Saturday, July 2, 2011

introducing... louellen the lil' loafer

after doing the telluride farmer's market again yesterday, i drove the rest of the way up to montrose to buy my "new" camper! a 1963 aristocrat lil' loafer.

here she is, in front of the home of the lovely couple i bought her from.

she needs a lot of work, that's for sure.
but i only paid $400 for her!

the icebox

the sink

the stove/ oven

hazel and june are thrilled!

i can't wait to make new curtains and cushions. these fold down into a bed. there is also an "upstairs" bed for the girls.

this light still runs on gas; the others have been converted to electric.

please consider these the "before" photos. this will be such a wonderful project and i can't wait to see her transform. in addition to the cushions and curtains and other small repairs inside, i will most likely paint the interior. i've purchased a little buffer for glenn; he is going to bring the exterior aluminum back to a shine. i think we may actually take her camping tomorrow night!

6 comments:

susie said...

So cute! I know you guys will be making memories in it for years to come.

p.s. Love that dress you have on with the heart and wings:)

Lisa-Maladylis said...

I am soooo envious ! I keep telling my bf that I want one about that size. Just enough to sleep in since that's all they are really needed for. Lovely !!

mamabeaks said...

Wow, how sweet! this will be alot of fun, i just know........

6512 and growing said...

Looks super fun, we'll get the closer look next weekend, right?

Silver Sparrow Designs said...

that's right, rachel!

and thanks everyone; she is so awesome! i spent all day cleaning and scrubbing and now we're taking her camping tonight!

JudyB said...

I am officially green with envy!
Enjoy your beautiful little camper and I can't wait to see the transformation, what a gem!

the equipment fairy

my horoscope for the year, in my we'moon, said wonderful things about possibilities and generosity this year. one part of it was, "other people's resources will be generously available, from inheritances to bank loans; seriously consider using this support to establish a fresh and enduring base of operations during '08-'09." i had forgotten all about it until all these amazing things started happening for me, making everything possible for me to live my dream as a silversmith staying at home with my children.

shortly after our huge remodeling project was finished, another wonderful thing happened. i was "in the right place at the right time" (another lovely coincidence) and met sharon king. she just happened to have every tool i could ever need for my silversmithing, all top of the line, very high quality equipment, sitting in her garage gathering dust and needing a new home. after talking for a while, we agreed that she would VERY generously not only sell her equipment to me for a screamin' deal, but finance it as well. i now pay her a small monthly payment and my shop is 100% set up! (please see photos.) THANK YOU SHARON!!!

the amazing sharon king. if only there were more folks like her in the world...

the amazing sharon king.  if only there were more folks like her in the world...
this is sharon, who made it possible for me to have all of this incredible new equipment.

the bench

the bench
here is my incredible new bench, with drawers full of fantastic new files and mandrels, and SILVER, and pliers, and hammers...

my magnificent new torch!

my magnificent new torch!
here is the lovely new smith torch. i am still getting used to using it; it is quite different from my old acetylene torch.

my insanely powerful buffing wheel

my insanely powerful buffing wheel
this machine, too, will take some getting used to. it almost threw me across the room the first time i used it!

the foredom

the foredom
and this is my wonderful new foredom, an amazing tool!

the BIG remodel!

my studio/shop is set up in the 100 year old barn behind our house here in dolores. i knew it would be a cold winter out there if we didn't make some changes soon. to make a long story short, some very generous people, including the mayor of our great little town, my husband, and my visiting father, pulled togehter for me and really made it happen. we built a small room in the barn that is very well insulated and has a woodstove.

before

before
here's what we started out with...

dad and glenn, working hard

dad and glenn, working hard
my fabulous husband, glenn, and my wonderful father, jim, hard at work

little helpers

little helpers
simon (canine) and maybe (feline) were a big help throughout the project!

jim rules!

jim rules!
here's the lovely mayor of dolores, jim, who really made the barn remodel possible by supplying the materials up front.

insulation queen

insulation queen
here is katie, one of my apprentices, helping out

moral support

moral support
sarah, my other lovely apprentice, stopped by to offer moral support (and beer) to the workers...

(almost) completed shop

(almost) completed shop
we still need to do all the finish work (tape, mud, trim, paint, add a door...) but here is the "finished" shop!