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Made to Last Book: A Compendium of Artisans, Trades and Projects
A year ago the writer Vanessa Murray emailed me to see if I’d like to be included in her book about makers. Here is the result. Made to Last, a compendium of Artisan, Trades and Projects is a completely awesome, beautiful and useful book profiling 50 makers in a broad range of mediums from across the planet.
I’m completely humbled and excited about being included. The book not only shows off our frequently hidden faces but drills down into our processes and motivations. Each maker has a DIY detailed which has been lots of fun to read through and try. I’m currently obsessing over the Fire Cider and Handmade globes.The Commuter Pannier is my featured product, Vanessa drew out of me all the processes and tools involved and included is a How-To guide on how to make a super simple and cheap pannier bag. The canvas colour that is featured is from an extremely limited supply of fabric that is 1970’s French Dickson canvas. It makes me nearly weep joy everytime I look at it.
Thanks to @Hardiegrantbooks for publishing Vanessa’s vision and hard work. A big thanks also to my gorgeous friend Erica Lauthier for spending time with me to take the beautiful photos.
Castlemaine stockists include @cornerstoremerchants and Stonemans Bookroom. I’ve also spied it at a bunch of other fantastic bookstores around so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.Here is a link to buy online at Readings. Because I like Readings and I live no where near it.
Made to Last book
Vintage Canvas Pannier – Made to Last book
Cathy Parry portrait – Made to Last book
Made to Last book
Made to Last book
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Coverall Apron Inspiration & Philosophy
I’m very excited about the coverall apron. It’s design is one of those stories that encapsulates alot of the design process, where we don’t need to constantly reinvent the wheel, but rather be inspired by the work of others and respectfully come up with our own iterations.
This particular idea came from a Readers Digest Sewing book from 1976 (one of my favourite years for fashion). Alongside a project for a giant pencil cushion, denim foam furniture and a checkerboard beach towel, there is a pink denim garden apron.
My version of the apron is the one I use in the workshop on a daily basis. Wearing an apron that covers front and back means I can wear whatever I like to work without worrying that I’ll destroy and age my clothes prematurely. Aprons also make you feel like you’re at work. When worn at home also mean that you can work from the kitchen, to the garden to doing nothing at all without changing out of your designer denim jeans. I think kitchen aprons are well understood, but workshop and garden aprons aren’t used quite so much now.
My iteration of this design has changed quite a few elements to make the apron work well on a daily basis. The pocket, front attachment point, back strap arrangement are all simplified, and I’ve added the side openings for ease of removal as well as giving the option for extensions to the sides to make it larger. The book has one of those 70’s grid patterns that you’re supposed to enlarge on grid paper. I don’t know if these was something wrong with my grid, but it came out pretty tiny ;), So completely drawing up the apron had to also be done. It’s actually taken me a good couple of years between inspiration, prototypes, problem solving to being able to make a few for sale to spread the Readers Digest Complete Guide to sewing love.
Here endth the apron lesson.
And now for the pictures:
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- Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing 1976
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- Coverall Apron inspiration
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- Giant pencil cushion project
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- Checkerboard beach towel project
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- Denim foam furniture project
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- Coverall Apron – side opening detail
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- Coverall Apron – back, simplified from original
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- Coverall Apron in my studio
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Now selling webbings and notions.
At Industrial Sewing Workshop we’ve chosen all our webbings and fasteners really carefully on the basis of being well made, easy and comfortable to use and where possible Australian Made.
For the first time we’re now offering these items for sale individually. Webbings, bindings and touch tape are sold by the metre and buckles, sliders etc sold individually. This means you can source really good quality notions and tapes in small quantities.
These are available in our newly named Industrial Sewing Shop on Etsy. If you don’t normally shop on Etsy, you can send us an email outlining what items you’d like and we’ll send you a Paypal invoice.
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Stall @ Castlemaine Vintage Bazaar, open every day
Industrial Sewing Workshop now has a big, colourful range of gear down at the Castlemaine Vintage Bazaar @ The Mill, Castlemaine.
