Name: janewheniordercoffee
Location: Sacramento
Time: About 3-4 hours, including the trip to the store
Cost: $22, since I had to replace my lost staple gun
BEFORE
Tell us the tools and resources you used for the project:
A former roommate broke the glasstop inlay of our table, so a while back we had dug an old sheet of plywood out of someone's basement. A trip to a basic fabric store and a basic craft store provided the white vinyl and a staple gun. I also used a pencil, straight-edge, regular and jumbo sharpie and a pair of scissors from home. And a book called 'Scratch Graphique,' for reference.
DURING
Share step-by-step instructions for how you completed the project:
1. I upholstered the plywood with the vinyl, which felt more like an oversized book-cover job than upholstery. I just wrapped the top side with fabric and stapled it to the underside.
2. My dj-boyfriend lived in France for a while and came home with this book (which I cannot read) about dj scratch notation. As graphic designers we're both interested in the problem of visualizing sounds or sound-making -- and it's a lovely-looking system. I looked at some sample notations and put a sequence together myself, and hand-lettered it in pencil directly onto the vinyl. (Rigorous design foundation training involving hand-painting typefaces made this easy enough.) Apparently, the sequence I wrote is pretty tricky, but not impossible.
DURING
3. I filled in the tight spaces and edges with the smaller-tipped sharpie first, then filled in the bigger spaces with the jumbo sharpie.
4. I went back and erased the few spots where sketchlines still showed up, and left the windows open for a few hours. (Man, that marker!)
AFTER
I am so stealing this idea! I'm thinking coffee table....
view SoSpunky5's profile
WTF.
view Djluckyonline's profile
Years ago, a friend of mine made a coffeetable using a plywood top upholstered in white vinyl, with chrome legs. I have to say, the result was luxurious and fun, though I'd expected it to look more like a tacky card table. This is a great idea!
view visualingual's profile
I especially like the "headphones as 3d art" you've got going on the wall.
view Maryja's profile
mmm, i love symbolologisms! i think you did a good job. now what about the chairs? :)
view kdkaboom's profile
The notations look great even without knowing what they are; so much the better that you've designed a piece of furniture that reflects your interests! Talk about bringing the Muse to the table....
view KarenH's profile
Love it. Fits your space to perfection, well executed, simple, stylish, good use of existing materials.
view Slim's profile
DJ scratch notation? I learned something new today!
view AlmostAD's profile
like your use of dj scratch notation.!
view cctt's profile
Excellent. I'd worry about durability of the surface, but the result is a great return on investment.
view Jute Zak's profile