’t it? Clearly, as we look at the climate of our society in this day and time, one has to question if human logic, compassion, decency, vision, understanding, and focus has taken flight to some foreign planet. Have we replaced our sense of humanity by functioning with systemic android behavior? Could we be in the midst of a real-life “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” becoming disproportionately complacent of human senses and emotion with diabolical intent? What can we do to stop the madness? Or can we?

NYFW 2020 Spring/Summer Color Trends on Fashion Forward Friday

Images: Sergey Filimonov / Stocksy / Adobe Stock, Stocksy / Adobe Stock, Leandaro Crespi / Stocksy / Adobe Stock, Stocksy / Adobe Stock, Julia K / Stocksy / Adobe Stock, Guerilla Images. Click here to view the Adobe Stock x Pantone Fashion Color Trend Report gallery.

Flame Scarlet, Saffron, Chive, Orange Peel, Cinnamon Stick, Grape Capote. Sounds like ingredients for preparing a dish you may ask?

Fashion. Paint hues. Color Palettes. Do you ever wonder how and from where the inspiration and influence of color branding come from?

Well, the experts from the Pantone Color Institute (color trend forecasters) provides a universal language of color that enables color-critical decisions through every stage of the workflow for brands and manufacturers. The Color Institute’s color reports and color forecasts provide a global point of view on the movement of color across current and future seasons.

Image source: dexigner.com

As early as it may seem, Pantone is delivering some colorful favorites coupled with seasonal core shades, as they come together for the designer runways during New York’s 2020 Spring/Summer Fashion Week. Are you a style seeker or are you creative in your own personal fashion niche? Click here to learn more about the Fashion Color Trend Report of Color Intelligence from the Pantone Color Institute. Perhaps you may find some ideas to fit in your own personal fashion trend.

Have a colorful #FashionForwardFriday!

Stop, Live, Laugh and Love

Today, look within and around you, and then find a reason to live a little, laugh a little and love a lot! We have so much to be grateful for, this day! 🙂