All our bike gear sits on an awesome vintage Malvern Star bike with also stands hold our other useful things. An up to date product list and address is on our stockists page. One of our Butterfly chairs is also there to try out.
The best thing is that the Bazaar is open 10-5pm, 7 days a week.
Bike Gear Display on vintage Malvern Star at Castlemaine Vintage Bazaar
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In the news
Here in the workshop we also make custom covers for Butterfly Chairs. Lizzie Geddes of Chops for Tea and I teamed up over a year ago to present www.TheButterflyChair.com.au. This started out as a project to see if we could make a product entirely in Castlemaine. Turns out we could, and did.
At the moment, we’re just making the covers but it seems there are quite a few old frames sitting out there in sheds waiting to be spruced up and sat upon.
A lovely canvas cover even ended up in last Sundays Sunday Life magazine.
The Butterfly Chair in the Sunday Life Magazine (The Age and Sydney Morning Herald Sunday Newspapers)
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A new nest
Ron D Swan has been wheeling around for 9 years now, and while it’s been fun, he’s looking forward to resting in the garden just being a tyre swan. His cycling wares however are still up for a challenge and will now be found our Industrial Sewing Workshop website. You can still purchase RonDSwan gear through this site as usual for the time being.Read More
These changes are just a bit of consolidating so that I can manage my world with one less personality! The main difference is that gear will have an Industrial Sewing Workshop label instead of RonDSwan. The same philosophy will surround all new work which will extend out from the cycling specific world.
Thanks for dropping by,
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Meet the Maker #1 — Cathy Parry
Meet the Maker is the ISW Interview Series where Cathy Parry talks to other makers about their process and how they keep traditional knowledge and skills relevant for today. Most importantly she asks, ‘Are they passing on their knowledge to anyone else?’.
The short story. I’ve been sewing in this business for 12 years and am still in love with the structural properties of canvas. I’ve committed to finding out what I don’t know (and need to know) about sewing and looking for ways to know it. I make things to really last and am on the long slow journey of learning leatherwork, working with hand and machine. I teach my sons by osmosis, as I figure they are my best students right now. I know I’m on a good thing when my youngest describes himself as “a maker”.
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Cathy Parry sewing stuff
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Meet the Maker #2 — Chris Guest
Meet the Maker is the ISW Interview Series where Cathy Parry talks to other makers about their process and how they keep traditional knowledge and skills relevant for today. Most importantly she asks, ‘Are they passing on their knowledge to anyone else?’.
Chris is an architect, illustrator, dreamer of better worlds and builder of our home. When I can collar him to sit down and talk, I’ll ask him pertinent maker questions. In the mean time, he spends his weekends doing things like building a shed for our fire wood out of the partial demolition of a neighbouring house, and inspiring his youngest to say “when I grow up I want to be a builder like Daddy” Continue Reading
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Meet the Maker #3 — Usethings
Meet the Maker is the ISW Interview Series where Cathy Parry talks to other makers about their process and how they keep traditional knowledge and skills relevant for today. Most importantly she asks, ‘Are they passing on their knowledge to anyone else?’.
Usethings
Tim Preston and Debbie Taylor are the usethings design team.
A Bachelor of Industrial Design and a trade-qualified Shipwright, Tim combines rare knowledge of traditional methods and materials with a modern, cutting edge sensibility. Debbie is a design and building consultant who loves to be a medium for the exchange of ideas in a project.
Tim makes the buttons for our Arrietty Bag from the sugar gum offcuts of his coat racks. He also sharpens my tools sometimes, they also have a great little shop in town. Usethings is also their great little store, where they have held mini workshops on knots, knife sharpening and darning.
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Meet the Maker #4 – Metal Shaper
Meet the Maker is the ISW Interview Series where Cathy Parry talks to other makers about their process and how they keep traditional knowledge and skills relevant for today. Most importantly she asks, ‘Are they passing on their knowledge to anyone else?’.
Metal Shaper
Jamie Burke is the metal shaper, he’s amazing. Jamie bent the first The Butterfly Chair for us and does some really beautiful work with metal. His website has some great fence photos.
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Journal
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