Next limited edition at the LL

Discuss travel, watches, gastronomy, wines, boats and all other aspects of the Elegant life
marcelo
Posts: 623
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:07 pm
Contact:

Wed Oct 01, 2008 9:12 pm

Either cloth brushes handmade by Kent, or bespoke coffins with a "LL" atop. But why would one need three of the second item?
alden
Posts: 8209
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:58 am
Contact:

Thu Oct 02, 2008 6:36 am

Women
Now we are getting somewhere.

I have always wanted a gorgeous secretaire. The only caveat, she had to have four sturdy legs, and be designed to handle all my toys.

Not only this but she had to be made of proper timber, felled in the right season, at the full moon and aged several years. My preference also tended towards Louis XVI but premier empire would do just as well.

Well I never found my ideal secretaire, but I have found craftsmen who can make what I want, the way I want it made.

Stay tuned.
Guille
Posts: 185
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2007 2:58 pm
Location: Madrid, Spain
Contact:

Thu Oct 02, 2008 2:41 pm

Are you saying that secretaires are the answer? We're going to have them made for us? But they don't fit any of the definitions (need 3, you share them, used for maintenance...)?
DD MacDonald
Posts: 383
Joined: Mon Sep 19, 2005 1:51 pm
Contact:

Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:33 pm

Chaz Michaels Michaels, world famous bad boy of skating, favors handmade italian hairbrushes. :wink:
storeynicholas

Thu Oct 02, 2008 5:20 pm

It sounds like some kind of ottoman or dressing chest; presumably with trays and layers and drawers (maybe even secret ones), boxes and so on; to hold: razors, combs, brushes, studs, polishes and toiletries etc. etc - but (even if this were right) I also don't understand why three - unless it's one each for three houses in different countries.
NJS
RWS
Posts: 1166
Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2005 12:53 am
Location: New England
Contact:

Thu Oct 02, 2008 5:32 pm

Spectacles?
alden
Posts: 8209
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:58 am
Contact:

Fri Oct 03, 2008 8:53 am

NJS has it right.

Voila a lovely secretaire in the making.

Image

You use your furniture every day, but really don’t pay attention to it for the simple reason that it probably does not have the utility or beauty that you would like. A bespoke piece, crafted of lovely wood and designed to perfectly match your needs will keep your admiring glances fixed on it for many years.

How many of you share furniture with your wife, significant other, kids etc? Is it not about time you had your own?

The three fundamental pieces of furniture (according to this writer and after considerable thought in planning the decoration of my house) are:

1. The secretaire, a man’s “treasure chest”, designed to keep all of the precious things he has collected over the years in one place, easy to access, to protect, admire and maintain. The chest in the picture, crafted of aged walnut and olive on the exterior and apricot wood on the interior, has been designed to contain a watch collection, pen collection, pipes, cufflinks etc, photographic kit, whiskey, desk accessories etc. In addition, one of the drawers will be lined in Spanish cedar and will be outfitted with a humidifier so as to be able to house seventy-five cigars; and

2. The armoire, intended to house a man’s bespoke wardrobe, should itself be a bespoke work, one designed to fit and maintain all of a man’s sartorial collection. Overcoats, hung properly, should be accounted for as well as suits, trousers, shoes, shirts, ties and hats. Space should be provided for so the clothes can breathe, and be suspended properly, a point of maintenance that will help insure a long and elegant life; and

3. A bathroom closet made to house all the shaving kit, scissors, robes, perfumes, aftershaves, soaps, towels a man will require to insure proper grooming in his own bathroom.

Now once we have entered the realm of bespoke furniture there are many other pieces to add, the usual lot of tables, drawers, commodes etc. But the three fundamental pieces for the elegant man are the three referenced above.

After a few dozen hands of stain have been painstakingly applied al tampone, the piece will look something like this:

Image

I will be writing a bit more later to explain why these pieces are special and to explain how they are being handmade according to ancient artisanal methods of the ebeniste.

Cheers

M Alden
storeynicholas

Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:21 pm

I didn't really get it as you gave it away in the end - although I mentioned dressing case early on. Wonderful looking pieces and great to know that there are still cabinet makers.out there. I'd like to know more about the wood - (looks like maybe walnut) and the joints on the drawers. I once had a military chest which is a similar kind of piece - although basically just drawers but in two pieces, fitting one on the other, brassbound corners and handles on the drawers and the sides (to carry the pieces).
NJS
marcelo
Posts: 623
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:07 pm
Contact:

Fri Oct 03, 2008 7:36 pm

Beautiful cabinet, if I may use this designation to refer to such a lovely piece of furniture. I do hope Michael Alden will post further photos of his project once it has been accomplished.
NJS, congratulation for the successful guess!
However, something still puzzles me: why was this thread entitled “Next limited edition at the LL”? Does it imply that fellow members are being invited to collectively join our host in this project?
pvpatty
Posts: 338
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 1:53 pm
Location: Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Contact:

Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:47 am

Beautiful, but I shudder to think how much it would cost to ship me one.

Perhaps a LL desk should be in the works?
radicaldog
Posts: 241
Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:35 am
Location: Bristol
Contact:

Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:58 am

'The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director' -- Chippendale and all that. Simply superb!

RD
RWS
Posts: 1166
Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2005 12:53 am
Location: New England
Contact:

Sun Oct 05, 2008 12:44 pm

Handsome, indeed. My own preference is for Louis XV; my wallet's, Ikea!
alden
Posts: 8209
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:58 am
Contact:

Sun Oct 05, 2008 4:17 pm

RWS

As much as I find bespoke clothes fun, collecting antique furniture is a deeply satisfying pleasure. Over the years I have been fortunate to have acquired a few pieces. They never cease to amaze and delight. Sometimes I just sit and wonder about the conversations that might have gone on around a table or the treasures that were hidden away in a drawer. It’s magic.

Now that I am working on restoring the house, I wanted Sicilian antiques. Good ones are not easy (ie nearly impossible) to find. This summer I had miraculous luck and found three wonderful pieces. When I took them to be restored a bit I found craftsmen who were making tremendous reproductions using old wood recuperated from other pieces or from real aged wood. I decided to bespeak one piece, “the treasure chest.” The chest in the above picture is very similar to the one I am making except that mine will be Louis XVI inspired instead of the pictured premier empire (ie Napoleon) work. Next on the list will be an armoire and a bathroom chest.

Yes, they are a bit more expensive than IKEA. But so is SR compared to the Gap.

Cheers
RWS
Posts: 1166
Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2005 12:53 am
Location: New England
Contact:

Sun Oct 05, 2008 4:30 pm

alden wrote:. . . . Yes, they are a bit more expensive than IKEA. But so is SR compared to the Gap. . . .
And that's a very reasonable parallel.
marcelo
Posts: 623
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:07 pm
Contact:

Sun Oct 05, 2008 4:33 pm

Dear Michael Alden
As I had suggested in my previous post, I hope you will share with us the pleasure of contemplating some images of these lovely pieces of furniture once they have been accomplished. Antique furniture is, indeed, a virtually inexhaustible source of aesthetical delight.
Post Reply
  • Information
  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests