We had two sheds when I was a kid. A coal shed and a shed. The coal shed had, well, coal in it. And the shed had the lawnmower, a broken singer sewing machine, bits of stuff Dad was mending, or going to, and bikes.
I didn't see any of that
in the two sheds I visited recently.
Keith showed me his shed first. (I know, I had to explain to my husband that it wasn't a euphemism). That's where Keith polishes the driftwood he collects on our Whanganui beaches. Lots of smaller stuff, beautiful key rings, very tactile, and some bigger stuff. My favourite was the one I called the penguin. Well, that's what it looked like to me! Keith reckons he just polishes the driftwood and lets the wood become what it will. And I really coveted the walking stick he made for his wife. And that's the trouble, I liked it all.
And the second shed had a name - Putiki Shed. I think a lot of you will have heard of it, or even visited. Apparently 700 people went through it over the Artists Open Studio weekends. Not a bit of polished driftwood to be seen. But lots and lots of up-cycled stuff.
Apparently Peter cuts the little designs in the up-cycled saws by hand, but he's right, you would swear some of the holes were duck-shaped. I definitely saw hearts, and a wizard worthy of a Harry Potter movie. I could have spent all afternoon looking at them. And what about the bar table and stools. Try as I might I couldn't work out what they were made from, until Peter pointed out they're old barrel slats. Pretty neat!
And it would be pretty neat to get endeavours like these into our Central Business District. I've got premises ready. Just need to hear from more of you who are interested.
After all, we got funding from Whanganui and Partners. Let's not waste it.
