The Alleyway

One of my flatmates is brilliant at talking, he spins tales like intricate little webs with such a poker face that the truth is indistinguishable from a lie. One of these stories has earned him an association with the name 'The Alleyway'.

Adin-Jenks http://adin-jenks.deviantart.com/art/Alleyway-Stock-164030882

An Alleyway is a place that summons up all sorts of dark images of grime and criminal activity. Dodgy trade deals, violence, and drunken antics.

When we moved into the flat we jokingly said that we would get him a sign on his bedroom door that said 'The Alleyway' we teased him for a while about it before leaving it to rest a while. In the back of my mind I've been meaning to get on with making the sign and surprising him with it. Last week I finally got on with making the sign.

I sketched out a few diferent layouts on paper. I then grabbed a skinny piece of ply and sketched out the shape of the letters on the ply with Pencil. When the blocked shapes were perfect I drew over them in vivid marker to make it easy to see when I got to cutting the shape.

My workspace filled with tools

I readied the jigsaw, for such a small and intricate shape as a word I needed to turn the reciprocation speed down and ensure that I was using it on the correct setting that allows for curved cutting on wood. I then set to cutting out all of the negative spaces around the letters this was difficult at times. I struggled to clamp the ply in ways that would hold it firmly but allow my intricate maneuvers with the jigsaw. At times small pieces of ply would chip of and I would have to slow down, this tests ones nerves, any further damage would result in the shape being unusable.

First paint job

When the shape was finished I sanded it with my new toy, a 1/3 sheet sized electric finishing sander; this smoothed both main surfaces. I sanded the edges with scraps of sandpaper allowing my fingers to get in and sand the small grooves.

After the first paint job.

When the shape was done I imagined how it would look on the door. I decided to mount it on a larger piece of wood and also to paint it. I painted it black completely on both sides and the edges and then mounted it on the block of wood.

Initially I had planned to screw it to or hang it on the door but I decided instead to save the door and just duct tape it to the top of the door frame, this meant that no lasting damage would come to the door. Another project was achieved with a scrap of ply and a few hours of work.

The doorway

When my flatmate arrived home and noticed the sign above his door he was both impressed and pissed off at me. The sign is a reminder of his ability to spin believable tales from lies and also how some tales will stick and refuse to come off.

The Alleyway.

Fixing a bag into my sewing kit.

This was a cool little project, not a difficult one but one that took some time to do.

It started at a party that was held at our place around four years ago; an unknown girl came along and dropped her bag in the bathroom, leaving it there without any indication of who she was we decided to hold onto it just in case she came back for it.

Inside the bag was a couple of coins and a key. Not much to go on, We never heard from this mysterious person again.

On occasion I have taken the bag out and  thought about how it could be of use. My girlfriend tried to use it as a going out bag once or twice, but we realized that the stitching that held it together was breaking.



Recently I've looked a the bag again and seen that it is actually a fairly old leather bag. the stitching looks like the original stitching and is only just getting old enough to break with the pressure of holding it together.



On the inside is a pocket made not of the original leather, and not sewn on, rather, just super glued on.

Upon looking exploring the properties of the bag I came up with a use; I would turn it into my sewing bag. Starting by removing the strap, I will be sewing this to my camp blanket when I get the chance.

For those of you who do not know I have a camp blanket  that I love dearly. I have hand sewn everything on there including all of the scarves. Some of the badges I share with my partner in crime Shellie, but a lot of them tell of my scouting journey.

For the bag itself I needed to replace the stitching and that's it. Not a hard task, but a task that needed to be done correctly. I took a trip down to spotlight and bought some brown waxed thread, the last of the roll. I hoped it was enough.



I cut out the old thread with some small scissors and a quick unpick, and explored the three leather pieces that I was left with, very simple shapes, a very simple way to make a bag. Next I sewed them back together with the new waxed thread. Not difficult, but it took a good half hour to do.





