Nate's Bookcase

I made Nate a bookcase.  It all started with this piece of plywood I got at a yard sale with a zillion holes in it.  I was told it was a test piece for a restaurant in town.  Guess they use the stuff all over the establishment.  If I were more with it/in the know I would have been to this restaurant, or at least remembered the name.  

I'm assuming that said fancy restaurant didn't trick out their plywood with little bingo chips however.  They did probably have their plywood CNCed at a nicer place than my garage.  We're one-one restaurant...  though I do have a multicolored tricycle and an elusive rat in my digs.

I'm getting better with my dowel stuff.  These guys are super smooth...  And the velvit oil I rubbed on with a tender caress.  The wood almost had to pay me.

I also hooked up an LED rope light to act as a night light of sorts.  This is my late night garage test run.  Elusive Rat told me it looked pretty good.  

Here the bookcase has been moved into the house.  Actually just inside the door...  Someday it'll make its way to Nate's actual bedroom.  I'd do it myself but there'd be no one here to applaud my brute strength except for Nate and Claire, and they aren't easily impressed.

 We've got light!

I considered a variety of ways of putting these lights on, and went with the "two big wads" method...  Also notice sliding doors that can cover 2/5ths of whatever books and other junk will accumulate.

Nate said it'll do... and immediately removed all books placed in the bookcase.  Notice Divya's "Little Owl's Night" prominently placed.  

This concludes the "Nate's Bookcase" blog entry.  If you'd like one made, let me know if you find the proper yard sale wood, or own a CNC machine.  Or if you know the name of that restaurant, take a screwdriver with you the next time you dine.

Babies Can't Stop Bald Hands From Making!

Long ago, I built a changing table for our daughter.  It was in her room, and built on top of the window sill, due to the lack of space in the room (and every room).  When the addition was made, the wall with said window/changing table was smashed to bits, but not before I unscrewed the guy.  I added a jumbo storage drawer underneath, slapped on some legs, and now the newly configured monster lives in baby Nate's room!



The murphy bed also got some new neighbors. Two storage bros, and a reading lamp.

Bottom bro is tricked out with a slide out nightstand! 



Lastly, in ye olde shoppe, it's the return of the Longboard Pendant lamp in Bamboo...  My bamboo source dried up on me, so I had to find a new well.  I should have a couple made soon if I can squeeze them out admist all of this pesky child rearing.

BaldManLawSuit?

I was cruising the vimeo website watching a superrad video on the guy who makes adrift mobiles, and ended up watching another video by cool Spanish Lampmakers LZF Lamps. At just past 3 minutes into this video, I saw THIS SHOT. Real fast.



Is this for real??? I felt a little bit like I was losing my mind. Those bear a striking resemblance to this guy I've been making in my garage for the past couple years...



I mean, it's just that I came up with the whole shape, and assembly on my own, and I guess it's possible that someone in Spain was doing the same thing at the same time, but... Anyway. I checked out their website to see if this those were available for purchase, but I didn't see that they were. They musta felt that international suit brewing in my gut. Their lamp craftsmanship is way outta my league, so just gimme this brahs! Gotta be too uncanny right?

Where them Wares at?

These days I've been screwing around with sites to upload some pics for potential customers. Customers that want something on the woody side. I checked out carbonmade a while ago, and bounced around with behance, and maybe I'm coming back to you, carbonmade. I need a pro photographer to be my friend. One who is sickgood at taking pictures of stuff/things. Anyway, here's this new thing I set up whilst a baby slept, instead of cleaning the house like a good househusband should.

"But do you have that in a dark wood???"

Welcome to the dark side, y'all. I've got a couple new(ish) items up for sale. Same ole song and dance, with a new twist. The Bent Wood Test Tube Vase is now available in a super slick red gum veneer, and looks like a little bit of all right.



Also making its first appearance on the baldman stage, please welcome the Longboard Pendant Lamp in Walnut Veneer. I've had many a person ask me if I had any pictures of this lamp in walnut, but I never had anyone buy one, and a serious lack of time to just make one for show... but then someone bit the bullet and ordered one so here she is. I really like it. Maybe others will too. Others with gaping holes in the ceiling, money in their pockets, and walnut on their minds.

It's gittin grilly in here..

