The kindness of strangers

This week we have been enjoying the kindness of strangers at Clever Monty.

We had a visit from a gentleman who wanted to know more about the concept of Clever Monty and it turned out that he had owned the building in which we now have a studio. He regailled us with stories about previous owners from the 1800s, the history of the building and the village of Chalford. His anecdotes have inspired ideas for several stories for future pieces!

Not only did this kind gentleman give his time to us this week, he also donated four gorgeous Georgian dining chairs. 

Random acts of kindness are contagious. Do something spontaneous and kind as soon as you've read this post! 

Corks

This week we've been racking our brains to think of a way to use up our sack of beautiful vintage corks..... And then it came to us! We'll be using them as a door lining for a lovely unit (potentially a drinks cabinet?) which will be painted a gorgeous slate grey on the inside. And the story to accompany this gorgeous piece is about a Spanish wine merchant who is not what he seems...

Envelopes

Well, today has been about envelopes at Clever Monty HQ. We've been scouring the land (well Stroud and the Cotswolds) for unbranded envelopes to no avail.

So finally FINALLY we found a solution - making our own! 

Ta da!!

Maison de cafe

We're just finishing up these beautiful dining chairs with hand-painted hessian for that vintage French coffee house feel.

The story for these chairs is truly lovely. One to treasure for generations to come.

The Piano Stool Project

My piano stool was from a charity shop. It was rather drab in its green velvet. I decided it needed to be refreshed so gave it the furniture equivalent of a spa day....

And then I took it for a shopping spree to achieve a beautiful new look 

Hang on.... what about accessories? I managed to find some beautiful multi-coloured pompoms from Lexi Loves for the finishing touch 

And here you have it - rejuvenated and refreshed and rather beautiful