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I have always loved this texture of layers and layers of staples on a telephone pole.

The variation of browns, rust, gray, silver is perfect for creating a neutral color palette.

Paia, Maui.

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John and I are busy at work on some new home projects so our posting has been a bit slow. Stay tuned for the new and complete lanai we are tiling right now as well as some newly stained concrete sidewalks and more.

Lichen on a rock

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Tuesday's Texture is coming to you a bit late this week as it was mom's last day here yesterday. We spent the last week doing a lot of running around and I failed to get this post made in time.



The beach at HUI ALOHA CHURCH in Kaupo, Maui.

TABLE TIME

Conn takes a break to scope out the birds. The other side of the table is a mirror image of this side. The tubs in the background indicate we are still in move-in mode. That wall is slated for bookshelves. Finally!

Even though our office isn't officially outfitted, one of the pieces is completed and in use. We needed a work table for the office where we could stow all our cutting mats and crafting utensils and have a large work space for creating. We started with the table top. We knew we had to have something durable and easy to maintain. We had used laminate before in the kitchen, and were always impressed with the new patterns and colors, especially the faux stainless. We had already decided on a bright orangey red for the long desk so we wanted something muted for the table. We gave the fabricators, Maui Countertops, a dimension of 4x6 feet but adjusted the width to 44 inches when we found out that was the maximum width dimension of the rolls of laminate.

Then we set about designing the base. Rather than go with the conventional 4-legged support, we came up with the idea to have 2 boxes, divided in ways to allow for storage of large-format posters and art as well as portfolios and have shelves to place storage boxes and books. As you can see, the top shelf is short since it's meant to have super flat things like rulers and mats.

The sketch shows all my calculations. I wanted to make sure I maximized the 4x8 plywood sheets so there was little waste. It helped that we were painting the wood since I didn't have to worry about which direction the wood grain was going. And since it's plywood, the strength is never really sacrificed. Also, since it was going to be primed and painted, filling the jig pocket holes could be done with spackle. I had tried to use the wood plugs but it proved to be more time consuming and complicated. Sanding them to be flush with the surface was too hefty a job for our medium-grade sander.

The walls and back of the deep side pockets had to be primed and painted before hand since I wouldn't be able to comfortably reach in there once it was all assembled. We made sure that there would be enough room for a person to comfortably sit in the center of the table and for the height, I had to factor in the wheels and stools we had already purchased.

It ended up taking 3 sheets of birch/maple plywood. Plus a sheet of scrap siding leftover from the office construction to use as the base layer spanning the two boxes under the laminate top. Conn had the idea to make a small connecting shelf in between the "leg" boxes once the whole thing had been assembled which has become more of a foot rest than a shelf (just visible through the stool in the pic).

This sketch shows all the calculations and dimensions in order to figure out how much plywood we needed.

SEEDS AND FRUIT

Today we bring you an interview we just completed over at Seeds and Fruit blog... which is not a blog about seeds or fruit actually. It's a blog written by Kathey Epperson about creativity, beauty, design, and the cross-pollination of ideas. We were introduced by dear sweet Elizabeth Kiester... a wonderfully talented girl I worked with back in New York. Elizabeth now lives in Cambodia where she has a cute little shop called Wanderlust.

It's nice to stop and do these interviews now an again as it  allows us to reflect on why we love doing what we do. We got so caught up in researching images for this that we lost track of time and were a bit tardy in turning it in. I think I spent at least an hour looking at images of the Eastern Airlines and John got lost looking at old Flags of the World images.

Many Mahalo's to Kathy for the chance to stop and look at why we love doing what we do and to Elizabeth for the introduction as well as her friendship and inspiration.

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Hawai'ian White Sand is actually many colors consisting of marine organism particles and small shells.

RED HEAD

Since getting the new zoom lens I am even more addicted to watching and feeding the birds. The RED CRESTED or BRAZILIAN CARDINAL pictured here is the friendliest or most tame of the bunch we have loitering around here, waiting for a free meal. He usually lets me get within 3-4 feet before flying off. He comes and hangs out on the railing just outside my office window or in the branches of the Royal Poinciana out the other window and sings until I head out and give him bird seed. Until last week there was also a female traveling with him, but she has been absent from the daily visits. I am hoping she is sitting on a nest somewhere and that she will return soon... with little red headed keiki's. More feathered friends coming soon.

PERIODICAL PARADISE

Paradise Holiday Annual

Just a wonderfully retro piece of paradise I found at one of the swap meets. I love the wide panorama strips. The dancers in the mod black + white unitards seem oddly out of place in the "royal court." I'll try an post excerpts from time to time.