I've been toolin around with this here lamp the past couple o days. Well, it started last week, which began with me divin willie nillie into electricity city without doing my homework, and sparks and smoke arose from my outlets. After some proper learning, I built this lamp! I could have kept it like this here, but I had these curved up bamboo pieces that I wanted to incorporate.



I slapped em on.



First I thought I'd use some rice paper for the innards, but that seemed more blando than this stuff up at Breed and Co. It's a radiator grill cover piece, though I wonder how many homes in Austin have old radiators that need covering.

Luckily, I had a lamp that could use some covering, and this stuff worked out well. It also casts cool shadows that can soothe a wailing baby, when singing Yankee Doodle just doesn't cut it any more.

Maybe I'll sell this gem. It has it's prototype qualities, which could be smooved out, but if someone has their wits about them, they'll pay top dollar for the prototype that changed the face of lighting... or if they are sick of being in the dark when the sun sets.

Thangs of Wood that Normally Ain't

During the blustery cold nastiness, the pendant lamp workshop moved into the living room momentarily. If someone needs them a lamp, they ain't caring if it's wicked cold outside and the garage hasn't any heat.



Also got to take the new vacuum press for a trial run, and it bends some veneer like a champ, and all I have to do is sit back and watch.



Also, I got this supercool ashwood record player for my bday in spirit from my friend deanna. I got it in spirit, b/c the 1300 dollar price tag is something I'm definitely not worth in real life. In Spirit Life, I own rare wooden records to play on this bad boy. Back in real life I got the mono box set of the beatles from my awesome wife for my birthday. Though I'm deeper into decrepity, it's good to know that the fab four will always be older.. and more decrepity.

Fo Sho Case!

Having me an Etsy Type Job today. Signed up for a showcase to do some showcasin. Maybe it'll help sell people some super cool stuff for the holidays. MAYBE. They do need it. YOU NEED IT! Why buy boring crap as presents when you could buy my cool crap?

60s Appreciation Day

The other day, Claire and I went to check out some garage sales around the neighborhood. We spied this uber cool 1960s Tripod Floor Lamp, and snagged it from this old hippie dood, who told us it still has a "grow bulb" in it. To grow what, hippie man?



Claire was all, "let's get it anyway, we can snazz it up!" So we did. We put a nice coat of paint on the lamp, and switched out the grow bulb for something a tad more pleasing. It's currently residing in our living room and looks good, but I also put it up for sale in ye olde shoppe, just in case someone likes cool stuff.



Speaking of 60s appreciation, The Mullens rule that school... one of my favorite bands, and Claire and I listen to their song Esmerelda literally 5 times a day. I would have my hair cut just like these chumps, making Julie happy that my follicles hate my guts.

Big Foot Lamps

Doods, I can't even tell you about my current life of baby chasing. It's bogged down the bloggin hardcore. On the off chance that I get one spare minute, I've been building this toybox/record cabinet contraption, so anyhoo... Here's a post all the same! By this rad company called Kozo Lamp.

These characters has gone bonkers in the plumbing supply aisle, and created these super cool lamps. They almost look like little robot aliens designed to help you study/read/clip yer toenails in the dark. I just put up a support on our drain pipe curtain rods. Also, Apartment Therapy just rambled about the cool stuff smacked together with such piping. The baby calleth. Stay tuned for this wild first attempt at toybox making. For seriously cool/funny commentary on such a world, go read Mod Mom. That Edward Cullen post kills me every time I read it.

Ebay and the Gems Therein

My bro EBay and I used to be real tight. Back in the house renovation/dual income/no baby days. Since none of those conditions are static, all one can do is reminisce. Remember when we bought a couple Z chairs from some sucka in South Dakota for cheep, but they tagged us back with that hardcore ciggie stench when we opened the box? Well played, South Dakota.



What about those two wickt West Elm lights we got? One to put above the couch to assist in reading West Elm catalogs, and the other in the nursery to assist in reading Frankie Stein to Claire.



Then there was the vessel sink that the contractor thought was some sort of lamp shade. This was also the dood who just told us about going crazy with his sledgehammer and accidentally whacking the tar out of his last customers' stainless steel fridge. Needless to say, he didn't help in the sink installation.

