Forging ahead with new designs

 Ey up, my faithful blogworms, news of more fab stuff this week. For absolutely ages I've wanted to have our own range of handles & accessories and via a particularly talented artist blacksmith I've had the pleasure of meeting recently ....


We now have our own range of hand forged, blacksmith made kitchen accessories .. and I'm well pleased !

We have, as you will see in the pictures, beaten metal handles, a very stylish pan trivet, forged & swaged flat metal shelf brackets and forged & welded straight brackets with hand rivetted supports.

These, following our natural materials theme from last week, would look fantastic with our natural Tulipwood kitchens, a real country, almost organic but contemporary feel.

Our tame blacksmith "Stig of the Forge" holds the industry standard blacksmithing qualification and a certificate of merit from 'The Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths' so you can be assured that our products are of the highest standard. ( and not only that, he's a thoroughly nice bloke !! )

All our products are made using a traditional methods on a coke forge and anvil, proving that even these days ..... hi tech is not always best and Roman engineering still has it's place.
No nasty chemicals are used in the finishing of our range, 'Stig of the Forge' prefering a simple linseed oil and beeswax mix. Applied while hot, it cures and gives a durable finish that only needs maybe a coat of wax once a year while you're whizzing round with the wax polish.

With a lot of new black steel these days having a high recycled content due to scrap metal dealers doing their bit to help the steel back into the cycle of things, they're pretty environmentally friendly aswell. Don't forget they can be recycled again at the end of their life.


This really has just been the start of things, establishing a basic range of useful accessories. We are open to suggestions from you, our loyal followers, as to what sort of things you would like us to make. 'Stig of the Forge' is a very talented and creative chap and loves a challenge !!

Contact us for more details or, better still, pop in and see us if you can. 

We'd love the chance to show you all our new goodies and hope you like them as much as we do.

Jules.

Wood made from Tulips, you must be joking !

Good morning, my faithful blogworms, my title says "you must be joking", actually that's part true, let me explain.

This week is all about the Tulipwood tree

More correctly known as Linodendron Tulipifera

Tulipwood is a very sustainable hardwood that's been grown in managed forests in the USA for decades and is a stable, easy to work and tremendously durable timber. Given it's name as the flowers of the tree do strongly resemble tulips.

It is essentially a pale hardwood that can have subtle streaks of reds, yellows, greens and even the odd bit of purple tinting its grain.

Depending on where it's grown, can influence the strength of colours you find and generally the closer to the heartwood you get, the paler the timber.

In the States it's commonly used for:

Sidings for houses

Interior joinery and furniture

Guitar bodies

And with it's resistance to termites, used for barns and barn doors, outdoor seating & benches and even coffins !

It's so workable and durable, you can even build cars out it !! see pic below

Note the number plate ! ... that car's in the UK somewhere and I really, really want one !!!

We do use Tulipwood over here in Britain but it's under-used and under-publicised and when we do use it, it's usually as a painted kitchen which is a massive shame.The timber in it's natural state is absolutely gorgeous. 

With it's characteristics, it's sustainability and the fact that it's a hardwood comparable in use to Oak but at about a third less cost, we feel we really need to bang the drum for Tulipwood and get people more interested in it's use for kitchens.

We are certainly going to be doing our bit to raise it's awareness throughout 2014 and we have sample doors made right now for anyone to come in and have a look at. 

Wood made from Tulips ! .... No, but it does look as fabulous as a field of tulips in springtime and as springtime is right around the corner, now would be a good time to give it a coat of looking at !!

Jules.

Bespoke by definition, our definition !

Ey up my faithful blogworms, Happy New Year to you all, I know it's the 11th but it's my first blog back in  2014. 

Today I want to give you a bigger picture of how we do .. what we do and I'm starting with the word 'Bespoke' as applied to kitchens

BESPOKE: it's a big word with even bigger definitions. When we speak of bespoke as a concept, 2 words come to mind: Expensive & Specialised.


