TheAntiquePalette's Profile

Bio

ABOUT my BENCH BLOCK PILLOWS/PADS:
First, Both sand and BB pillows deaden the banging sound of hammering on your bench block and apartment dwellers love them. One artist even told me she now uses her bench block at night and has had no more complaints from her neighbors.

Both are made with upholstery weight leather. I buy mostly full hides from an up-scale office furniture manufacturer and choose the areas of the hides carefully. BB pillows need to be even thicker than sand pillows, so I use the slightly thicker areas of the hide for those. Because these aren't split suede but rather full hides, they're full thickness leather. One side is sueded and one side is the smooth side of the hide. Both sides are dyed to match, tho' the suede takes the dye differently from the smooth leather side. And there may be an occasional blip in the surface, that's the nature of the sueded side. Doesn't affect the durability or usefulness but it does add to the character of your pillow!

I'll try to detail some of the differences between sand filled and BB filled.

Sand filled pillows weigh about 1 pound each. They're kind of like a pancake, they're pretty flat-ish. You can grab them and slide them around on a smooth work surface with not much bother. Sand is small grained so the pillows feel solid, these are the ones most people seem to like best.

BB filled pillows weigh about 3 pounds, which for their size is quite substantial. They dome a bit and don't move unless you actually grab them and lift them off the surface. I mean, you can slide them, but it's easier lifting them up and putting them back down. They are like a dead weight on your bench, very stable. When you pick them up, the BBs roll against each other and make them heavy-lively...sort of.

Some artist prefer these BB filled pads and actually several artists have ordered both kinds, saying they like them each for different reasons and use both.

And the new travel size is smaller so it's lighter weight, about 6 ounces, so it doesn't take up lots of space or weight in your travel case. And you can use your bench block in your hotel room after class.

All of my pillows are double stitched with double-duty thread. Not single stitched with heavy thread as the made-in-China (or wherever) are. Double stitching means if a stitch breaks, you have time to use your pillow, order another, it won't be a complete breakdown. But, in over a year of sales, many of these being used nearly every day, I've never had a complaint of breakage.

Phew! Did I forget anything?

ABOUT ME:
My first arty memory is of getting a box of crayons and coloring, first timidly, then boldly, on the hallway wall outside of my bedroom. My father had a fit, my mom made sure that from then on I had all sorts of art supplies.

In school I won awards and a scholarship for art and had a little business going selling my drawings of scantily clad women to the boys-this was in fourth grade...can I brag a little? ha ha

I've been a professional quilter, a seamstress, jewelry maker, watercolorist, decorative painter, knitter, embroiderer, furniture restorer, animal rescuer, you get the idea.

One of the okay things about getting older-I've had time to develop a lot of skills!
But I never really did much seriously with my artistic start, I got married and raised a family (well, that takes imagination and creativity so is arty in its way!). Now that the boys are grown, I'm coming home to be arty-me again. And hopefully share some of it here on etsy!

Oh, and I love cats...actually, we are a NON-SMOKING home with cats, a dog and a pigeon. Part of the proceeds from each sale here on etsy goes to the local "Help The Cats" trap, spay-neuter, return and keep feeding programs. Thanks for your kindness, meow!

~Payment and Shipping info~

Thank you so much for shopping with me!
You may pay using Paypal, sending your payment to me at ooman55 [!at] yahoo.com or send a Money Order.

Payment is expected within 3 days from item purchase if using Paypal, and 10 days if sending a money order.

I do offer combined shipping on all items.

I always ship within 2 business days of receipt of your payment, First Class or Priority Mail. Slow transit time is out of my control but usually the postal people are pretty good.