BencH 1

 Consultation

I received an email from a group of ladies asking if I could carve a message in the back of a bench which they had purchased as a birthday gift for a friend. The email gave details of the bench and a link to the manufacturers website.

I contacted the manufacturers who were very helpful, telling me the bench was made from Eucalyptus wood, which is very fibrous and does not carve well. They also gave me the ral number for the grey colour wash finish they use.

I spoke to the ladies and explained that carving on the top rail of the back would be difficult and would damage the finish which the manufacturers applied, I also suggested that it might be better to attach a separate panel fitting between the top and bottom rails, which could then be colour washed to tone with the existing finish.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Design

Once  the project had been agreed in principle, I set about the design process. I had colour matched the bench with some grey colour wash varnish applied to some Oak and suggested to the ladies that this could be used as a finish on the project. They had requested some lettering and some blackberries or similar carved in to the board. I did a sample of a bunch of blackberry leaves a flower and one berry. it took just over four hours to carve one spray so was not practical in terms of time or cost.

I then went on to make two designs for the flowers and lettering, one of which the clients agreed to.

All this prep work and I had not started the job proper as yet, most people do not appreciate the amount of time which goes in to any craft project.