Probably led by bespoke tailoring, bespoke jewelry, bespoke furniture, all things that are traditionally pretty expensive.

 Now 'Specialised' is definitely what we're about, you all know that our particular speciality is Eco Kitchens and our market is certainly nationwide UK but 'Bespoke' is our most important strength.

Bespoke is really the heart of how we do what we do !

Because we're not like all the other companies, we start with actually designing your cabinets from scratch, not just sticking them in a catalogue and saying " If it's not in there, we don't do it !" which means that every kitchen bought out of a catalogue like that is a compromise in some way.

We take the closest thing this industry has to a " standard list" of cabinet sizes at standard prices and change it to suit individual kitchens

How, you ask ? Simples, we say !  As an example of things we get asked:

"My plates won't fit in my wall units, they're not deep enough!"  Simple, take a standard wall unit and make it deeper, to change 1 unit dimension costs a tenner, £10

"I'd really like to have 2 ovens, 1 above the other in a tall housing" Simple, to change the gap for them to fit in, £10

"My ceilings are low and standard height units won't go in" Simple, shorten the wall units, a tenner each to alter.

"Can I have my  built in dishwasher up off the floor because I struggle to bend down to it" Yep, no problem, we'll modify a housing to do it, a tenner, £10

You get the picture !! If most of your kitchen is based on standard size cabinets, we only alter the ones that need altering, it's simple to do and each dimension change we need to make generally only costs a tenner, £10.

This is "bespoking" any kitchen to suit the needs of any person, doing it sensibly, doing it affordably and making the whole kitchen a bit special and importantly ..... it fits properly with no compromise !!

Having started by making the cabinetry fit perfectly and designed to take on board your particular way of working, it's then a simple excercise to put doors on it as we make all the doors to go with our kitchens anyway..... isn't life wonderful when it works properly ??

One kitchen we're working on at the moment doesn't have a standard unit in it !! because of space constraints and the appliance requirements, every single cabinet has been redesigned to fit, make best use of the space and it's all be done on a budget. 

Yes ... we can supply entire kitchens, custom made to a budget.
Yes ... we can supply custom cabinets on their own if you want to make your own doors
Yes ... we can supply doors on their own to odd sizes if that's what you need 
Yes ... we can fit it all for you or supply it for you to fit
Yes ... we can make custom worktop sizes, depending on material

 We take that attitude that, no matter how odd or unusual, if you can imagine it and give us a sketch, we can make absolutely anything you need to equip your kitchen and, importantly, we can do it for sensible cost, after all .... it's what we're extremely good at !

If that's not bespoke then I don't know what is !

All the best for the new year, Jules.

Fairy Merry Christmas

Yuletide felicitations my faithful blogworms, this weeks will be my last until the new year as next week we're off to sunny ? Colchester to do the first of a two stage fit of one of our marvellous eco kitchens, one of the new idea using the sustainable Tulipwood I talked about in an earlier blog.

Our task is to install all the cabinets, worktops and appliances as the first stage to get a working skeleton kitchen ready to be used over Christmas, the second stage will be going back in the new year to complete the kitchen with the doors, panels and handles etc.

When you consider the responsibilty of our success next week standing between us and someones Christmas dinner, it takes a massive leap of faith in us by our client to have the confidence that we'll get it done !!

This does happen on a surprisingly regular basis and we've never let anyone down in our 25 year history and I'm not about to start now !. I always have an immense respect for the trust that people put in us when doing projects like this so close to a major calendar event.

We've got all sorts of goodies lined up for the new year, so stay tuned in 2014.

To give you a snapshot of one of them, I thought I'd sneak this one in at this time ...... Flower Fairies !! Fans of our Roadstone Plaques now have a new line of interest, we understand the popularity of the Flower Fairies genre and were asked recently to create a plaque featuring one, well ... this is it !, what do you think ?? By the way ... the hands aren't part of it ! we just had to hold it up to photograph it.