There it is.

I sorted all of my sewing supplies out, cotton, needles, badges. And fit them all into my new sewing bag.

I think the difference between myself as a sustainability conscious designer and other people as hoarders, is that I intend to use the things that I collect.

A bag that has sat around for years now being used in a way that is beneficial to me. This has many more years of use left in it.

Buy good things - Clothing, Technology, Everything

Through life as we grow we are ever changing. Our needs change in the smallest ways that effect what we do, what we use, and therefore what we buy. 

Since I was about 13 denim jeans have been my choice of trouser, warm, comfortable, and fairly sturdy. In the last few years however my lifestyle has become more active, especially as a scout and a scout leader. One of the unfortunate results of this is that being active tends to result in holes in my jeans, in particular right in the middle of the crotch. 
This has led me to reconsider the suitability of denim jeans for my lifestyle, although I have tried to mend my ripped pants, many pairs have already been thrown out. I have been led to believe that there is nothing like a new pair that won't rip in the first place.

Holes around the crotch

I was gifted a $100 voucher for my birthday redeemable at Kathmandu, an outdoors retail store. I'd browsed the store previously and noticed they had a range of trousers for men and women ideal for tramping and other outdoors activities. I went in one day and grabbed a few pairs that looked like my size. I tried a few of them on and went back to ensure that I had the best fit for me; only for the store worker to tell me that they were women's pants. I thought this can't be right, they were regular black pants with no sign of being catered to women, but I checked and surely enough they were measured in size numbers 14, 16, 18... instead of the blokes sizes of S, M, L, XL ... I went back to the shelf and realized there were no remaining men's trousers.

This conflicted me a little bit. I knew that they fit me quite nicely, and I knew that if I couldn't tell the difference between men's and women's trousers no one else would. But I still knew that I was wearing women's pants, would this knowledge leave me feeling emasculated? I decided to buy them anyway. 3 pairs of pants for $90 was an absolute steal.

At the counter the worker told me I can always come back to change them if I feel uncomfortable wearing them. Even in that moment I had made up my mind and I knew I wouldn't return them; even now as I type this I am wearing them and they are as snug as ever without the slightest tear in them. My testicles are in tact too.

Kathmandu Womans Size 14.

I have learnt to purchase good items that are suitable for my lifestyle that are going to last. These may cost a bit more than the cheaper alternative (I still keep an eye out for a sale though).

I still have old clothes, these are used when I do physical labouring work, gardening, painting, or exercise. Nobody cares how I present myself in any of these situations; and I don't care if my old clothes get ripped, dirty, or painted on.

Paint splattered clothing for my eyes only

In my first year of university study my first big purchase was a decent DSLR camera (Cannon 550D), saving up a wee bit more money for a decent model of camera that would be sufficient throughout my studies and beyond. I'm still using it and it has no sign of giving up just yet.

Buying one expensive thing that will last a long time is far better than buying hundreds of cheap things that will break. In the long run it is more economical, and it is much more environmentally friendly.

Cheesy reflection shot

I have always wanted to own a pair of doc martins boots, among my hip friends many have their own pair of docs which they purchased brand new; apparently the best way to buy something so valuable and personal. For me the opportunity came when a friend was selling his boots I seized the chance. $50 I had my own pair of docs, I had to grind down my own gradient to the shoes and find some new laces but now I own them and they fit me as any new pair would; with a bit of shoe polish they look brand new as well and none of my doc wearing friends know any different.

With a bit of Shoe polish they look brand new again.

The list goes on and I can give you innumerable examples of when spending more is better than buying the cheap alternative. But each situation requires its own thought from you, the consumer.

I am a practical person. Spending more should result in a better product. I don't believe in spending more just for the status of investing in a brand, but I don't want to waste my pennies purchasing rubbish that is inevitably going to end up in landfill. I search for the reasonable middle ground. Practical lasting quality from a good product is what my money is worth.