I'm not much of a "Gotta have the Eames This and the Knoll That", but Julie and I really like the Nelson Bubble Lamp, so we got a SUPER STANKY YELLOW NASTY one on EBay, and with help from one Magic Eraser, it turned lovely white at less than half the price new.. and with a cool old Herman Miller tag on it to boot.

We were very envious of our friend's cool stationary rocking chair that he got from his grandma, and we found one on the 'Bay. It rules, rocks, is high backed, and this girl can do laps around it now... hence her blurriness. I could go on and on, but then you'd never come back to read again, so I stop. For now.

Industrial Designin & Porch Sittin

I got me a sweet email from Oscar over at the Behance Network saying that my pendant lamp is on their Industrial Design Served site they developed, "to further showcase the best projects in the Behance Network, within specific industries." Hi there. Chad Kelly- Industrial Designer. Anyway, my lamp is easin' its way down the list as fellow industrial designers git recognized.



In some much needed nonlamp news, Julie and I picked up these swank new chairs for our bare front porch.



We went to Ikea to get some sweet solar lights for the new landscaping but they are sold out and don't show signs of getting any in, SOOOOOOO... in order to not lose my mind for driving way out there on mother's day for not, we hit the "As Is" section, and saw these Ostero Chairs that appeared too good lookin to be there. We asked, "what the hay with these chairs?" and were told they were floor models and are marked down 30%.

Nowadays, I get to sit out on the front porch after a nice morning walk with Claire and Chester, and wave at the cute college girls as they go by, who are smiling in my general direction... I'm assuming it's because of my ripped body glistening in the sunlight, and not the cute baby in my lap or the sweet dog at my feet.

M+D+F 2009 Recap

The big day in the sun has come and gone. Here's a slight recap of a baldman, his lamp, and the M+D+F Exhibition at Design Within Reach.



My pa, my daughter, my lamp, and my first admirer are in this shot. Dad came to help me hang this guy the day before the exhibit, and it seemed a little dwarfed next to the giganto Shade Pendant DWR sells. The upside is it gets to stay there all week long, and maybe it can be seen through the window if you are walking by on all fours and angling your head just so.



I must admit that I didn't talk to many people who made stuff because I ended talking to all my awesome friends who came to support my woody creation... so names of designers or whatevs I slacked on... I do know that the woman who made these crazy lamps was named Gian and she won best in show. I won honorable mention like all the others who didn't get some propa props/chest bumps. I'm down with that.




I was also into the double duty of these end tables. One is End Table/Guitar Amp and the other is End Table/Grill. Rad.



The dood who made this beast I did talk to- Eric. He made this giant light out of styrofoam packing that can be found inside Apple Laptop shipping boxes. Looks cool. He won the best sustainable award. Really creative.

That's all I got. There were other entries too, but they deserve better than to end up on my goofy blog anyway. If you find yourself on 2nd Street, and aren't late for your massage or whatever, feel free to stop by Design Within Reach and feast your peepers on that lamp... should be there all this week, unless it gets in a scuffle with that beefy guy next to it. My lamp would lose the battle.

This Just In...

Says Vickie from Design Within Reach regarding my lamp submission in their M+D+F Exhibition:

Hi Chad,
Thank you for your recent submission. Our jurors have selected your entry to be on display during our event on 05/03/09. We will be setting up for the event on Saturday 05/02, 6-7pm. Please let me know if you will be able to participate.

Kind regards, Vickie

Looks like I suckered em in... Gonna have to look pro... like get some business cards and hair plugs or something? Something. I should at least make the lamp I guess. RSVP to see me win Best in Show on May 3rd! I asked Julie to be my handler. Least there will probably be some drinks or something.

This and That

Probably one of the swankiest craigslist postings I've seen in a long time. It's a Vintage Mid Century Telefunken Delmonico Korting Stereo. Half of the cabinet is mirrored, padded bar, and the other side is stereo and record player. Rad rad rad.

In lamp news, I've sent one out and have another one in the works. Here is a pic of the two different veneers for the two different lamps after being all vacuum pressed and all. They look pretty good. Also just sent in my application for that M+D+F exhibition the day before it's due. I'm heavy on the slack these days which I chalk up to dealing with a baby who is hungry/needs entertainment/is crabby and needs a nap/is puking on me/has a wet diap/you name it. She did go to the UPS Store with me though, and mail off Lamp One. She also flirted with the cute lady in line behind me. Babies are pretty cool.