The Flower Fairy thing seems to have a massive following and there are many, many characters involved in the whole concept so not being one to ignore new ideas, this is our first one, we hope, of many. I would be interested to hear all your opinions

Don't forget that we can start with a standard roadstone plaque of 300mm x 375mm and go right upto large panels of 2400 x 1200 or more, so there are many, many applications to which the plaques can be put. Food for thought for the new year.!

So, eat & drink as much or as little as you want, enjoy yourselves over Christmas and the New Year and I 'll see you all again in 2014.
Stoke up your log burner using all the tips I've given earlier and get yourselves nice and cosy.

 Top Tip: Don't forget Christmas is a time for sharing so if you have an elderly relative or friend see if you can help bring a bit of cheer into their Christmas too, We will be !

All the best. Jules.

My Reclaimed World

 E. U. M. F. B. I'm sure you can figure the initials out if you followed me long enough !
Anyway, this week I thought I'd take a gentler pace and give you a snap shot into my inspiration for our "Reclaimed Madness" kitchen ( see earliers blogs )

The pics I've loaded this week are all items I've made for our home using the same reclaimed timber source as we used for the kitchen.

The top pic is a box frame housing a fabric patchwork we bought in Tenerife many moons ago flanked by 2 candle sconces which were made absolutely donkeys years ago using a template pattern that was given free with Issue 1 of The Router magazine ( that's router pronounced row-ter, row as in argument ! which is a woodworking power tool .... not roo-ter as in the thing that send signals to your computer ! ). Just thought I'd clear that up to begin with.

Any one who's into woodworking may remember that mag coming out and who knows ...... you may have already made one yourself.

The second pic is from my wifes penchant for ducks ! turned into a coat rack in our hall. Couple of boards glued together and the duck freehand sketched onto a pattern, template made, roughly cut out with a jigsaw   ( Oh God! ... this is going to be a long blog .. jigsaw, as in power tool with small saw blades in it, not cardboard picture made up of funny shapes! ), then followed the template with a router ( see above ) and put the detail lines in by hand with the same router, fitted some wrought iron coat hangers and Bob's your mothers brother.

This shows our cloakroom ( or downstairs loo, if you prefer, as we don't hang cloaks in it ) created from scratch, timber frame, mdf doors, black iron hinges and marble tiles.

All topped off with reclaimed factory beam rip cuts as countertops and window cill, simples !






The inspiration for this shape came from an african warriors shield and was the follow on from the fact that I like the idea of a large candle sconce with an imposing shape and prescence. There are two of these hanging in my dining room and provide a wonderful subtle light, reflected into the room by the mirrors behing the candles.

They are nearly 5 feet high ( 1500mm ) and hold large church candles. As you can see, I really need to put new candles in, they do get used a lot !.

As a design idea, I would like to make 2 more, even higher, using a complete mirror in the shield shape and mounting the candle holder straight onto the mirror. The candle holder would look stunning in the blackest piece of solid walnut I can find !

Who knows, one day I might get around to it !

Anyway, welcome to my Reclaimed World, enjoy !

Jules

Help from the planet "Greenstar"

Ey up my faithful "green" blogworms, it would appear that last weeks blog captured a lot of peoples imaginations and aroused some pretty strong feelings.

I realised that last week that with my blog: "Even shopping can be green....." that I'd only just scratched the surface of what I wanted to say.

So this week I'm taking the unusual step of a follow up on the same subject. Wasteful plastic !
Stick with it because there's a ray of hope at the end of the story!


We're all used seeing plastic bag trees where this ugly phenomenon is a blot on our landscape, in the pic to the left 2 of the offenders can clearly be seen in a fishing net. The 2 swans in the next picture aren't playing, they're stuck !! caught in  a discarded plastic bag. 

Waste plastic is killing our wildlife, some of the pictures I found, I felt were too upsetting to put in this blog. I don't know which idiot thought that charging for plastic bags was going to make the problem go away ??? Get rid of them completely, go back to paper, it's biodegradeable and can't do any real harm to our birds and sealife, at least if they try and eat it there's more chance it will pass through with no lasting damage.


I make no apologies for the cartoon I've shown here because it sums up probably how many thousands of responsible people in the UK are feeling !! I thought it was perfect for the point I'm trying to make.

Some of the damage caused by plastic bottles, yoghurt pots and those strong plastic things that hold 6 cans of beer together beggar belief. The deformed wildlife that have suffered at the hands of that stuff is truly appalling. 

We need to recycle all the plastic we can to keep it out of harms way and stop the huge environmental damage it's causing.  

Talking about supermarkets and retail outlets last week, it struck me that, apart from our homes, we probably spend more time in these places than anywhere else.

These major shop chains only seem to pay lip service to environmental issues without embracing them properly ..... so, here's an idea !! Get them to lead the way !!

Next time you go into your local supermarket ask them to start, for an easy example, a yoghurt pot & plastic bottle collection scheme to encourage parents and children to bring back their used yoghurt pots and bottles to be collected and sent to reprocessors to be turned back into something useful and stop them going into landfill.

They're always issues vouchers for school computers or something so let's get our kids involved in helping us clear up an environmental mess !!
The chap in this picture works for a company called Greenstar, based in Redcar, Middlesborough. and they've just won government funding to boost our yoghurt pot and plastic bottle recycling efforts.

I'm absolutely certain that he would be glad of the raw material to reprocess as recycling mixed plastics is certainly one of the weakest areas of the UK's recycling infrastructure

Go on their website : http://www.packagingnews.co.uk/environment/greenstar-wins-wrap-funds-to-boost-yoghurt-pot-recycling/ and have a look at their efforts, pick up the phone and talk to him, set up a deal, become active in making a positive contribution.

In my eyes, this guy is one of the unsung heroes of our world and he needs our help, so come on supermarkets, take note !! get a recycling scheme going and walk the walk instead of just talking the talk. We'll help you reuse the products he makes, back into your shop counters, wall panelling etc and that would then be truly " closing the loop "

The cynics among you, and I'm sure you're out there, will be saying that all this is just a boost for our own products and business but would you rather help us to put recycled plastic back to gainful use or would you rather see it killing wildlife .... you decide !!

I'm knackered now !  see you next week. Jules

Even shopping can be green if we work at it !

Good Morning, my faithful blogworms, today is all about shopping !!

Woo-Hoo, I hear you say, well .. don't get carried away, I'm not taking you all shopping, as much as I'd like to !. 

With all the current emphasis on eating properly, organic food and supermarkets using local suppliers where possible, all of which I strongly support, it strikes me that they are starting to take a green lifestyle a lot more seriously.

One company we feel has a fantastic attitude towards this is H & M Stores and as an environmentally aware company that's spending the green pound wisely, we feel they really do deserve your support in their efforts.

We have been supplying our EcoSelect kitchens with a host of energy and water saving features to H & M for their staff kitchens in all their stores under a current programme of new stores opening and refubishment of older stores for over 2 years now.


They, as you know, are a major clothing retailer and are sourcing a lot of their store furniture ethically and should be seen as an example to all you other retailers out there.

Big supermarket chains ... THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL !

Supermarkets are guilty of creating a lot of waste either through still using plastic bags and plastic packaging that still end up in landfill or simply by throwing away perfectly good food that somebody would be glad of !

We are doing our best to increase awareness that much of that plastic can be recycled and re-used. In the pics above are: Yoghurt Pot, Dapple and Snowflake are three recycled plastic boards that all start their life as food safe products that can be re-used and, as such, diverting tons of plastic waste away from landfill and given another life.

They can be used for: food counters, wall clad, panels for customer toilets, wash basin countertops, even benches for shoppers to rest their weary bones on. They are practically maintenance free once installed, really easy to clean, totally waterproof and food safe and can be re-used many, many times over. This will save you money long term and even that's got to be worth thinking about !!

I'm appealing directly, this week, to you readers of my blog who work for supermarkets, are buyers for supermarkets or even own them !!.... we need to talk ... you should by now, have some sort of environmental conscience and we can help boost your eco street cred by helping you be seen to be being green.

This is important, in this day and age and judging by the amount of time we spend shopping in supermarkets, you are ideally placed to show that you support and encourage recycling efforts. Don't think about following some vague environmental policy which basically only pays lips service to green issues ..... embrace it ... and lead the way, your customers will think better of you for it, I'm sure !!

Call me and let's talk ! 01943 817153, tweet us: @ecokitchens, email me on: julian@milestone.uk.net, fax me 01943 817158, send a carrier pigeon, whatever you like, just do it !!

Jules

If it stands still ... Truncate it !

 Ey up my faithful blogworms, it's not normal for me to endorse or recommend stuff on my blog but twice now I've come across stuff that I think is brilliant and you need to know about.

Last week it was Ecos paints, which, if you haven't checked them out yet, you really should. It will change the way you look at paint forever !!

This week, with winter just around the corner and getting your log burner fuel sorted out, 
I really need to introduce you to the Truncator.

I first saw the Truncator at a show in Cumbria back in the summer and thought it was a good idea then.
Coming home and thinking about it I decided to bite the bullet and buy one.

I am soooo-o-o-o-o glad I did, it's absolutely perfect for logging those smaller branches and boughs that are usually fiddly and you end up spending hours cutting them by hand while thinking" Sod this, it got to be easier just to buy some logs!".

Well fear not, carry on gathering those branches and boughs while you're out walking the dog or whatever. I had a great big pile of tree branch trimmings next to my shed in the garden and couldn't be bothered to cut them all up, it was going to take ages ! Out came the new Truncator and my small chainsaw and whistled through the pile, safely, easily and quickly, I got through probably 4 hours cutting in about 11/2 hours.

It designed and made by a guy who cuts logs for people who cut logs and it's brilliance is in it's simple design, quality components and ease of use. Also the fact it's designed from materials that won't damage your chainsaw if you are a bit too enthusiastic with the cutting.


TRUNCATOR.CO.UK ....go on, treat yourself,  or at least, get it on your xmas list. You won't regret it ! 

Happy cutting, Jules.

An Organic World from carrots to paint

Ey up my faithful blogworms, this week it's all about organic paint. This stuff is absolutely brillliant !! We're used to organic veg. but how many of you knew that organic paint even existed ??

Interest with Pinterest

Ey up my faithful Blogworms, I really do appreciate your enormous interest in our Roadstone Plaques and thought this week you might like to see what we've achieved with them so far, follow the link below to my Pinterest board and you can see the diverse plaques we've made upto now

http://www.pinterest.com/milestone01/recycled-roadstone-plaques-kitchen-splashbacks/

For some reason I don't seem to be able to load individual photo's this week, bloody computers !! I'll get it sorted somehow, so I'm afraid this weeks blog might seem like a bit of a cheat.

While there's a lot of interest from you all, I'm not getting any feedback as to what you really think ??

I'm puzzled, I know you're out there !! 

There's a lot of creative thinkers out there in the Blogosphere and I'd love to hear from you either by leaving me a message or emailing me on : julian@milestone.uk.net and let me know what you think

While we're on the subject on Pinterest, you might like to see the full story of the "Reclaimed Madness" kitchen which has also created a fair bit on enthusiasm among you , my faithful followers, we are still adding finishing touches as the proud new owner of the kitchen keeps thinking of more stuff she needs.

http://www.pinterest.com/milestone01/milestone-reclaimed-madness-kitchen/

Interestingly, she loves the kitchen so much, she's asked us to now do her bathroom in the same style, Yippee, Happy Days are here again. We had a ball last time and really looking forward to doing it again !!

See ya next week when, hopefully, I'll get this bloody computer fixed.